By Theodore Liasi

Rome (espnstar.com) - After three hard flyaway races for the Toyota Racing team, the start of the European leg of the season in San Marino will come as a welcome relief to both Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. "The Imola circuit is technically very demanding - with lots of long straights and slow corners which are especially tough on brakes," revealed Schumacher.

"The venue has been kind to me in the past and I've always enjoyed good results - particularly when I took my first ever grand prix win there in 2001," he said.

"By contrast the circuit has not been that good for Toyota down the years although both Jarno and I scored points last year. We could face cold conditions in Imola but you never know what the weather will bring there.

"We struggled at the start of the year in cool conditions but we made the podium in Australia so that shows how far we've come. Of course the season has started off harder than we expected but Australia was much better and the team is strong enough to keep bouncing back."

Trulli admitted he was looking forward to the first of two home races even though, he concedes Imola is not one of his favourite circuits.

"It always makes for a slightly different weekend when you are racing at home," he explained.

"I will have more support than usual and my fan club usually pays me a visit but I will also be busier out of the cockpit. Despite being in

Italy, I don't particularly like the circuit at Imola. It's often cold there in April but the most important factors for performance are braking stability and traction, as well as a car that can ride the kerbs."

He added: "Last year I was able to celebrate the birth of my son with a points finish and we have to hope for another top eight finish this time."