BSB riders don’t come much more French than Julien Da Costa. Silvain Guintoli? Pah. He’s from Leicestershire, really. Da Costa, a double World Champion (and multiple French Champion) from Beziers on the Mediterranean coast, has injected a certain je ne sais quoi to the MSS Colchester Kawasaki team. And much laughter.

On his arrival at Leicestershire’s Mallory Park for the first time, Da Costa looked around and shrugged his shoulders – bottom lip protruding, palms facing upwards. If you were ever going to witness a typically French facial expression and gesture, this was probably it.

"So do you like Mallory then, Julien?" asked team owner Nick Morgan in the best of faith.

"Does anybody like Mallory?’ came Da Costa’s dead-pan reply. It took some time for the laughter to subside. Regardless of his feelings for the friendly circuit, he got on with the job in hand, piled on the quick laps and fed data and information back to his team of technicians. Like a true pro.

It was slightly different at Brands Hatch, a circuit he tested at last season on the team’s '08 ZX-10R superbike. Whilst he likes the all-action nature of the circuit, the weather clearly left a little to be desired. "Why is it always f*****g raining?" he said with new found but steadily-improving fluent profanity.

The English obviously still mystify him. At Brands Hatch, whilst waiting for the ‘f*****g rain’ to clear in the dry confines of the pit garage, he pulls a face like a bulldog licking a thistle. "Why do English men always fart and burp and then laugh like little boys?," he asks – not without good reason bearing in mind the in-garage flatulence. He then mimics this behaviour and giggles with a hand over his mouth like, well, like a little boy.

Wonder what he’ll make of Knockhill?

It’s going to be an interesting season for all concerned…