BUDAPEST, Aug 1, 2008 (AFP) - Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, who is closing in on his 200th Formula One race, said Friday he felt confident of making a strong showing in Sunday´s Hungarian Grand Prix.

"As usual here in Hungary it was a difficult Friday because of the dusty circuit," the Toyota driver said of the Hungaroring course.

"It was hard to draw clear conclusions because there was tyre graining that affected the car´s performance and general balance.

"So we concentrated on finding out what kind of behaviour we can expect from the tyres," added Trulli, who sits seventh in the drivers´ championship on 20 points.

"I hope we can have another strong weekend because I like this track, the car has been competitive recently and we are looking to score more points."

Trulli was ninth fastest, two places ahead of team-mate German Timo Glock, who was declared fit following a crash at the German Grand Prix.

Trulli finished ninth in Germany, but previous results include a podium finish for third place in France and points-position finishes at the British and Canadian Grands Prix.

Toyota - one of the teams with the highest expectations and biggest budgets in Formula One - have flattered to deceive in recent seasons, but Trulli and Glock hope they have found a way of maintaining an upward curve.

Glock said: "The morning went well for me on the dirty track surface and we had no problems with the car.

"In the second session the track changed, there was a bit more grip and the car started to be a bit trickier to drive but overall this was not a bad first day. Hopefully we can continue with this speed.

"If I can qualify well and we can have the race pace we had in Hockenheim (German Grand Prix) then a points finish should be possible."