The trip to Spa for the Caterham Cosworth Masters races (096) finally saw off the last of the legal tread on the Pirellis. Not that you’d know it from the driver’s seat, the four-wheel-drive RS4 feeling as sure-footed as ever, even in the torrential conditions we were occasionally caught in whilst in Belgium.

It’s the front-left that has gone first, which is predictable given the weight in the nose, though to be fair the rears aren’t that far behind. We’re going to replace all four together and try the alternative OE (original equipment) tyre, the Michelin Pilot Sport 2. They’ll go on just before the first service, which has been booked and will probably happen at 14,000 miles, 4000 miles earlier than the flexible schedule allows for.

As it happens, the V8 hasn’t used a drop of oil since I mentioned its consumption last month, but I’ll still feel happier when it’s been serviced. The only bit of additional work for the dealer is to investigate the parking sensor, which squawks as soon as you select reverse even if you’re in the middle of a deserted car park. As you can imagine, it’s been slowly driving me mad for the last few thousand miles.