Hamburg - The Toyota and BMW-Sauber Formula One teams are looking to challenge at the front of the grid in this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir after mixed starts to a so far unpredictable 2009 season.

Both teams will be hoping to leave the rain in Malaysia and China behind them and instead take on the challenge of heat and dust in the Arab Emirate.

Toyota will be the more confident of the two teams after Timo Glock managed a seventh-place finish in China on Sunday to lie fourth in the overall drivers' standings, 11 points behind surprise leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP.

The German finished out of the points in ninth last year but is expecting better things this time around.

"Last year I was pretty unlucky in Bahrain because I had to back off with a small technical issue when I was sure I would score my first points for the team," said Glock.

"But this season has started in a much better way compared to 2008 and I am confident I can continue to show that good performance."

Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli narrowly trails Glock in the overall standings but managed sixth in China, the same place he achieved last season in Bahrain.

"I am looking forward to racing in Bahrain after the tests we had there over the winter. Bahrain was the first chance I had to really test the TF109 in dry conditions and I knew immediately we had a competitive package, which has proved to be the case now the season has started," said Trulli.

"In testing the car was strong in Bahrain so I have a good feeling for this weekend and I think we can be competitive."

While Toyota can claim to have maintained competitiveness in China, it was another disappointing race for the fancied BMW outfit, with Nick Heidfeld only 12th, one place ahead of team-mate Robert Kubica.

BMW's only points so far this season came in the rain-interrupted Malaysian GP, when Heidfeld finished second behind Button.

Kubica, who took his first career pole in Bahrain last season before finishing third in the race itself, said while he found the Bahrain circuit "not really challenging" he was still looking forward to racing there and finally getting some points on the board.

"The Bahrain International Circuit has a couple of long straights and three characteristically low-speed corners that require heavy braking," said the Pole.

"Last year we performed quite well in Bahrain - after securing pole position in qualifying I managed to finish the race on the podium."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen, meanwhile, said he hoped to bring the first major overseas stint of the season to a positive end before the F1 caravan moves to Europe for the Spanish GP.

"It also marks the end of the second set of back-to-back races within five weeks," said Theissen.

"After our appearance in Shanghai we are now heading for another region that is important to BMW. For us as a manufacturer in the premium sector the Middle East is also a very significant market." (dpa)