Modena fighting back after damper failure.

Team Modena is fighting back in the Le Mans 24 Hours after losing time following a failed suspension damper that dropped the #59 Aston Martin DBR9 out of the battle for the top three places.

The British team had held third place in the GT1 class at the end of the third hour and was fourth at the end of hour five with Antonio Garcia, Jos Menten and Christian Fittipaldi taking the fight to the factory Aston Martin Racing and Corvette teams.

However, Menten was brought into the pits on his 71st lap when a crew member spotted the altered ride height at the front which indicated the front left hand damper had failed, the Dutchman having completed his first race run in the Aston Martin and at Le Mans.

"I could feel something getting worse, but I am still getting used to the car," he said. "At first I was in a lot of traffic all the time, but my last seven laps were clear and I was able to learn and improve lap by lap. I can't wait to get out in the car again, my next stint will be in the dark."

After a ten minute delay, Garcia took over the car and was immediately back on the pace - setting the DBR9s quickest race lap to date.

"The car feels normal now," he said. "I was able to push to the limit and then stick to it. Now we have lost time we need to do some consistent times and see what happens."

Going into the ninth hour, the DBR9 lies ninth in class and is chasing down the Luc Alphand Corvette C6.R for eighth.