Modena secures 'Ring podium.

Team Modena secured a podium finish on the resumption of racing in the Le Mans Series, with Antonio Garcia and Christian Fittipaldi taking second in the GT1 class at the Nurburgring.

The pair were hoping to bounce back from a tough run during the Le Mans 24 Hours, when contact with a prototype during the night led to a lengthy delay in the pits, and were on the pace from the outset, qualifying second in class for the third round of the season.

From there, the pair brought the car home second in class in the race itself behind the Team Oreca Saleen for a result that left team principal Graham Schultz delighted.

"We started the weekend with high hopes and knew we could do well here," he said. "Our race strategy was perfect, Sergio Rinland, Hans Muhlbauer and Kerry Adams worked out how to keep us in the lead hunt, and we even managed to do two stints at one point on the soft slicks, which no-one thought we could do.

"Our pit work was great again this weekend, and during the race we made our fastest ever fuel, driver and tyre stop, which is a reward for the hard work and practice the guys have put in. I am really pleased with the weekend, it was a well-deserved second place, we kept the leader honest all race, and could have been on for the win if we had the full engine mapping that we want - we are down on power compared to some of the other Aston Martins."

Garcia took the start in the largely dry six-hour event but immediately found a problem with the traction control system, which he switched off after just half an hour. The two drivers were forced to adapt their driving style as a result but even managed to take the lead of the class during the race, before slipping back behind the Saleen.

"It was quite strange because we didn't know exactly what would happen, and I had some problems with the brakes at the end of the race too!" Garcia said when asked about driving the car without traction control. "It wasn't that easy to drive and I had to try to find another style, especially in the first part of the race when it was slow and slippery. We were really missing a lot of grip in first and second gear, but you just get used to it. It is a good job that it didn't rain, because that would have been more interesting!"

Fittipaldi, competing in only his second Le Mans Series race of the year, was also happy as he continues to learn about the car.

"I am getting used to the car, and the tyres," he said. "It is very sensitive and I am learning that. I had a good run today, though I had to change my driving style because there was no traction control, but that was good because it taught me a lot of other things about the car.

"My second stint was run at a pretty good pace, and at the end I had a good pace but I got a lot of traffic. You cannot afford to make any mistakes even in such a long race, there were no mechanical failures, and if you make a mistake in a period of six hours it will cost a lot."