Lining up fourth on the grid after posting a best lap in qualifying, the Banbury racer's Zytek-engined Lola almost stalled at the start of the 16-lap race.

But Bratt fought back and took the chequered flag on lap 16 just three seconds behind the championship leader Fabrizio Crestani and less than four seconds adrift of race winner Marco Bonanomi.

"I'm really pleased to have finished on the podium again, especially after the start we had," said Bratt.

"The car almost stalled off the line and we slipped to ninth but I managed to get by three cars during the middle part of the first lap and then picked off (Ben) Hanley, Rodolfo (Gonzalez) and (Fabio) Onidi by mid-distance.

"As soon as I got into the top three I started to pull away and catch the two guys ahead but by that point they had already managed to pull out too much of a gap.

"Even so, I closed them down quite well and I think we demonstrated we have the pace and ability to do well in this championship. I can't wait for race two, hopefully we can make a better start and fight for another podium."