Formula 3 driver Will Bratt made his long-awaited return to the podium with a competitive drive leading to a season's best second place during the 15th round of the 2008 FIAT Spanish F3 Championship at Jerez.

Making a better start than he did to Saturday afternoon's race, during which he went on to secure a top four finish, the 20-year-old from Banbury got away well from third on the grid and then passed Spanish driver German Sanchez Flor, the new series leader, for second position on the run through the first couple of corners.

Latching on to the tail of race leader, and pole sitter, Christian Ebbesvik for the duration of the 16-lap encounter, there were never more than a few tenths of a second splitting the pair as Bratt pressed on to try and force his rival into a mistake.

Setting fastest lap pace early on, Bratt closed the gap down to eight tenths of a second into lap two and by the end of the fifth tour he was only 0.595 seconds behind the Norwegian.

Pushing hard to the finish, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) Rising Star took the chequered flag just 0.379 seconds adrift of the win. He said: "I'm a bit disappointed we didn't win today but second place is a good result, it's our best finish since graduating to Formula 3 at the start of the year.

"My start wasn't anything special but it was better than yesterday's. I overtook Sanchez Flor around the first couple of corners but Ebbesvik's car was too quick down the straights.

"At least we've managed to cure the handling problems now, it was certainly brake-related and it's just a shame we're so close to the end of the season. It's been the best weekend we've had for a while in Spanish F3 so I have to be pleased with that."

The EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport driver moves into ninth in the driver standings with just two races remaining this season.

Rounds 16 and 17 of the FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship, the final event of the 2008 season, will take place on November 1/2 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.