LUCIANO BACHETA enjoyed a successful start to his Auto GP career by getting on to the podium in his second race at Monza.
The 22-year-old was making his debut in the series after agreeing a deal with Zele Racing, and took part in two races at the famous Italian circuit over the weekend.
Bacheta, who was joined at Zele Racing by former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, qualified tenth for the first of the two races – two places ahead of his better-known team-mate.
But in the first race, Bacheta had to settle for eighth place, while Karthikeyan earned fifth as both Zele Racing drivers scored points.
In Auto GP, the top eight of the first race are reversed to form the grid for the second race, meaning Bacheta was on pole for Sunday's event.
But his first start from pole was an unusual one as the race began under safety car conditions due to the wet weather.
Bacheta maintained his lead when the race started properly on lap three, but was passed by Japan's Kimiya Sato, who eventually took the flag by some 20 seconds from Bacheta, who finished in second place.
The Brentwood man said: "I'm very satisfied with how this weekend ended as this was supposed to be a learning experience for us.
"When I saw Sato coming, I didn't want to take too many risks and did not block him.
"It's great to be on the podium at our debut in the series and it's a nice reward for the whole team."
Bacheta has 19 points from his maiden weekend in Auto GP to sit fifth in the drivers' standings.