Gary Paffett at Brands Hatch this year. Picture by Nick Dungan.

Fourth podium finish in as many races in DTM for Gary Paffett.

Bromley driver Gary Paffett extends lead to 36 points in the DTM series with third place finish at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The 31-year-old qualififed in second place, just a tenth of a second behind pole.

In the early part of the race he had to be content with just hold his position in second, allowing driver Edoardo Mortara to pull away in first.

The introduction of the safety car in lap two allowed Paffett and Mortara to break away at the restart as the pair fought it out for the lead.

On lap 19 Paffett pitted for the first time and rejoined the track in second and nine laps later he pitted again in an attempt to jump Mortara whic worked, as he rejoined the track side by side with the Italian. But he defended heavily and Paffett ended up on the grass and having to settle for second once again.

He slipped to third, and in the closing stages he suffered brake issues, which made his position even more in doubt, but he hung on to take the 15 points for his third place finish.

He said: “The team gave me another fantastic car this weekend and I can’t thank them enough for all the hard work they are putting in.

“We head to the fifth round of the championship 36 points ahead of our nearest rivals and with four podium finishes – a fantastic start to the year.

“I had some good battles with Mortara, Tomczyk and Ekstrom. Not only is qualifying really close this year, but everyone’s race pace is really close too which is making it a very exciting season in DTM.”

Paffett heads to the Norisring on July 1 for round five of the championship.

He is currently leading the drivers’ championship with 83 points with Ekstrom in second place with 47 points and Green in third place with 44 points.