Young Toyota-backed race driver Ryan Briscoe is edging closer to a breakthrough victory in Formula Monomarque racing in Europe after two promising performances in recent weeks.
Briscoe drove to a brilliant podium finish in the third round of the Formula Monomarque Eurocup, held at the Magny Cours circuit in France (April 30).

He overcame a disastrous qualifying session which saw him start from 15th grid position, slicing his way through the field to finish third.

The Sydney-born former international karting champion took a gamble by starting the race on slick tyres, even though the track was still wet after heavy rain.

The gamble paid off as the track started to dry, and Briscoe recorded fastest lap of the race on his way to the podium.

"I knew the first laps would be difficult, and initially I lost a few positions," said Briscoe, "but with a bit of intelligence it wasn't such a problem. I just waited until a dry line appeared before I started pushing."

"It wasn't easy to pass people, though, and there was a bit of group blocking going on," he said.

Towards the end of the race Briscoe was circulating five seconds a lap faster than anyone else, despite never having raced at Magny Cours before.

"It's great to get a result, especially after a race meeting that started off so badly," he said.

Briscoe was hampered by car set-up problems during the two rain-affected qualifying sessions, and lost any chance of improving on 15th fastest when he aqua-planed off the track in the second session.

The French result was followed by a similarly spectacular drive through the field in the second round of the Italian series at Pergusa a week later ( May 6). Briscoe started 12th after a mechanical failure during qualifying left him stranded on the track for the remainder of the crucial session.

He once again fought his way into the points, rising to third in the early laps.

The young Sydney-sider was challenging for second when he made a mistake and went off the track, ending his race.

Briscoe remains philosophical however, pointing out that he is still learning about the formula and how to correctly set up the car.

"While I'm usually fast in qualifying, we've been having trouble during the last few events finding a good race set-up," he said.

The 19-year-old is competing in only his first full year of car racing after becoming the first person signed to Toyota Motorsport's young driver development program in Europe.

The program is intended to foster driving talent right up to Formula One level.

Briscoe was signed to the program after a successful junior career in karts which included winning the 1998 North American Formula A championship and the Italian Open Formula Super A Championship the following year.

Briscoe and his Italy-based team, Prema Powerteam, are making the Italian championship their priority, although they will continue to compete in as many rounds of the Formula Monomarque Eurocup as possible.

The third round of the 11 race Italian series will be held at Magione on May 20.