Gary Paffett scored a brilliant second position from seventh place on the grid at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, but he couldn't stop his archrival Mattias Ekstrom from retaking the series lead of the DTM after a thrilling battle between them that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Ekstrom, the reigning champion, crossed the line just 0.4secs ahead of Gary after a punishing 48-lap race, and now leads him in the championship by one point with just two races remaining.

Gary was second fastest in Friday's first test, which was held in soaking wet conditions, but was only 19th in the second test, in damp but drying conditions, after he elected not to run on new slick tyres. "It would have been a waste," he said. "You were just risking an accident, and we knew we were quick in the wet from the morning session, when the car felt really good."

Qualifying was tough for Gary, as the drying track conditions made it a challenge for not only his driving skills but his engineers, who had to decide which set-up on his Mercedes C-Class would suit the circuit in the single-lap Super Pole. Despite setting the fourth fastest time in pre-qualifying, Gary could only manage the seventh best Super Pole time. Crucially, this put him behind Ekstrom, who could only manage fifth himself, on the grid.

"Whenever I pushed hard, I got oversteer," said Gary. "I had a big slide at Turns 3 and 4, and I tried to make the time up, but the more I pushed the worse it was. The last sector was okay, and the time should have been much better, but at least I'm only two places behind Mattias, so it could have been a lot worse."

From seventh on the grid, Gary made a brilliant start and was carving his way through the field to sit right on the tail of Ekstrom as early as lap four. For the next 44 laps, the duo were locked in a battle of titanic proportions, with Gary looking left and right for a way to get past his title nemesis. To his credit, Gary never touched the rear of Ekstrom's car once, but he just couldn't find the opening he needed to make a clear-cut passing move.

"This result shows everyone why we are first and second in the championship," said Gary, who has the utmost respect for his rival. "From fifth and seventh we finished first and second; that says it all. He simply made no mistakes, or I would have been past him and pulled away. It was tough to drive that close behind him for so long, but I had to keep the pressure on. It was a close and fair race, but I have to admit I really lost this victory yesterday in qualifying, not because of the race today."

Gary was phlegmatic about losing the lead of the championship, and has vowed to gain revenge in Istanbul on October 3.

"He took the series lead back here and I plan to do exactly the same thing at Istanbul," declared Gary. "Only the difference is, I intend to keep it at the last race in Hockenheim. To beat Mattias, you have to win the race. It's as simple as that, and that's the plan from now on."