[2] His raw speed saw many mark him as a future champion, resulting in Modena being offered a one-off drive for Brabham in the final race of the 1987 Formula One season.

While he impressed by qualifying 15th at the 1987 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, his inexperience with the turbo charged BMW engine saw him stop three times to replace flat-spotted tyres before retiring with exhaustion before mid-distance.

1989 saw Brabham reform after a sabbatical in 1988, now owned by Swiss businessman Joachim Luthi (who had bought the team from Walter Brun, the owner of EuroBrun), but featuring a lot of the same staff as in 1987.

With a healthy group of sponsors, 1990 spec Honda engines, Pirelli tyres and a development of the successful 020 chassis much was expected of the combination, with some predicting race wins.

The following race at Monaco saw an even better performance as he qualified on the front row alongside his friend and World Champion Ayrton Senna, harrying the McLaren driver until being held up in traffic and suffering a violent engine failure.

After that Modena's form dropped off badly as Pirelli struggled to develop a consistent race tyre while the heavy Honda engines made the 020 chassis (originally designed for the Cosworth DFR V8) difficult to balance.

While Modena continued to qualify frequently in the top half of the grid he struggled in races, only scoring one more point for 6th place at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Over the years he has conducted hundreds of tests in every geographical and climatic condition, including France, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Belgium and Japan.

Always for the Asian company he dedicated himself to the promotion, marketing and development of new road tires, travelling to Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, the United States and Dubai.