Franck Mailleux has helped steer the Signature Plus team to second place in the 2010 teams’ championship after securing sixth place in this afternoon’s Silverstone 1000km race.

The result ensured the French squad concluded their second season in endurance racing as the top petrol-powered team with their Dunlop-shod Aston Martin Lola package. The top six result also guaranteed Franck his highest ever placing in the drivers’ table, ending up equal fourth with his co-drivers Pierre Ragues and Vanina Ickx; a great result for the team’s sophomore LMS season.

Franck undertook a double stint in today’s race having placed the 008 Aston Martin ninth on the grid in a turbulent build-up to the final race of this exciting Le Mans Series season. Intermittent rain showers were a key factor in the run-up to the race with wet conditions hampering preparations in practice. Right from the opening free practice session on Friday, the rain caused chaos with Signature enduring a number of off-track excursions, thankfully with little damage to the Aston Martin Lola chassis.

Franck was one of the drivers caught out by the changeable track conditions, going off track in Friday’s second session. As a result of the lack of track time, the team had a busy day on Saturday to make up the lost time, carrying out car set-up work and Dunlop tyre evaluation, as well as making time for the drivers to learn Silverstone’s new-look, extended circuit configuration.

Although conditions were not ideal during Saturday morning, the qualifying session remained dry and allowed Franck his first clear runs of the weekend. In the circumstances, and suffering from traffic, Franck did an extremely solid job to take a top ten starting position, just a few tenths-of-a-second from the top six. Franck’s individual sector times were very competitive and without the traffic on his best run, he would almost certainly have made further progress up the grid. Nevertheless, Signature fought back valiantly.

Vanina was given starting duties for the race and got the 008 Aston Martin up to seventh place before handing over to Pierre. He reported difficulties with oversteer on heavy fuel, almost certainly a result of the team’s lack of practice laps, but he nonetheless enjoyed a competitive double stint and consolidated position before handing over to Franck who took the team up to fifth. The only hitch in Franck’s afternoon was a small spin towards the end of his two stints as a result of another car hitting him from behind, which required as slightly earlier than planned pit stop for fuel and fresh tyres, handing over to Pierre Ragues to bring the car home. Sixth place brings Signature’s 2010 season to a highly positive conclusion, which culminated in the team earning their automatic place at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race.

Franck Mailleux said: “It has been a difficult weekend but one from which we can draw many positives after a top six finish. The result means that Signature holds the runners-up position in the team championship, a brilliant result. I am also pleased with my fourth place in the drivers table, especially with how close we came to finishing even higher up. For my second season in Le Mans Series, that is a great achievement and I feel capable of even more. It was a good race today apart from a small spin at the end of my run, but we were affected quite a lot by the wet conditions in practice. We have become regular competitors at the front of the field this year which is even more special with a petrol-powered car. Aston Martin and Dunlop have given us great support and I think we have all demonstrated a fantastic teamwork this season. From such professional work comes good results and we will look back on this season positively. My sponsors Sojasun have once again been fantastic to me this year and we shared in some special podium results which I am very proud of.”

Signature Plus Team Principal Philippe Sinault: “I’d like to extend my thanks to the whole team and to our wonderful drivers for this result. Today is not so much about taking sixth in a thrilling Silverstone race but more for our second place in the teams’ championship. Signature, Aston Martin and Dunlop are 2010 Vice Champions. We have proven to be a formidable and competitive package. I’m thrilled with and immensely proud of our performances this year.”

More information on Franck Mailleux can be found at the Quadra Sports website www.quadrasports.com and www.franckmailleux.com