 [15-09-2011]
PIERRE RAGUES UNLOCKS REAL POTENTIAL AND IMPRESSES WITH SILVERSTONE SUCCESS
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 [15-09-2011]
FRANCK MAILLEUX OPTIMISTIC AFTER CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD EXTENSION AT SILVERSTONE
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 [11-09-2011]
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 [11-09-2011]
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 [07-09-2011]
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[15-09-2011]
FRANCK MAILLEUX OPTIMISTIC AFTER CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD EXTENSION AT SILVERSTONE
 Franck Mailleux endured a frustrating race at the 6 Hours of Silverstone last weekend but remains happy with the performance of the Signatech-Nissan Oreca 03 and the potential that the team has to fight for podium and victories in the final two rounds of the season.
Thanks to an outstanding final few stints from Franck, in which he broke the LMP2 lap record for Silverstone and set six of the nine quickest laps of the entire race, Signatech-Nissan still finished second of the ILMC-competing LMP2 cars to extend their lead of the championship with Petit Le Mans and the season ending race in China still to come.
Quick Q+A with Franck Mailleux
How was the Silverstone 6 Hours weekend from your perspective?
“I really enjoy driving at Silverstone but the race was far from straight-forward. Nevertheless, we were able to fight back from the difficulties to finish second of the ILMC cars in LMP2 and most importantly to extend our lead over the ILMC classification yet again. In some respects we were sorry not to be able to fight for the LMP2 victory, which we were on course for, but we have to remain positive with our championship position. I was extremely pleased with my own performance and set a new LMP2 lap record for Silverstone which shows just what might have been.”
What exactly was the problem you had during the race?
“Lucas (Ordonez) made a great start once the safety car had come in and we were already up to second in LMP2 but during the first scheduled stop it became apparent that we had an issue on the restart. The team had to carry out a number of precautionary changes to resolve the issue during the race that lost us many laps but still the issue recurred. The team worked very well in difficult circumstances and we were able to mount a very competitive fightback, setting some of the quickest laps in LMP2 on the way back up the field.”
Surely you will want to aim for that elusive debut victory in the final two races?
“Yes absolutely. As a racer, it is always my top priority to fight for the victory at each event. Sometimes we have problems like we had in Silverstone but in every race of the season we have proven our car to be among the quickest in LMP2. We have some great podiums to our name so far but the victory has eluded us so far, even if our pace has often been on a winning level. I am determined to put that right at Petit Le Mans or in China and to clinch the ILMC LMP2 championship in a fitting style.”
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