Franck Mailleux was unable to make much of an impression in this weekend’s Dubai 24 Hours after the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 was forced to retire from the race in the early stages. 

Franck, lining up in a team of Nissan champions along with Alex Buncombe and Michael Krumm, was able to complete just one stint in the race, but contact made with another car during Krumm’s first stint led to a series of technical problems that proved ultimately too much for the new car.

After the initial contact, the team brought the car in to check the suspension for damage and for a precautionary tyre change. The car pitted again to cure an issue with the steering but Alex Buncombe reported a vibration that turned out to be a damaged front splitter mounting and damaged radiator. Although the team took time to fix these issues, it was decided to retire the car when the earlier radiator damage caused cooling issues.

From his limited time in the car in practice and his solitary stint in the race, Franck was able to get a good feeling from the car and gave a positive report on the car’s outright pace, competitiveness and handling.

It was Franck’s first time driving at the Dubai Autodrome and his first race with the new GT3, so even though the race was short-lived, Franck was still able to gather a lot of valuable experience with the car and with the Nissan team.  

Franck Mailleux said: “It has been a real honour for me to have been part of the Nissan team at this week’s Dubai 24 Hours. To be selected to represent such a tremendous manufacturer is a privilege and I think we can a good account of ourselves and the new GT-R Nismo GT3 car. Unfortunately, the race did not turn out in our favour. During Michael’s first stint, he was the innocent victim of a coming together with another car and the damage sustained in that proved too much. The team did a great job to get the car back out on track, working with absolute professionalism, so it was a real shame that we couldn’t finish the race. It is even more disappointing because we had good pace and I found the car a pleasure to drive. I would obviously have liked more time in race conditions, but it is clear that the car has a lot of potential. This race has been a positive experience for me personally and it’s good to get 2012 started; I am now ready for more race action for the rest of the year and hope to announce my plans for the coming year soon. For now, though, I would like to thank once again all of Nissan for giving me this opportunity and to my team-mates for their hard work. Congratulations also to the Nissan GT Academy team for scoring a class podium today.”