French racer Franck Mailleux has today confirmed his participation in the 2012 World Endurance Championship with Signatech-Nissan. Franck will be taking part in the LMP2 category of the new WEC together with the team as reigning LMP2 champions of last season’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC). 

Franck’s name first appeared on the official entry list for the 2012 World Endurance Championship earlier this month but contractual details have only just been finalised with Franck set to join a new look driver line-up at the Signatech-Nissan squad alongside Jordan Tresson and Olivier Lombard.

The team will contest all eight races in the WEC series which comprises the 12 Hours of Sebring, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as Six Hour races in Spa, Silverstone, Sao Paulo, Bahrain, Fuji and Shanghai.

Franck will once again find himself in the cockpit of the championship-winning Signatech-Nissan Oreca 03 with Dunlop tyres, aiming to defend control of LMP2 with an even more competitive line up. The team is aiming to fight for LMP2 victory at each race, but especially the Le Mans 24 Hours race at which they secured a podium finish in 2011.

The 2012 championship will mark Franck’s fourth consecutive season with Signature in endurance racing, having spent two seasons contesting LMP1 before switching to Nissan power for LMP2 for last year’s championship-winning season. With such strong bonds, it is unsurprising that Franck and the team are ready to begin the new WEC fight with testing in preparation for Sebring taking place next week.

The Sebring 12 Hours will take place on Saturday 17 March with official pre-event testing taking place at the American circuit earlier in the week.

Franck Mailleux said: “I am delighted to be able to continue my endurance career with Signatech-Nissan. We have shared a lot of important memories together, but none greater than our championship success last season in ILMC. This will give us a very solid foundation from which we can mount our challenge for the 2012 WEC title. We want to be in a position to fight for victory at each round of the series from Sebring onwards but most importantly to aim for glory at Le Mans, which still remains the pinnacle of the endurance racing calendar. I am looking forward to working with the team and my new team-mates Jordan and Olivier to get the best out of ourselves and the Signatech-Nissan Oreca 03 which I know so well from last year. I am also proud to have the continued support of my long-term partners Sojasun with whom I am thrilled to be racing again in 2012. This team is like a second family to me, so I am ready to get going and to begin our preparations for Sebring. It’s going to be a fun and exciting season against some tremendous competition.”

Signatech-Nissan Team Principal Philippe Sinault added: “2011 was a great season and we are able to take part in the 2012 WEC together with Nissan who give us another wonderful opportunity to shine. We have an even more competitive field this year with nine LMP2 cars confirmed in WEC and 18 in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The whole team is delighted to have Franck back with us. Together we are like a family and we look forward to adding more happy memories to our experiences together.”