Franck Mailleux is hoping to put the disappointment of Fuji behind him as the World Endurance Championship continues its Asian tour at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend, the final round of the 2012 season. 

Franck and the SIgnatech-Nissan LMP2 squad endured a difficult 6 Hours of Fuji Speedway as the team was plagued by an unusual lack of pace. The team has since studied its data from Japan in a bid to bounce back for the final race of the year at Shanghai, another new track for the team.

The Nissan-powered Oreca 03 #23 car has already demonstrated its true pace with a sensational second place in LMP2 just last month in Bahrain so the team knows it has the potential to compete with the best in class.

Quick Q+A with Franck Mailleux

What conclusions have you and the team been able to draw from Fuji?

“There is no escaping from the fact that Japan was a very difficult race for us. The car lacked pace from the start of the race and we were not able to fight in the front where we expect to be. We have since had deep discussions as a team to understand what happened. Fuji was a particular circuit where car set-up is concerned so we expect an entirely new challenge at Shanghai, so hopefully we can fight back.”

Were there any positives to take away from that race?

“There are always lessons to be learned in these competitive WEC events but you typically learn more when you experience difficulties like we had in Fuji. The team worked incredibly well considering the number of issues we faced and that is the positive we take away. Only when you work as a team can you truly benefit in such tough circumstances and we have always shown we work well together.”

Now, it’s Shanghai…what are your thoughts about this race?

“We raced in China last year and it brings back fantastic memories for me and the team as we were already LMP2 champions heading into the Zhuhai race and we managed to secure class victory which was incredible. This year, we move to Shanghai which is a new track for endurance racing, so it will be another step into the unknown. It looks to be another technically complex circuit layout, which I like a lot, but we have our usual practice programme to get the car into good shape for the race. As we saw in Fuji, race set-up work is critical for a competitive race.”

Is it possible to set any targets for the race?

“Regardless of the circuit, we always strive to achieve our best and to fight for the podium. It would be a nice way to end the season if we could get another podium. It’s been a tough season for us but we remain convinced about the performance of our car, our team and our overall package, including the support we have from our sponsors and my own backers, Sojasun. We will see how things go in the first two 90-minute practice sessions on Friday and just stick to our own game plan, taking everything as it comes. It will be another exciting and interesting event, I’m sure.”