[22-05-2013]
FRANCK MAILLEUX BOOSTED BY IMOLA PODIUM AND START TO 2013 SEASON
 Franck Mailleux scored his first podium of the season at last weekend’s 3 Hours of Imola race as the Morand Racing team continued their impressive performance from the opening round of the season in which they confidently led.
Franck was able to translate sixth place on the starting grid into a comfortable third place in the race thanks to some sublime driving around the Autodromo Dino e Enzo Ferrari, negotiating tricky traffic and opening the podium account for the team with the Morand Racing Morgan Judd LMP2 car.
The third place result, following on from the team’s eye-opening performance at Silverstone, will set high expectations for a podium challenge at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month.
Quick Q+A with Franck Mailleux
Franck, were you pleased to score third place at Imola?
“It’s always a great feeling to stand on the podium against tough competition but it was particularly special to score my first podium with Morand Racing, with whom I have only recently started to work. It was a busy race weekend but in the end the performance of the Morgan Judd LMP2, Dunlop tyres and the team shone through and we were able to battle for the podium. I had a positive, competitive double stint in the first half of the race, getting us up into third place, before handing over to Natacha, who was able to maintain our place.”
What challenges did you face over the course of the weekend?
“The European Le Mans Series is a competitive series and we have to compete against some tough competition so we have to make sure that we race at the peak of our ability. Free practice was held in mixed weather conditions and I wasn’t able to do a pre-qualifying run on new tyres in Friday afternoon’s practice session because of a red flag. That had a knock-on effect to qualifying itself and I wasn’t able to get a clean lap. However, even starting from sixth, I knew my race pace would be good, and so it proved.”
What’s next on the schedule for you?
“Our attention now turns to the famous Le Mans 24 Hours and all the important preparation that has to go into that legendary event. The next big test will be 9 June for the official test day at the La Sarthe track. We will face huge competition for this event, as every year, so we have to make sure we plan carefully and look at every aspect of the car’s performance. Le Mans is an exciting and emotional event for us drivers and I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve.”
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