[20-07-2013]
FRANCK MAILLEUX EXTENDS ELMS PODIUM RUN AS MORAND RACING STORMS TO THIRD IN AUSTRIA
 French endurance ace Franck Mailleux has claimed a sensational podium in today’s 3 Hours of Red Bull Ring in Austria as the Morand Racing team enjoyed a trouble-free race to take third at the chequered flag.
Franck had qualified the Morand Racing Morgan Judd LMP2 car in fourth place earlier in the day and he made a great start in the opening laps to gain one place to run in third as the race settled down.
With plenty of action around the 4.326km circuit in the opening hour, Franck completed an extremely competitive double stint which allowed the team to position themselves firmly in the podium places. His first scheduled stop around the 31 lap mark saw him drop a place to fourth but he was able to jump back up to third spot when the lead car was brought in for a 30s stop and go penalty.
By the race’s halfway point, and thanks to his performance, Franck handed over to his team-mate Natacha Gachnang in second position overall battling hard. Although Natacha was unable to fend off her closest challenger, she fought hard and drove a strong double stint to retain a top three place until the end of the race to secure Morand Racing’s second podium of the ELMS championship following a third place finish at Imola in May.
The result sees the team jump up to fifth in the overall championship and cements Morand Racing’s status as podium challengers at each circuit on the ELMS calendar, something the team will continue to build on in time for the next race at Hungary in September.
Franck Mailleux commented: “I am really pleased with this excellent result. We came here confident in our package, the car and the Dunlop tyres, and our competitiveness was confirmed with today’s podium result. We had a decent qualifying this morning and although I was sure a top three place was possible, we still found ourselves in fourth and ready to mount a podium challenge. The start of the race was great and I was happy with the responsiveness and pace of the Morgan Judd LMP2 and Dunlop tyres. The traffic was difficult because of so many cars on a short track so it was important to keep focussed. Once Natacha took over at halfway, we were in second place but in such a closely fought field it was difficult to maintain that place but she fought incredibly hard to keep a great third place. We knew from the first race of the season at Silverstone that we have the pace required for the podium in this tough series and to be able to add another podium to our one from Imola is a great reward for the work of the whole team. We can head into the summer break in buoyant mood and preparing for when ELMS resumes in September.”
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