Franck Mailleux: “Finding the rhythm again after almost a year”

Franck Mailleux, you are back at Glickenhaus almost a year after your last race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. How do you feel ?

I am happy to see the team again, Olivier Pla and Romain Dumas. I felt good in the car. The pleasure was immediate, especially on a circuit like Spa with some legendary curves and the Raidillon. These are always passages that I like.

Was it important for you to race before the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Very important. We had to get back into rhythm after almost a year. This cannot be forgotten, but there are automatisms. On a 24-hour race and in the week before, you get tired. The idea is to find automatisms to protect the body and mind.

Especially since you don't have the opportunity to test ride with Glickenhaus...

We will never be at the team level like Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac or Ferrari who have already tested a lot and who will do so again between Spa and Le Mans. We do at our economic and sporting level. We are lucky to have a reliable car, we must focus on ourselves and prepare as we were able to do in 2021 and 2022 at our level. It is important to get back into the swing of things and seriously prepare for the 24 hours.

You finished on the podium at Le Mans last year. Do you think this is still achievable this season?

Le Mans remains Le Mans. It is an atypical circuit which will suit the qualities of the Glickenhaus a little better compared to what my colleagues were able to experience in Sebring or Portimao. Already here in Spa, we are a little more comfortable in the first and last sectors, but we do not have the same qualities as the others as soon as there are a little more corners. We will be a little closer at Le Mans, even if we will not be sufficiently efficient in terms of speed. In this week's tests alone, no one was spared from the problems while we did not have any difficulty with our reliability. At Le Mans, we will have to do our race seriously, hoping to have good reliability, make no mistakes and see what the others will experience over 24 hours. This will be our best chance.

It would seem that the future of the team WEC looks to be a little complicated after this season. If it does not continue, will you aim to find a Hypercar manufacturer for 2024?

We must distinguish between the Glickenhaus team and the WEC. Indeed, it is starting to be difficult economically to take on a full season, to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two cars. Glickenhaus is also GT and Jim will probably want to continue the adventure in competition at the Nürburgring, or even elsewhere in GT championships. It will be a pleasure to participate in this adventure in the years to come. For my part, I want to continue and experience these exceptional races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If opportunities in Hypercar arise, that would be a pleasure.

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