Klien Replaces Mailleux at Morand

With Franck Mailleux unable to find the necessary budget for the final two rounds of the season, Morand Racing announced Monday that Christian Klien will join the squad for the remainder of the European Le Mans Series season.

The ex-Formula 1 ace, who also served as a factory driver for Peugeot and Aston Martin at Le Mans, will join Natacha Gachnang at the wheel of the Swiss squad’s Morgan-Nissan.

The duo, along with OnRoak Automotive development driver, Olivier Pla, recently completed a successful two-day tire test at Snetterton, which saw more than 150 laps logged in the LMP2 contender.

“The name of Christian came back many times due to his professional motorsport background and we decided to test him during a two days test in Snetterton,” said team manager Benoit Morand. “He showed most impressive abilities to adapt to a LMP2 car that he was just discovering.

“His feedback with our engineer together with his feeling with the car under rainy and dry conditions confirmed us that our decision was the right one and we are really pleased to welcome Christian for the last 2 rounds of the season.

“We have no doubt that, as a team, Natacha and Christian will be highly competitive in both qualification and race and we intend to finish the season with two good results including a victory.”

The Three Hours of Hungary is scheduled for Sept. 14.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John