DeltaWing Surprises Again, Finishing Petit Le Mans in 6th

After starting dead last in the 42-car field of Saturday?s Petit Le Mans at the Road Atlanta racetrack, the Nissan DeltaWing finally completed its first race, finishing an impressive sixth overall.?

Although the prototype racer was shunted and rolled by a Porsche during a testing session before the race, bringing up more questions about whether the DeltaWing could be a serious competitive racecar, the team was able to repair the car in time for qualifying on Friday. However, despite driver Gunnar Jeannette qualifying 10th overall amid a pack of LMP2-class racers with twice the power, the Batmobile-like racer was forced to start at the back of the pack because it didn't fit in any of the race's normal categories.

But the less-than-ideal starting position only served to showcase just how fast a car with half the weight and half the aerodynamic drag of its competitors can be. With new orange side mirrors for added visibility, the DeltaWing surged from 42nd to 10th in the first 37 minutes of the race, despite being plagued by traffic and getting stuck on the wrong side of safety cars early on. After completing a total of 388 laps, the racer finished sixth overall?just two laps shy of the next-fastest LMP2 car. (Coincidentally, the same Green Hornet Racing Porsche that took out Jeannette in testing also managed to take out the overall leader an hour into the race.)

The DeltaWing probably won?t get a second shot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. This year it was allowed in as the single prototype entry, but in 2013 that spot is reserved for the hydrogen fuel cell-powered GreenGT H2; DeltaWing would have to be invited back based upon its racing accomplishments. At the very least, DeltaWing enthusiasts can rejoice that car will be allowed to continue proving itself on the track: Earlier this month, the IMSA, the sanctioning body for the American Le Mans Series, announced the car will be competing as a classified racer for the 2013 ALMS season.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/deltawing-finishes-sixth-in-petit-le-mans-13989001?src=rss