Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Nissan DeltaWing headed back into the fray, will race at Petit Le Mans [w/video]

Nissan DeltaWing race car - front dead-on view, studio image

The racing world has not seen the last of the DeltaWing. Nissan's dart-shaped moldbreaker was last seen at Le Mans in June, where the prototype racer was accidentally taken out of competition by a Toyota prototype. Driver Satoshi Motoyama famously tried in vain to resuscitate his damaged racer for 45 minutes, a struggle that has since been labeled by many as one of the most heroic and touching "agony of defeat" moments in motorsports history.

Addressing what it says is "unfinished business," Nissan has confirmed that GT Academy vet Lucas Ordonez and ALMS PC class champ Gunnar Jeannette will race the car at Petit Le Mans, the ALMS series finale, at Road Atlanta on October 17-20.

The Nismo team trio that fielded the DeltaWing at Le Mans Satoshi Motoyama, Marino Franchitti and Michael Krumm are apparently otherwise committed, so the driving duties for the 10-hour, 1,000-mile enduro will fall to Ordonez and Jeannette.

Better still, Nissan reports that the DeltaWing could return to race as part of the ALMS in 2013. As we previously reported, the ALMS and Grand-Am racing series are merging for 2014, and Nissan says "provision will be made" for the DeltaWing in the combined series new regulations, opening the door for it to compete for points.

To watch a video of Nissan talking about the DeltaWing's return to competition and check out the official press release, scroll down.

0 comments:

Post a Comment