Photo : Sebastien BASSANI - ACO/ NIKON

It caused a sensation at the 80th '24 Heures du Mans', and now the Nissan DeltaWing will race at the fourteenth Petit Le Mans on the 20th of October. Just as in La Sarthe, it runs outside classification, as a new technology prototype that does not comply with current technical regulations. The DeltaWing and Petit Le Mans have one thing in common: Don Panoz.

The participation of the Nissan DeltaWing at Petit Le Mans will also be to gather information to establish technical equivalence for admission into the American Le Mans Series 2013. The Nissan DeltaWing has half the power and weight, but showed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that it was on the pace of the LM P2 prototypes. A an outlook that pleases Don Panoz, founder of the project with designer Ben Bowlby and Dan Gurney, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1967.

Are you looking forward to seeing the Nissan DeltaWing race at Petit Le Mans this week?
Don Panoz: "Given the fact the car was born here in the US, I’m very excited to see it make its second race start here at Petit Le Mans. I founded this race back in 1998 and have been thrilled to see it become one of the biggest sportscar races in the world. To now have such a unique car compete in Petit Le Mans is a huge thrill. I know ticket sales really stepped up when the announcement was made."

Could we see additional cars on the track next year?
"It was obviously very difficult for a potential customer to purchase a car without knowing where they could race it. Now we know the car can compete for wins and championships, the game has changed quite significantly. As I mentioned at the recent announcement in Daytona about the merger between ALMS and Grand-AM, we want to ensure P2 machines, Daytona Prototypes and the DeltaWing have the opportunity to compete together in 2014."

It will be Gunnar Jeannette and Lucas Ordonez, driving the Nissan DeltaWing at Petit Le Mans on the 20th of October. At the '24 Heures du Mans' it was driven by Marino Franchitti, Michael Krumm and Satoshi Motoyama.

For more information on the Nissan DeltaWing official website.

Jean-Philippe Doret
(Quotes from Highcroft Racing press information)

Photo : CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES (LE MANS, SARTHE), 24 HEURES DU MANS, RACE, 16th JUNE 2012. After a race cut-short in La Sarthe, the Nissan DeltaWing will be a big attraction at Petit Le Mans.