Advert
Nissan DeltaWing fifth placel in the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans race
The Nissan DeltaWing has scored its first ever race finish, taking fifth place overall in the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans race , despite starting from the back of the grid of 42 endurance racers.
The Nissan DeltaWing had a relatively quiet race compared to the drama of the preceding days. The pioneering car was rather rudely ejected from Wednesday’s test session when it was struck by a GTC class Porsche, which also went on to hit the Championship-leading Muscle Milk car during the race itself. The ‘Attacked in Atlanta’ video has generated over 700,000 views on You Tube already, showing that the DeltaWing has lost none of its popularity since Le Mans.
The race was on to fix the car in time for further practice sessions on Thursday and the Nissan DeltaWing was soon back in action and ready for Petit Le Mans, which really is a mini-Le Mans 24 Hours on every level.
Despite qualifying with a time fast enough for the top 10, the DeltaWing was relegated to the back of the grid for the start of the race. The organisers deemed that the car should start from the back as it was an unclassified entry.
The DeltaWing breezed through the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans, taking fifth place overall in the tough 10-hour race.
Lucas Ordonez and Gunnar Jeannette delivered the first race finish for the car. Gunnar climbed from the 42nd place right up to eighth, then Lucas climbed to third.
The DeltaWing features half the weight, half the horsepower and half the aerodynamic drag of a typical Le Mans sportscar, so it was no surprise that Gunnar completed a quadruple stint without changing tyres.
Read more about the Nissan DeltaWing:
Nissan becomes founding partner in DeltaWing project
