Nissan Delta Wing Le Mans Testing Cut Short After Accident
The Garage 56 spot is reserved at Le Mans for experimental technology, and this year it will be filled by the Nissan Delta Wing experimental race car, which is undergoing testing on the Le Mans race course to prepare for this weekends race.
A lap time of 3 minutes, 42.612 seconds was the fastest loop of the track for the Delta Wing, a time which the drivers and engineers were confident they could best. Unfortunately, driver Michael Krumm made a mistake on the Tertre Rouge and struck a curb, causing the on-board fire extinguisher to activate on the car, also disabling all of the electronic systems. The car was not allowed to return to the pits to be repaired, ending its day after the accident.
Night time testing will resume tonight, when all three Delta Wing racers taking their mandatory five laps in the dark.
“It is a terrible shame because I think we could have ended up at the top of the LMP2 class which is exactly where we are meant to be. It is very gratifying that the car has that type of performance and I know the team will all pull together and tomorrow we’ll get the guys qualified,” said Ben Bowlby, the concept originator.
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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I wonder if Nissan had faith in the project