LE MANS, FRANCE – The Nissan DeltaWing showed impressive pace in qualifying for the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France tonight however its assault on the timesheet was unfortunately "extinguished" early.
With German Michael Krumm at the wheel, the Nissan DeltaWing had already improved on its earlier practice session time to stop the clocks at 3 minutes, 42.612 seconds. Krumm was confident of breaking into the "30s" until the car's on-board fire extinguisher went off after striking a kerb at Tertre Rouge - simultaneously shutting down the car's electrical system.
The Nissan DeltaWing was brought back to parc ferme near the pits but race officials did not permit the car to be returned to the pit lane where the crew could have cleaned the car and returned it to track action.
During the earlier practice session, Japanese driver Satoshi Motoyama recorded the fastest time of the session at 3:43.576. Teammate Marino Franchitti also drove the car - becoming the first man to pilot the unique machine in an official session.
The Nissan DeltaWing is competing in this year's race after being invited to fill the "Garage 56" spot reserved for entries showcasing new technology previously unseen at Le Mans. The car features half the weight, half the horsepower, half the aerodyanic drag and half the fuel and tire consumption of a typical Le Mans prototype.
The project has pulled together the likes of concept originator Ben Bowlby; American Le Mans Series founder, Don Panoz; American racing legend and All American Racers founder, Dan Gurney; two-time ALMS championship-winning team owner, Duncan Dayton; concept patron and multiple Indy 500 and IndyCar championship winning team owner, Chip Ganassi; the world's leading tire manufacturer, Michelin and innovative auto manufacturer Nissan.
The car is powered by a 300 horsepower, 1.6 liter Nissan DIG-T engine and equipped with unique Michelin tires - the front tires being only four inches wide.
The Nissan DeltaWing team also welcomed the arrival tonight of members of Gurney's All American Racers organization who built the car in California. Led by AAR President, Justin Gurney, the AAR team has travelled to France to see the car race for the first time.
The team will have an additional four hours of qualifying tomorrow night from 7:00 to 9:00pm and 10:00pm to Midnight.
While tonight's session was cut short, Krumm, Franchitti and Motoyama will get the chance to complete their mandatory five laps at night during qualifying.
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