2013-16 DeltaWing DWC13

Ganassi Racing Technical Director Ben Bowlby initially designed the DeltaWing as a successor to the outdated IndyCar chassis. The car was designed to reduce aerodynamic drag. Without wings, the vehicle could use a smaller and lighter engine that would consume less fuel.

When IndyCar organizers chose to remain with the spec racing formula, Bowlby pursued the possibility of the DeltaWing competing in sports car racing. With the help of Don Panoz, they presented their case to the ACO (Automobile Club de l'Ouest). Impressed, the ACO offered them a position in "Garage 56," a spot in the 24 Hours of Le Mans created for experimental vehicles. With the ACO's endorsement, they began building the new car.

Panoz took on the managing director role to get the project underway. Dan Gurney's All American Racers (AAR) built the car and Duncan Dayton's Highcroft Racing would provide the resources to race the DeltaWing.

Bowlby's original design needed some modifications. A single front wheel was replaced with two small tires, and the car became a two-seater. The team also needed partners. AAR was responsible for assembling the car, Nissan Europe provided the 1.6-liter Nissan DIC-T (direct-injection gasoline turbocharged) 4-cylinder racing engine, and Michelin produced the tires. Other partners included EMCO Gears and Performance Friction Brakes.

The DeltaWing LM12 was completed for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Drivers selected for the race were Marino Franchitti, Michael Krum and Satoshi Motoyama. The team met the first hurdle: to achieve the 3:45 lap speed required by the ACO to make the race. They qualified with a time of 3:42:612. Unfortunately, after six hours and 15 minutes into the race, the Toyota prototype forced Motoyama off the track and crashed. Attempts to repair the car were unsuccessful. The next event for the DeltaWing LM12 was the American Le Mans Series season finale at Road Atlanta. Petit Le Mans would give the team another chance to test the car. Drivers Gunnar Jeannette and Lucas Ordoñez finished fifth overall.

In February 2013, it was announced that DeltaWing Racing Cars would join the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Dave Price managed the team, which was engineered by DeltaWing co-designer Simon Marshall.

There was a change of plan for the new season. Rather than the car being built to P2 rules, it was constructed to P1 specifications. The original partners Nissan and Michelin were replaced with Bridgestone tires and Elan Technologies. With the changes came a new name for the car – DeltaWing DWC13.

The chassis is a FIA homologated carbon fiber monocoque. The front and rear suspensions are double-wishbone, unequal length, with coil-over shock units to lower wishbones. The BBS 1-piece forge magnesium front and rear wheels are 15 inches in diameter. However, the front wheels are 4 inches wide and 12.5 inches on the rear. Braking is accomplished using vented PFC Carbon discs with four-pot aluminum monoblock calipers. The car has an overall length of 183 inches and weighs 1,360 lbs. without the driver and fuel. The weight distribution is 27% front and 73% rear.

The DeltaWing was initially powered by a 1.6-liter Nissan DIC-T motor. However, in 2013, the team produced an in-house engine. The Elan Technologies 4-cylinder is made from a billet block. It uses a Mazda MZR direct injection cylinder head and a Borg-Warner 6758 turbocharger. The motor weighs 80kg. The displacement is 2.0 liters, producing 350 horsepower at 6,800 rpm using VP 100 Octane E10 fuel. The top speed is 200 mph. Bolted to the motor is a six-speed EMCO EGB66 gearbox with a pneumatic paddle shift.

DELTAWING DWC13	SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE	4 cylinder 1.9-litre Élan Technologies (Direct Injection Gasoline Turbo)
TRANSMISSION	6-speed EMCO EGB66 sequential gearbox with pneumatic paddle shift
CLUTCH	Tilton 3-Plate Carbon-Carbon
Driveline	Limited slip differential - Drive Shafts: equal length tripod-jointed half shafts
CHASSIS	Crash tested,FIA homologated carbon fiber monocoque
FRONT SUSPENSION	Double-wishbone, unequal length, with coil over shock units to lower wishbones
REAR SUSPENSION	Double-wishbone, unequal length, with pushrod/rocker actuation of coil over shock units
ANTI-ROLL BARS	Front: None - Rear: Blade-type
STEERING	Bevel quadrant steering box without power assist
WHEELS	BBS 1 piece forged magnesium: Front: 15 inch diameter, 4 inches wide - Rear: 15 inch diameter, 12.5 inches wide
BRAKES	Vented PFC Carbon discs with 4-pot aluminum monoblock calipers
FRONT ROTORS	11 inch diameter - 0.71 inches thick
REAR ROTORS	12.6 inch diameter - 0.98 inches thick
FUEL TANK	14 gallons - FIA FT3-specification gasoline fuel cell
WEIGHT	1360 lbs without fuel or driver
WHEELBASE	120 inches
FRONT TRACK	23.6 inches
REAR TRACK	68.5 inches
OVERALL LENGTH	183 inches
FRONT WIDTH	29.9 inches
REAR WITH	81.9 inches
HEIGHT	40.6 inches

Race one of the 2013 ALMS season was held at Sebring International Raceway. The DeltaWing was shared by Andy Meyrick, Olivier Pla and Katherine Legge. Pla handled the qualifying duties and was tens of seconds slower than the pole-winning Audi R18 e-tron Quattro driven by Marcel Fassler. The car started fifteenth overall and retired with an engine failure after just nine laps. After Sebring's disappointment, the team tested at Buttonwillow Raceway. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Meyrick qualified fifteenth overall. However, he and Legge failed to finish, due to a terminal electric issue.

The next event was held at Lime Rock Park. Meyrick qualified twelfth overall and third in P1 – there were just three entries in the class. He was partnered with Legge, and the duo finished 82 laps behind the overall and category winners. Once again, the team was classified as non-finishers. The fifth round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series was conducted at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The P1 category continued to be dominated by the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD ARX-03a of Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr. It was another disappointing outing for DeltaWing Racing Cars, they finished last.

Next up was Road America, and the DeltaWing team would see their efforts rewarded. Legge qualified fourth overall and earned the team's first podium result along with Meyrick. As initially planned, DeltaWing Racing Cars passed on the Baltimore race. Circuit of the Americas was the team's sixth event of 2013. They debuted the coupe version of the DWC13. Meyrick qualified third overall and in the P1 category. However, reliability was still an issue, and the car retired with a gearbox issue but earned a third-place finish, as they completed 70% of the race. Virginia International Raceway was the site of the penultimate round. An alternator belt problem ended the team's race early.

The finale took place on the team's home track, Road Atlanta, for the 16th running of Petit Le Mans. Unfortunately, they would not achieve the same level of success they enjoyed in 2012. Meryrick was gridded fifteenth for the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans contest. He was 6.952 seconds slower than the pole-winning Rebellion Racing Lola B12/60 driven by Neel Jani. The season ended with another retirement, the gearbox failed. They were classified thirty-first in a field of thirty-four entries. On the 'bright side,' Meyrick and Legge each led eight laps. Legge became the first woman to lead an ALMS race overall.

DeltaWing Racing Cars was fourth in the final P1 team standings. In the eight rounds, the team retired six times, but the highlights included two third-place results (Road America and Circuit of the Americas). They were 136 markers behind the championship-winning Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.

**2013 - SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Olivier Pla Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	9	DNF	-

**2013 - MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	104	DNF	-

**2013 - LIME ROCK PARK**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	102	DNF	-

**2013 - CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	16	DNF	-

**2013 - ROAD AMERICA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	67	5	3

**2013 - CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	66	DNF	3

**2013 - VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	66	DNF	-

**2013 - ROAD ATLANTA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2013	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P1	66	DNF	-

2014 saw the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Car Series merge into the new United SportsCar Championship. With the combined series came new classes. The Grand Am’s Daytona Prototype category and the P1 and P2 classes were combined to create Prototype (P). The schedule consisted of thirteen rounds. Once again, DeltaWing Racing Cars ran a limited schedule. The team entered the DeltaWing DWC13, the coupe version they successfully debuted last season at Circuit of the Americas.

DeltaWing Racing cars entered the first event of the 2014 season at Daytona International Speedway with drivers Andy Meyrick, Katherine Legge, Alexander Rossi and Gabby Chaves. The vehicle was gridded seventh for the 52nd Rolex 24. Unfortunately, a transmission problem would eliminate the car on lap 288. The next event was staged at Sebring International Raceway. Sharing the DWC13 at Sebring were series regulars Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge, who were joined by Gabby Chaves. The team started in the fourteenth position, but an accident led to an early retirement.

DeltaWing Race Cars skipped Long Beach and rejoined the series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It was still an uphill battle for the team. Legge qualified eleventh overall and ninth in the Prototype category. Legge and Meyrick completed sixty-six laps, which wasn’t enough to be classified as finishers. In May, Tim Keene was appointed the new team manager. After passing on Belle Isle and Kansas, the team entered round seven at Watkins Glen International. Once again Legge performed the qualifying duties and was gridded tenth for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. This time, she shared the car with Chaves. Six hours of racing was too optimistic, and once again, their race ended with a gearbox problem.

The team experienced the most significant setback of the year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. A broken fuel filter sparked a fire in the cockpit, which damaged the carbon fiber chassis beyond any fixes that could be performed at the track. Meyrick suffered slight burns. The team headed back to Braselton, Georgia to complete extensive repairs. After missing Indianapolis, the team was ready for Road America. Meyrick was the tenth fastest in qualifying. For the first time this season, the team saw the checker flag. Legge and Meryrick finished on the lead lap and collected an eighth overall and a sixth in class.

The team’s last race of the season was the finale at Road Atlanta. After the successful result of Road America, it appeared that the team had ‘turned a corner.’ Road Atlanta was also the site of DeltaWing Racing Car’s initial success in 2012. Legge and Meyrick were once again joined by Gabby Chaves. Legge qualified fifth, and the trio was in fourth place at the conclusion of the contest – albeit five laps behind the class-winning Wayne Taylor Racing Dallara Corvette DP piloted by Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor, and Max Angelelli.

DeltaWing Racing Cars finished twelfth in the final team standings, with their best result being fourth place in the finale at Road Atlanta. Legge was nineteenth in the driver’s championship, and Meyrick was classified twenty-first as the result of not entering Watkins Glen.

**2014 - DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge Alexander Rossi Gabby Chaves	P	288	DNF	-

**2014 - SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Gabby Chaves Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P	185	DNF	-

**2014 - MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P	66	DNF	-

**2014 - WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P	66	DNF	-

**2014 - CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P	-	DNS	-

**2014 - ROAD AMERICA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge	P	61	8	6

**2014 - ROAD ATLANTA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2014	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge Gabby Chaves	P	395	4	4

2015 began with a new driver line-up at DeltaWing Racing Cars. Katherine Legge returned to compete full-time and was joined by Memo Rojas. Andy Meyrick was added to the team for Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Gabby Chaves was recruited for Daytona. The 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship kicked off with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. Chaves qualified for the DeltaWing DWC13 and was gridded fifth for the twenty-four-hour contest. Unfortunately, the car was the first to retire after forty-two laps when the transmission failed.

Next on the calendar was the 63rd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. The team’s newest member, Memo Rojas, qualified the car in the ninth position. Disappointment again, as they were the third team to retire from the event this time. The car was parked after sixty laps. Round three of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship was held at the Long Beach street circuit, this was the team’s first visit to the track. Rojas was responsible for qualifying for the DeltaWing DWC13 and was the seventh fastest. For the second time in just three races, they were the first to retire.

Katherine Legge qualified sixth fastest when the series visited Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Despite the successful qualifying effort, the team retired with exhaust and brake issues. After skipping Belle Isle, they returned to Watkins Glen. Inclement weather canceled the qualifying session, and the driver’s points set the grid. Legge and Rojas were gridded eighth for the race. Halfway through the contest, the team encountered a shifting problem and parked the car. DeltaWings Racing Cars returned to last season’s biggest disaster – a fire that required the vehicle to be rebuilt and miss a round. Legge started seventh at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and the pair collected their first finish of 2015, an eighth in class.

At Road America, Legge and Rojas finished one lap behind the winners, Eric Curran and Dane Cameron, in sixth place. The next event was at Circuit of the Americas. The team finished their third consecutive race with a seventh in class and eleventh overall. The season ended at Road Atlanta with the running of Petit Le Mans. Legge, Meyrick and Memo Rojas were the driver line-up for the 1,000-mile contest. In two practice sessions, the DeltaWing finished in the top three. However, they couldn’t maintain that pace in qualifying and were gridded twenty-second for the race. Unfortunately, an accident on lap 133 caused the team to retire.

The DeltaWing Racing team finished eighth in the overall Prototype standings. They skipped Belle Isle and retired from six events. Their best result was a sixth in class at Road America. The team’s primary drivers, Katherine Legge and Memo Rojas, were eighth in the Drivers Championship.

**2015 - DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge Memo Rojas Gabby Chaves	P	42	DNF	-

**2015 - SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Gabby Chaves Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	60	DNF	-

**2015 - LONG BEACH**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	9	DNF	-

**2015 - MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	38	DNF	-

**2015 - WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	95	DNF	-

**2015 - CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT PARK**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	125	9	8

**2015 - ROAD AMERICA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	75	6	6

**2015 - CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Memo Rojas Katherine Legge	P	72	11	7

**2015 - ROAD ATLANTA**
YEAR	ENTRANT	NO.	DRIVER	CLASS	LAPS	POS.	CLASS POS.
2015	DeltaWing	0	Andy Meyrick Katherine Legge Memo Rojas	P	133	DNF	-

As had become the custom with DeltaWing Racing Cars, the driver line-up changed for the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Katherine Legge returned to the team full-time. Sean Rayhall and Andy Meyrick were added to the mix. Andreas Wirth and Gabby Chaves were each added for a single event.

The 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opened at Daytona International Speedway. The team was comprised of Legge, Rayhall, Meyrick, and Wirth. They did not participate in the wet qualifying session. Legge and Meyrick led a combined total of twenty-nine laps before the car was eliminated from the race on lap 119 due to a crash. The next event was the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. At Sebring International Raceway, Legge, Rayhall, and Meyrick handled the driving duties. Meyrick was the eleventh fastest in the qualifying session. Once again, the team retired. This time, it was a result of a steering problem.

Meyrick qualified the DeltaWing at Long Beach and was sixth fastest. Paired with Meyrick was Legge. They retired again as the result of an engine failure. Race five was at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team's newcomer Sean Rayhall qualified the DeltaWing sixth fastest. Rayhall moved into the lead for three laps during a round of pit stops. He and Legge completed their first contest of the season with a fifth-place finish. The DeltaWing Racing team didn't enter the Belle Isle event. However, Legge shared a Michael Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 with Oswaldo Negri, Jr. and finished fifth in the Prototype category.

DeltaWing Racing cars rejoined the series at Watkins Glen International with drivers Legge, Rayhall and Gabby Chaves. Legge was the tenth fastest in the qualifying session. The trio finished another race, albeit eleven laps behind the winning Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype, with a seventh-place result in the Prototype category. Next on the schedule was Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and this time, the drivers were Legge and Rayhall. They were off the pace, with Legge qualifying fourteenth overall, but collected another seventh-place result.

Next, the series stopped at Road America. The track favoured the DeltaWing as they had never retired at this circuit. Rayhall was seventh fastest in the qualifying session. He and Legge couldn't maintain the leaders' speed and finished seventh in class. The penultimate race in the championship was at Circuit of the Americas. Once again, Rayhall was picked to qualify the car. Starting sixth, he and Legge finished eighth overall and fifth in class. Legge and Rayhall were joined by Andy Meyrick in the finale at Road Atlanta. The team was gridded eighth for the last race of 2016. Unfortunately, they retired on lap 169 with a broken timing chain.

The 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar season ended with Legge finishing tenth in the drivers' championship and Rayhall eleventh. Meyrick was seventeenth in points after scoring points in four events. The DeltaWing Racing team finished eighth in the team championship, with their best results being fifth-place finishes at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Circuit of the Americas.

After the final event of 2016, all indications were that DeltaWing Racing Cars was preparing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. However, changes to the regulations would make it difficult for the car to compete.

On February 15, 2017, DeltaWing Coupe chassis #001 was put up for sale for $375,000. Chassis #002 was destroyed at the Daytona Rolex 24, and #003 is part of the Panoz Museum Collection.