[h=2]IMSA: DeltaWing cancels Rolex 24 return[/h] Marshall Pruett (words and image)

The DeltaWing DWC13 will not contest its final race at January's Rolex 24 at Daytona. Although the radical Prototype could be used at other sports car events in the future, its use in IMSA- and FIA-sanctioned endurance competition has likely come to an end.


IMSA made a special exception for the Don Panoz-owned and developed DWC13 to participate in the Rolex 24 as a farewell to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, which is transitioning to a new P2-based specification in 2017, but the team confirmed it will not enter the lightweight coupe in the event.

"The DeltaWing is not going to be racing in the 2017 Rolex 24," DeltaWing communications director Gary Fong told RACER. "Don decided it's best to refocus DeltaWing's resources on other projects within the company."

In light of Panoz's decision to build GT4 versions of his Avezzano road car, and suggestions the DWC13 would struggle to set competitive lap times against the new and much faster 2017 Daytona Prototype internationals and WEC P2s that will race at Daytona, the call to park the DeltaWing means its swansong came at October's Petit Le Mans.

Drivers Katherine Legge, Sean Rayhall, and Andy Meyrick finished eighth in the No.0 DeltaWing Racing entry at the 10-hour season finale, and although the turbocharged Elan-powered car did not earn any pole positions or wins during its time in the WeatherTech Championship, the program became increasingly competitive under the direction of former team manager Tim Keene.

 

FormulaFox No1kiwi
Nobody copied it because it wasn't legal anywhere else. Even where it WAS legal, it was racing under special approval that other groups were unlikely to get because it was the result of the program being run by the company that was the owner of the series when it first came about, and then became an important partner in the series it was then allowed in.Also, the concept WAS copied - and the company that copied it got SUED over doing so. (and the copy failed because they put a junk powerplant in it)
Put simply, nobody else was going to be ALLOWED to run it.
The concept, no matter how much you want to paint it as such, was neither flawed nor a failure. It achieved it's goals - it ran competitive speeds on half the weight, half the power, and(a little over) half the fuel.

 

Mark
I think you have it right. At times, the DeltaWing was the fastest car on the track. I recall last year's Daytona and the great drive to the front that Katherine put in, but the car was fragile and a lot of that was due to insufficient development. In any case it was always fun to see it on track, looking different and being different. After all, it was a prototype and its entire existence was in the spirit of new and different "prototypical" thinking. Don Panoz deserves great credit for sticking with it and giving it all he had.

 

Allen Lopez @ TheWrapDepartment
I love the Car, the Team and its presence on the track. Racing is about inovation and thinking out of the box. The DW certainly did that. I will especially hate Not seeing it cut through turns and fly down the straights.
I was responsible for applying the Chrome Wraps and graphics to them for the 1st & 2nd seasons. Have seen the team perform miracles to finish a race after sometimes catastrophic obstacals.
Definitely going to miss it, but looking forward to what Dr. Panoz has in store next.

 

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