Highcroft's Deltawing *Update: granted ALMS 2013 full entry! *

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Sier_Pinski
I don't know why the rear wheels are not covered on the top. Wouldn't that bring a slight aerodynamic disadvantage?
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Apparently this is part of the design to slow the car down...Its very quick apparently and they dont want to embarass any established organisations...

prisonermonkeys
Evidently not. The entire car was designed to have the smallest drag co-efficient possible. If having bodywork over the rear wheels raised the co-efficient, then the DeltaWing would not have bodywork over the wheels.

Besides, it makes sense to have bodywork there. The face of a tyre is square, which makes it very inefficient aerodynamically. But by placing bodwork over the rear wheels, the designers of the DeltaWing can make air flow over that part of the car more efficiently. Which is the entire point of the car.
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Mt. Lynx
Actually the holes over the tyres are mandated by ACO rules. All prototypes have them.
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The deltawing does not have to have holes because it is not governed by any of the current ACO rules. Its running in a separate class and using "garage 56". Basically the parameter they looked at when building the car where to make it half the weight and power...Then they would massage everything else to place the car at a specific lap time in order to not ruffle feathers with the P1's and the P2's
 
I have no idea how credible this info is but I spotted the first hint of what happened during the DeltaWing Sebring tests in a dedicated thread within the autosport's "Technical" forum.

With due credit to the author, here's what he/she wrote here:

RDV
Member
Posts: 5,444
Joined: March 02



...this weeks test times at Sebring, after 12h race, Audi Hybrid 1'43.2, DW 1'53.8. Use of manual shift due to software issues between engine (blipper, cut), paddle shift software and gearbox, using plan B to get miles on it. Diff used at moment = fully open, torque steering not connected for same reason, too many software and component items to be tested, and as main objective is to develop tyres for Michelins second iteration on design and compounds it is running in KISS mode. If anything torque steering will calm down front end, it is too aggressive at moment, needs less caster and slower steering.
Biggest challenge will be to get car in 24h reliability mode...79 days to go, and many new features to be ironed out. Test driver Comas comments on Buttonwillow test.
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Now, let's compare the mentioned best laptimes with the qualifying best laptimes by category:

Code: 
[SIZE="4"][COLOR="Blue"]
LMP1	Lotterer	Audi R18	 1'45,820

LMP2	O. Pla         	Morgan       	 1'50,467

GTE Pro	G. Bruni  	F458 Italia	 1'58,427

GTE Am	Farnbacher	F458 Italia	 2'00,184[/COLOR][/SIZE]

And we get an understanding on where the "Wing" guys are ... close, but not quite there where they need to be in June (LMP2 pace)


Apparently they still have a lot to figure out, mainly in the gearbox and transmission areas of the car. Also, I think Le Mans will favour more this concept than Sebring. In any case ... they're very short of time now, April and May will go by at supersonic speed for the DeltaWing consortium.
 
DeltaWing tested yesterday at Snetterton. Wet weather and track. From multiple sources, including autosport and twitter feeds (from Franchitti and Nissan):

Looking around a bit I found some interesting pictures also. And an interesting article (as they usually are) from Mulsanne's Corner.

In short, I guess by now the consensus is that indeed the DeltaWing works or, art least, turns (in fact it seems it turns so much they had to dumb the steering down a bit). So now's the time to question everything else, including what useful purpose can such a design serve.

It's a progress ... I guess :D



PS - If any of you guys live close to Snetteron's track, just go there ;)
 
Some official pictures released. It wasn't just wet, it was diluvian out there :lol:

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_010.jpg

(exhaust fire, hope the bodywork isn't flammable :D )

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_008.jpg

(no exhaust in this side)

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_006.jpg

(where's the GoPro Cam???? we need wet onboards too !!! )
 
sumbrownkid
Even the author himself can't see the road car relevance.
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The author himself also admits in the abscence of any real evidence so far he's only playing devil's advocate, and offering his own opinions.

I agree with the sentiment later in the article. "Technology Transfer" these days is mostly marketing talk... also, running 24 hours at Le Mans in french weather is probably far less taxing than the testing proceedures any new tech fitted to a road car has to undergo before Joe Bloggs turns up at a showroom to buy an A3 because he saw a TDI sticker on the side of a race car...

... if they had to do homologation runs of LMP's on the other hand :trouble: :trouble:


edit: I wonder how those skinny front tyres perform in the wet.
 
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Hun200kmh
Some official pictures released. It wasn't just wet, it was diluvian out there :lol:

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_010.jpg

(exhaust fire, hope the bodywork isn't flammable :D )

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_008.jpg

(no exhaust in this side)

deltawing_snetterton_4_17_12_gal_006.jpg

(where's the GoPro Cam???? we need wet onboards too !!! )
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Pictures are not showing for me....
 
MatskiMonk
running 24 hours at Le Mans in french weather is probably far less taxing than the testing proceedures any new tech fitted to a road car has to undergo before Joe Bloggs turns up at a showroom to buy an A3 because he saw a TDI sticker on the side of a race car...

***

I wonder how those skinny front tyres perform in the wet.
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Given the million miles some VAG products have to do before production, I think an endurance race is a walk in the park. :D

-

Skinny tires should do okay in the wet. They hydroplane less than full width slicks.
 
Great new video from the DeltaWing crew. The arrival of the engine.





And this shot I saw today is an amazing one. Taken at Snetterton, apparently yesterday.

401632_10150714306053867_1555078775_n.jpg
 
Yep. Meanwhile, 3rd driver revealed, Formula Nippon (1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005) multi Champion, JGTC/SuperGT (2003, 2004, 2008) multi Champion ... Satoshi Motoyama

He has entered Le Mans twice, in 1998 (With the R390 all Gran Turismo players know) and 1999 (with the open cockpit R391).

In 1999 (epic year btw) they went up as far as 4th place until forced to DNF because of mechanical failure. Curiously, one of his his team mates in 1999 was also the current DeltaWing driver Michael Krumm.


2012_04_26_equipage-deltawing.jpg
 
I also saw Krumm and De La Rosa's names on the 1997 Toyota Castrol Supra from the premium GT5 dealership.
 
Hun200kmh
Great new video from the DeltaWing crew. The arrival of the engine.





And this shot I saw today is an amazing one. Taken at Snetterton, apparently yesterday.

401632_10150714306053867_1555078775_n.jpg
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Great pic but I have to say I still think that the narrow front track does raise an issue... what if the car gets a puncture? A tyre blowing and coming apart would not just disintegrate the actual wheelhub and arch but could in theory destory the entire suspension system and steering arms surely, due to how close the wheels are in relation to each other... granted though the wheels are smaller and the effect would be less than a normal wheel, but I still think that could be a shortfall.
 
Why does the ACO limit the car count to 56? The VLN series has 182 cars or so. I know the Nurburgring is a lot bigger than Le Mans, but I wonder why thy don't have 80 cars or something. Lack of funding in teams?
 
nitrorocks
Why does the ACO limit the car count to 56? The VLN series has 182 cars or so. I know the Nurburgring is a lot bigger than Le Mans, but I wonder why thy don't have 80 cars or something. Lack of funding in teams?
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56 pit garages.
 
nitrorocks
Why does the ACO limit the car count to 56? The VLN series has 182 cars or so. I know the Nurburgring is a lot bigger than Le Mans, but I wonder why thy don't have 80 cars or something. Lack of funding in teams?
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To enter the LM 24 is not easy and every year many teams' applications are refused. And there's always, in every class of cars, a list of stand-in entries for late withdrawals (like the one Dyson did this year).

I think the number of entrants has been the same for a very, very long time.

EDIT - Ever since the late 50's apparently, the grid has been fixed at 55 cars. The 56th pit appeared in 2010, as a normal one, but was in that same year announced that from 2011 on it would be reserved for "special" entries.

http://www.planetlemans.com/2010/06/02/aco-confirms-race-performance-as-56th-team/
 
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Dennisch
Will this silly vehicle be at Le Mans this year?
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I wouldn't call it silly, if no one thought outside the box and came up with something as radical as the Deltawing then the automobile and racing industry wouldn't be much different now then when it first started and wouldn't be very interesting, oh and would become boring very quick. I'm sure people viewed LMPs as weird looking at first, but look what they alone achieved all because somebody thought outside the box, took a chance, and wanted to try something just a little different. I for one an excited to see how the Deltawing will perform.
 
Earth
I thought Alex Gurney was a driver?

Im guessimg Nissan wanted their driver in there
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I think he just got to drive it in testing. I don't think he was ever going to be driving the car at Le Mans. 👍
 
Testing at Snetterton is apparently done, the team is now moving to "France" and "Spain" to try the car in other tracks.

Some pics here:
http://www.highcroftracing.com/galleries/snetterton-testing-april-26/

And a brief audio statement from Ben Bowlby here:
http://soundcloud.com/highcroft-racing/ben-bowlby-nissan-deltawing-1

I had some hard time to understand a word he says at around 1:18, it seemed "Arrogant" but it couldn't be and I finally understood he was saying "Aragon" (Spanish region, former kingdom of the Peninsula). This led me to try and find what "high speed-able" track he might be referring to and found THIS

So, dear neighbours from Spain, if any of you guys lives close to that track, Soon the DeltaWing will show up there.

(I was secretly hoping the team would come to Portugal, Estoril or Portimão, but apparently I didn't get lucky)

Time is running out. We are one month away from Test Day at La Sarthe (June 3rd)
 
I'm surprised you didn't know about Motorland Aragon before Hun, its quite a popular track for testing not to mention the motorbike and Formula Renault racing that regularly visits.
 

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