Promising start ends early for DeltaWing - Speedway Digest

The Claro/TracFone DeltaWing Racing Cars team came out of the box swinging at the start of today’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, setting the early speed pace and battling among the leaders before transmission issues ended the day in the second hour.

The team, with drivers Andy Meyrick, Katherine Legge, Gabby Chaves and three-time Rolex 24 champion Memo Rojas were hopeful at the start of the endurance classic. The DeltaWing coupe had shown good speed in the recent test session at Daytona and in qualifying, despite transmission issues that limited track time. Meyrick took the wheel for the start of the first race of the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship after qualifying in fifth position. He battled into fourth and was aiming at third when a tire puncture sent him into the pits. Returning to the field in 15th, the DeltaWing coupe set the quickest race lap with a time of 1:41.021 on lap 22 and held fifth position when the team decided to take advantage of a caution period to come in for fuel and tires. Meyrick was headed toward the front again when transmission issues caught up with him.

“You have to be respectful of your own car and everyone around you at the start of a 24-hour race,” added Meyrick. “It was a bit of a game of poker at the start, to figure out where we were fast and where our positives and negatives were. The puncture put us out of sequence but it was clear that we had the pace to run at the very front and lead the race. From a drivability point of view, it really does feel like an endurance race car, which is a step forward. So for that, it’s encouraging.

I’ve become accustomed to how resilient and hardworking this team is. With a brand new component in the car and not much room to maneuver, they’ve gone above and beyond. To qualify so well and to run so well shows that they’re the real heroes. The season looks really strong as soon as we get over these teething issues. We’re very disappointed, but there’s lots of positives to take away.”

The team will return to its Braselton shop this week and begin preparations for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the second race of the Tequila Patrón Endurance Cup, on March 18-21.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.