Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (Bridgestone Americas) has announced an alliance with DeltaWing Racing Cars as a one-car entry in the 2013 American Le Mans Series. Bridgestone will supply Potenza tire for the select races in which DeltaWing chooses to compete during the 2013 ALMS season.
The DeltaWing features the racing performance of contemporary Le Mans race cars, but is differentiated by its far better efficiency, consuming only half of the fuel and tires of today’s more traditional race cars, and using only half of the power, aerodynamic drag and weight, the tiremaker says. In recent months, the car has received a number of awards and accolades. Autosport Magazine awarded the DeltaWing its "Pioneering and Innovation Award," and Popular Science presented the DeltaWing with its "Best of What’s New" Award.
"This relationship offers an exceptional opportunity for us to innovate toward DeltaWing’s goal of high-performance and efficiency," said Al Speyer, executive director of motorsports, Bridgestone Americas. "We were eager to step in when the opportunity opened up for us to support DeltaWing. We love challenges that drive us forward and separate us from the competition, and we’re excited to be part of the team."
Originally created as a potential new IndyCar of the future, the DeltaWing first was funded by longtime IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi. Although IndyCar ultimately decided to stay with a traditional Dallara design, the DeltaWing race car continues to thrive in sports car racing, running last year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"We’re thrilled to have Bridgestone on board, as 2013 promises to be an exciting year for the DeltaWing," said Don Panoz, managing partner, DeltaWing. "In addition to running on Bridgestone tires this year, we’ll be using a new 1.9-liter, twin-turbo engine derived from Mazda’s MZR power plant, and we’re unveiling a closed-top version of the car in May. Plus, starting at Sebring, we’ll be earning points in the P1 category."
