IMSA: DeltaWing targets breakthough out West

Don Panoz's DeltaWing Racing program has demonstrated impressive potential – its DWC13 chassis has led races, most recently at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and shown serious pace – but cracking the top three remains an unfulfilled goal as IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship heads into its Western swing.

With two upcoming races in California across three weekends, starting this weekend in Long Beach, DeltaWing team manager Tim Keene believes the DWC13 will pose a stronger threat to the Prototype field. The car's debut on Shoreline Drive in 2015 was plagued with handling problems as the lightweight machine was tossed around by the pitted Long Beach streets.

"We weren't that good at Long Beach last year because it's bumpy and doesn't have a lot of grip," Keene told RACER. "Looking at the notes from last year, we struggled to get heat into the tires, so we're hoping to take what we learned and have a better run our second time there."

Drivers Katherine Legge and Andy Meyrick will spearhead the No. 0 DeltaWing effort after the team used a three- and four-driver rotation to open the season at Daytona and Sebring. Keene is confident his driver pairing, and the advances made with the DWC13 since its last tour of California, will reap improved results.

"I like to think our chances are better than they have been," he said. "The reliability is there now, and we really missed out last year at Petit Le Mans from things we found with the car –  and that continued at Daytona. The biggest thing we have that's helped is a real, working diff. It's more stable under braking, our cornering is better, grip has improved, and our corner exits are better. Knock on wood, we're not real concerned about the gearbox anymore. Hopefully those words don't come back to bite me."

If there's one area where the DeltaWing can't match its sturdy rivals – Daytona Prototypes and P2s – it's in a rough-and-tumble street fight.

"We're just not positioned like some of the other cars that can bully their way forward and muscle themselves around," Keene added. "We have a car that's very quick, but you have to be very precise with it and we are more tender. A DP car, a P2 car, they can mess up and make it back up pretty quickly, whereas we can't really do that. The smoother, faster tracks favor us more – at least they favor our car, although I don't think we have an advantage to speak of. Our car is better able to perform at a track like Monterey in most cases."

Beating the field at Long Beach is a tall order for the DWC13, but Keene is confident a breakthrough could be possible once the WeatherTech Championship moves north to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

"I'm curious to see how we do at Long Beach with the gains we've made, but the natural road courses are where we should have our best chances," he continued. "The more we can corner with the car and flow around a race course, the more it plays to our strengths, so I'm really looking forward to [Monterey] as the next race where we can get something done."

Keene also gave credit to the irrepressible DeltaWing team that has transformed the car into a regular threat in IMSA.

"The team is something I'm really proud of; it would have been easy for some of them to get frustrated and leave, but they've really stuck with it and work well together," he said. "They are a really solid group, and that comes from within; it's nothing I do, per se. It's self-achievement, and they can see success is just around the corner."

Opening practice for the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach begins Friday morning at 7:40 a.m. PT.