Interviews with Nissan DeltaWing's Michael Krumm and Ben Bowlby

The innovative and futuristic Nissan DeltaWing has delighted and fascinated people since it was first launched.  It has finally taken to the track here at Le Mans in preparation for the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans but didn't have a completely trouble-free run last night.  Driver Michael Krumm explains what happens, with additional comments from the car's designer Ben Bowlby.

Michael Krumm, driver of the No.0 Highcroft Racing Nissan DeltaWing: “Unfortunately I made a mistake in Tertre Rouge when I hit the kerb too hard and the fire extinguisher went off and it shut down the car. But until then the car felt absolutely fantastic. We made the right choices on changes to the set-up after the practice session. The car felt much easier to drive and it was exciting to see the lap times drop more and more. 

"We were able to prove that the car can be really fast and that is a big important step for us. It was an important box for us to tick that we could do low 3 minute 40s and I think we can get into the high 30s as well."

Ben Bowlby, Nissan DeltaWing, Designer & Concept Originator: “It has been an evening of highs and lows. On one hand it was great to see the looks on the driver’s faces grinning from ear to ear when they got out the car and have them tell you this car is absolutely awesome, but it is another thing to have the master switch trigger when the fire extinguisher goes off accidentally when you clip a kerb.

“It is a terrible shame because I think we could have ended up at the top of the LMP2 class which is exactly where we are meant to be. It is very gratifying that the car has that type of performance and I know the team will all pull together and tomorrow we’ll get the guys qualified. Whether it is wet or dry we’ll do whatever it takes and we’ll be ready for the race.”  

Photo: CIRCUIT OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS (LE MANS, SARTHE), FREE PRACTICE, ,13TH JUNE 2012. The No.0 Nissan DeltaWing in practice.