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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Q&A With Gunnar Jeannette
Newest Nissan DeltaWing driver discusses highly anticipated debut in next month's Petit Le Mans...
Gunnar Jeannette, in car, with DeltaWing creator Ben Bowlby, left. (Photo: Highcroft Racing)
The Nissan DeltaWing stole the headlines at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and could be set to do the same next month at Road Atlanta, when the revolutionary race car makes its debut in the Petit Le Mans.
After an early end at Le Mans, due to contact with another prototype, the Ben Bowlby-designed car, led by a consortium of partners including Don Panoz, Highcroft Racing's Duncan Dayton, Nissan and Michelin, will be aiming for a solid finish in the 1,000-mile/10-hour enduro.
READ: Nissan DeltaWing Returns For Petit Le Mans
Leading the driver charge are inaugural Nissan GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez and 2011 ALMS PC co-champion and former Panoz factory driver Gunnar Jeannette, who brings a wealth of sports car racing experience to the program.
SPEED.com caught up with Jeannette, who will become the first American driver to race the DeltaWing, to get his thoughts ahead of the big North American debut.
How did the opportunity to drive the DeltaWing come about?
JEANNETTE: At the beginning of the season, I had contacted Duncan [Dayton] and Dr. Panoz and expressed my interest before I had any 2012 plans anchored in. But with what happened with our WEC program, I obviously had more time open up.
[Highcroft PR guru] Paul Ryan and I were talking about the situation with Luxury [Racing] and he mentioned my name to Dr. P and Silvia Mammone with Michelin and it all kind of clicked and came together really quickly.
We ran it by them and Duncan and they all had good things to say. And then they convinced Darren Cox of Nissan [Europe] that I was the right guy for the race.
What are your thoughts on being part of such an innovative project?
JEANNETTE: I'm first off super, super excited to be involved with it and very interested to see what it is like to drive. In my opinion, there hasn't been something this groundbreaking in motorsports in a very long time. The last thing I can think of is the turbine cars that ran at Indianapolis.
It's cool to be a part of something that's so radically different. As a racing driver, I like to think that I can hop in anything and drive it fairly well. In talking to Ben Bowlby a little bit a couple of days ago, I'm sure it's going to be quite different.
Is there any testing scheduled prior to the race?
JEANNETTE: We have a good bit of testing planned at Road Atlanta coming up in the next couple of weeks. Both Lucas and myself will get a chance to drive it prior to the race.
Have you set any particular goals?
JEANNETTE: It's a bit of a different attitude for us. Obviously we want to go as quick as we can. But our goal isn't to be on the podium or win a class because we don't have the opportunity to do so [as running unclassified].
Our goal is to promote that the car is capable of finishing and capable of reaching the goals that were set fourth and on track to do at Le Mans, which was to run it at maximum speeds, have twice the fuel economy and a much better tire life. For Nissan and Michelin, that's very important.
You can't argue with the fact that the car is kind of a fan favorite. It is so different and is very cool-looking. Just seeing the response it had at Le Mans was pretty overwhelming. Here you have a car that wasn't even really in the race, per se, and just the reactions I saw from everybody was pretty phenomenal.
Our goal is really to go as fast as we can and stay out of everybody's way and prove what we're trying to do and put on a show for everybody that wants to see it.
The ACO requested the DeltaWing not exceed 3:45 lap times around Le Mans. Are you aware of any similar restriction being put in place for its debut at Road Atlanta?
JEANNETTE: At this point, I don't know of any specific lap time that has been mandated that we must run to. I know what our goals are right now and that's going to be a bit slower than it was at Le Mans, simply because we won't have the option of running more downforce on the car. It pretty much is what it is at this point.
It's not like a P2 car where you can take a lot of downforce off it and then pile it back on for a track like Road Atlanta, which generally speaking, is a pretty high-downforce kind of circuit.
Do you think there could be a future for you with the DeltaWing beyond this race?
JEANNETTE: I certainly wouldn't rule it out. I have a good relationship with Dr. Panoz and Michelin. You never know what the future holds as a driver, so you just want to make sure you keep as many good relationships as you can.
I'm really looking at it as a one-race thing and just want to come on board and do the best I can and be part of what I think is going to be a very memorable project. Whatever direction it ends up going, I'm going to be pretty proud to say I was the first American to race the car and the first person to race in North America.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
After an early end at Le Mans, due to contact with another prototype, the Ben Bowlby-designed car, led by a consortium of partners including Don Panoz, Highcroft Racing's Duncan Dayton, Nissan and Michelin, will be aiming for a solid finish in the 1,000-mile/10-hour enduro.
READ: Nissan DeltaWing Returns For Petit Le Mans
Leading the driver charge are inaugural Nissan GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez and 2011 ALMS PC co-champion and former Panoz factory driver Gunnar Jeannette, who brings a wealth of sports car racing experience to the program.
SPEED.com caught up with Jeannette, who will become the first American driver to race the DeltaWing, to get his thoughts ahead of the big North American debut.
How did the opportunity to drive the DeltaWing come about?
JEANNETTE: At the beginning of the season, I had contacted Duncan [Dayton] and Dr. Panoz and expressed my interest before I had any 2012 plans anchored in. But with what happened with our WEC program, I obviously had more time open up.
[Highcroft PR guru] Paul Ryan and I were talking about the situation with Luxury [Racing] and he mentioned my name to Dr. P and Silvia Mammone with Michelin and it all kind of clicked and came together really quickly.
We ran it by them and Duncan and they all had good things to say. And then they convinced Darren Cox of Nissan [Europe] that I was the right guy for the race.
What are your thoughts on being part of such an innovative project?
JEANNETTE: I'm first off super, super excited to be involved with it and very interested to see what it is like to drive. In my opinion, there hasn't been something this groundbreaking in motorsports in a very long time. The last thing I can think of is the turbine cars that ran at Indianapolis.
It's cool to be a part of something that's so radically different. As a racing driver, I like to think that I can hop in anything and drive it fairly well. In talking to Ben Bowlby a little bit a couple of days ago, I'm sure it's going to be quite different.
Is there any testing scheduled prior to the race?
JEANNETTE: We have a good bit of testing planned at Road Atlanta coming up in the next couple of weeks. Both Lucas and myself will get a chance to drive it prior to the race.
Have you set any particular goals?
JEANNETTE: It's a bit of a different attitude for us. Obviously we want to go as quick as we can. But our goal isn't to be on the podium or win a class because we don't have the opportunity to do so [as running unclassified].
Our goal is to promote that the car is capable of finishing and capable of reaching the goals that were set fourth and on track to do at Le Mans, which was to run it at maximum speeds, have twice the fuel economy and a much better tire life. For Nissan and Michelin, that's very important.
You can't argue with the fact that the car is kind of a fan favorite. It is so different and is very cool-looking. Just seeing the response it had at Le Mans was pretty overwhelming. Here you have a car that wasn't even really in the race, per se, and just the reactions I saw from everybody was pretty phenomenal.
Our goal is really to go as fast as we can and stay out of everybody's way and prove what we're trying to do and put on a show for everybody that wants to see it.
The ACO requested the DeltaWing not exceed 3:45 lap times around Le Mans. Are you aware of any similar restriction being put in place for its debut at Road Atlanta?
JEANNETTE: At this point, I don't know of any specific lap time that has been mandated that we must run to. I know what our goals are right now and that's going to be a bit slower than it was at Le Mans, simply because we won't have the option of running more downforce on the car. It pretty much is what it is at this point.
It's not like a P2 car where you can take a lot of downforce off it and then pile it back on for a track like Road Atlanta, which generally speaking, is a pretty high-downforce kind of circuit.
Do you think there could be a future for you with the DeltaWing beyond this race?
JEANNETTE: I certainly wouldn't rule it out. I have a good relationship with Dr. Panoz and Michelin. You never know what the future holds as a driver, so you just want to make sure you keep as many good relationships as you can.
I'm really looking at it as a one-race thing and just want to come on board and do the best I can and be part of what I think is going to be a very memorable project. Whatever direction it ends up going, I'm going to be pretty proud to say I was the first American to race the car and the first person to race in North America.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Monterey
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