The DeltaWing Racing Cars team is looking forward to the Continetal Tire Monterey Grand Prix following a successful test with Indy Lights driver Gabby Chaves.
Chaves, who will join the team for the next Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup round at Watkins Glen, tested the closed top racer at Roebling Road to make up for missing the last round at Long Beach.
For regular driver Katherine Legge, the upcoming round at Laguna Seca marks one year since the Brit joined the DeltaWing team and fellow Briton Andy Meyrick.
Legge, who also makes irregular appearances in the Verizon IndyCar Series, said: “When I first got in the DeltaWing, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It really does feel like a conventional race car to drive, but because it has so little drag and has so much downforce, there are different ways of doing things – for example, there’s less weight transfer, so under braking, it feels more like a parachute has come out than the typical feeling of pitching forward. So it was much easier to get used to than I thought it would be.
“And I’m used to having a teammate now – Andy and I have been racing together for exactly a year. We have very similar feedback, we want the same things out of the car and we have similar driving styles. We also share the same seat so we don’t have to move that around, which is good!”
The test was good for Chaves – who raced at Daytona and Sebring for Don Panoz’s team – and got him more experience in the diminutive prototype: “We tried a lot in terms of the aero package in the test and I think we found some things that will help us down the line. But the biggest thing for me was getting more seat time in the car, getting more comfortable – I’m better able to tell what’s going on with the car, so it helps my feedback. In a race, you’re out there running hard for a limited time, so it’s harder to focus on what’s going on with the car when you’re concentrating on getting a good lap time.
“Also, one of the big pluses of a test is to be able to spend time with the team; racing is like a family, so it functions better if the energy is right. Having the opportunity to take a little more relaxed approach and really connect with the people on the team, it really makes a difference.”
The Monterey Grand Prix takes the green flag on Sunday May 4th for a two hour sprint race.
