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DeltaWing coupe set to make ALMS race debut at Austin

The coupe version of the DeltaWing experimental racer will make its debut at the Austin round of the American Le Mans Series next month

The DeltaWing coupe, which was unveiled in show form at the Sebring 12 Hours ALMS opener in March, will test for the first time before the end of this month ahead of its debut at the home of the United States Grand Prix in Texas on September 21.

DeltaWing Racing Cars team manager Dave Price said: "The plan is to race the coupe at Austin.

"We don't foresee any problems, because it is pretty much the same car, only packaged better, which will give us better engine cooling."

The car is built around a bespoke monocoque, which replaces the Aston Martin AMR-One tub of the current car, produced by DeltaWing owner Don Panoz's Elan Motorsports Technologies organisation.

The coupe, which will continue to be raced by Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge, will round out the season at Virgina International Raceway and then Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans in October.

The team will not contest the next round of the series on the Baltimore street circuit on August 31.

The DeltaWing group has confirmed its intention to sell customers cars and has revealed that it has laid down an initial batch of three chassis for next year's merged United SportsCar Racing series, in which it will go up against Daytona Prototypes and LMP2 machinery in the 'Prototype' class.

Don Panoz, who was one of the initial investors in the DeltaWing sportscar and took over the project last winter, revealed his intention to produce customer cars as long ago as the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Price said: "The plan has always been to see cars and laying down three monocoques is a start, but we could produce more if there is demand."

There is already interest from potential customers, according to Price.

"There are people talking to us about cars," he said. "We proved at Road America [when the DeltaWing led the race for 16 laps] that we are genuinely quick.

"It could be an economic option. The car is small and light, which means less wear and tear."

A price for a DeltaWing, either with the current Elan/Mazda engine or as a rolling chassis, has yet to be announced.

Price said the works team will be at the USCR opener at Daytona in January and could continue in the series.

"The plan is to be at the Daytona 24 Hours," he said. "If we do continue racing, I don't see a problem because it would benefit our customers in terms of development."

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