Le Mans or Lemons?

The 24 hours of Le Mans is one of the most prestigious races in all of racecar history. Since its debut in 1923, it is the oldest endurance car race still active. With a driving distance of over 3.1 thousand miles within a duration of 24 hours non-stop racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most exhausting and physically demanding races to date. Because of its difficulty, many teams and drivers take pride and ownership when winning, let alone completing, this race. Concordantly, many young teams and drivers gain respect and recognition from the community as well as fellow colleagues when completing this race. In many cases, this race is a testing ground to assess the durability and capabilities of new race designs and technology. Le Mans will prove if a car is a ripe apple or a sour lemon.

In 2012, Delta Wing debuted its Nissan powered racecar at Le Mans. During the testing months prior to the race, there was lots of stigma and criticism from the community of the Delta Wing racecar because of its unique design. However, its distinct triangular shape is the foundation and premise of its function. The intentions of the Delta Wing and Nissan is to revolutionize racing and race technology. Delta Wing and Nissan went about this goal by creating a racecar that can produce half the drag, with half the power and still be competitive with other racecars in its class. During the 2012 Le Mans, Nissan and Delta Wing showcased the car and its capabilities by completing the 24 hour race. This success led to the Delta Wings entrance for the entire 2013 American Le Mans Series season, however, without Nissan.

Nissans departure with Delta Wing was of different technological aspirations. With the success at Le Mans in 2012, Nissan wanted to create an all-electric racecar. Nissan dubbed the project ZEOD RC (Zero Emissions On Demand Race Car). To lead the project, Nissan hired Ben Bowlby from Delta Wing. After Nissan released project plans to the public, Delta Wing issued a lawsuit against Nissan shortly after. The accusations are that the “defendants have misappropriated the trade secrets owned by DW and exclusively licensed to DWP56 and used such information and opportunities to compete with DW”.

My concern for debate is that you have these two organizations that are trying to revolutionize racing, yet a lawsuit erupts because of an accusation on infringement of private technology. It seems there are always going to be struggles when individuals are trying to revolutionize their field of interest, but I find it odd that a discrepancy will arise between parties on the same side. I’d expect a little homogeneity between organizations to dominate this new wave technology.