Deletraz “Proud” of Acura Podium Comeback Charge

Louis Deletraz says he is “very proud” of the way Wayne Taylor Racing by Andretti claimed a podium finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona despite the Acura ARX-06 struggling for outright pace against its GTP rivals.

Sharing the No. 40 WTR Andretti Acura with Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta and Jenson Button, Deletraz took the checkered flag in third place behind the winning No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 and the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R.

The Swiss driver said he was delighted to be able to keep the Acura in the hunt for victory until the final restart with 32 minutes to go despite the fact the Acura had never demonstrated speed to rival Porsche and Cadillac in the build-up to the race.

“I think we can be very proud of the podium,” Deletraz told Sportscar365. “I am not someone who likes to complain, but clearly the whole ten days we were not the strongest. Our competitors had an advantage on pure pace and on the long runs.

“To be on the podium, and even to hang on against the second Penske [Porsche] when we saw how fast they were, it’s a reward for the whole crew. And especially in our first race as the No. 40 crew, I am very happy and thankful.

“We definitely couldn’t have done any better, but we could have done a lot worse. Everyone did a perfect job. It’s good points for the championship, and it might be my first year [as a full-time driver], I definitely want to win this.”

Deletraz had to work hard at the final restart to maintain third place, as he resisted an attack from the second of the factory Porsches, the No. 6 car of Matthieu Jaminet, at Turn 1.

The two cars were separated by less than four tenths of a second at the finish.

“I was happy when the yellow came out, because I thought we might have a chance to win, but I was also worried about keeping the other cars behind,” said Deletraz. “I gave it everything.

“It was a bit close with Matthieu at the restart at Turn 1. We went side-by-side and I had to make sure I stayed ahead. We are good friends, there is a lot of respect between us, and it was good racing.

“After that I didn’t have the pace, but at least we had good top speed so I could keep him behind. It was a lot of pressure, but I kept pushing and never gave up.”

Deletraz was at the wheel of the No. 40 car when it suffered a stoppage on track with a loss of power just beyond the halfway point of the race, but the Swiss driver was finally able to solve the problem with multiple attempts at a power cycle.

He lost only lost a single lap in the process, which it was able to claw back in subsequent caution periods.

By contrast, the sister No. 10 WTR Andretti car was unable to get going again after Filipe Albuquerque experienced a similar problem some hours earlier and had to be taken behind the wall to replace a wiring loom, ultimately failing to finish.

“The car shut down in a very similar way to the No. 10,” recalled Deletraz. “I lost everything, and I thought it was game over. I tried to do a power cycle while the car was rolling, it didn’t work, stopped it, tried again, didn’t work. 

“I got out and tried it from outside because there are some buttons on the outside. I got back in the car and this time the car switched on. So I quickly redid my belts and rejoined one lap down.

“I’m very happy I didn’t give up and it was a good demonstration why drivers should know their cars well!”