WRDA member Andy Meyrick drove the much-improved DeltaWing Racing car at the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park but despite a good showing in practice and the early laps he was sadly forced out when the oil pump failed!
Andy qualified the car in third place in the P1 class ahead of the three-hour-long race, and enjoyed a fantastic opening lap, overtaking his former team-mates in the second place car of Dyson Racing before the first corner. The car showed great pace until Andy’s solid race was brought to an end, when a minor chassis failure caused the oil pump to fail on lap 16.
 
“I made a great start - I got around the Dyson car and was second by the first corner. The car was running really strong and I was able to pull a five-second gap. Then suddenly, the alarm came on and the car stopped. It is disappointing, we were on pace for a very strong result. The performance from the moment we hit the track has been terrific, especially considering that we haven’t been here before. We were close to the top in most of the sessions and that’s a big step forward. It’s hard, given our strong start in the race, but little problems happen and you have to accept them and come back stronger. We’ve made huge gains in the weeks since Lime Rock – the team has done a great job in the development of the car. We have to remember that this is a development programme and, as long as we’re seeing the kind of gains that we saw this weekend, especially with the speed of the car, then we know we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve proven how genuinely competitive we can be.”
 
Following his fortnight in the USA with DeltaWing Racing, Andy returns to Europe this week ahead of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Andy, who will once again partner Mike Wainwright in the in the Pro-Am class of the championship, will also be joined in the No. 9 McLaren 12C GT3 by Stuart Hall and Tim Mullen to make an all-British line up for the Gulf Racing UK car.
 
Andy comments: “We have a really strong team for the race and we go to Spa aiming for a class win. Of course, it’s a 24-hour race, which always throws up some challenges but, on top of that, Spa is a really interesting circuit with its series of complex corners and changes in elevation. Despite the challenges that lie ahead, it’s great to return to Spa 24 with Gulf Racing as this is where I first competed with them last year. In that year the team has come an incredibly long way and we all return there determined for success. I’m confident that with our team, car and drivers, we have as good a chance as any. We just have to see what is thrown up during the 24-hour race.” However Andy must hope that the weather is kinder than in 2012 when the track was flooded by torrenteial rain and the cars were pushing the kind of bow wave more often seen with power boats!
 
The 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps starts at 1630hrs on Saturday 27 July. Follow Andy’s progress at www.andymeryick.com/news or on Twitter using @andymeyrick .