The Nissan DeltaWing competed in this year’s 24 hours of Le Mans as the single experimental class showcase car. It took to the track after three and a half years of independent development. The DeltaWing had a universal unstoppable underdog appeal that quickly made it a fan favorite. Unfortunately it was taken out of the race by Kazuki Nakajimi in one of the Toyota TS030’s while he was challenging for the race lead. Nissan factory driver, Satoshi Mototayama, was at the helm when the DeltaWing was forced into a concrete wall. Le Mans rules allows the driver to get out of the car as long as he stays within a short distance of it. Motoyama tried for two hours to get the car back on track before giving up in tears with the fans all applauding his efforts. The damage to the drive train was too severe for him to get the car running again and back to the garage. That ends the DeltaWing’s story at Le Mans, but hopefully we’ll hear from it again.

Here is Motoyama’s interview with the press after the crash:

Sources: Nissan Europe and Nissan Newsroom