The Delta Wing ran its first test laps last week in secrecy at Buttonwillow Raceway in California.

A distant YouTube video of the car running at Buttonwillow has been posted (below) but everyone connected with the project is sworn to secrecy until the Delta Wing’s engine partner is announced. The announcement is expected to come in a couple of weeks.

The Delta Wing was driven at Buttonwillow by Alex Gurney and Marino Franchitti and more testing will take place over the next few weeks. Hopes are for the car to make its first demonstration laps prior to the Sebring 12 Hours on March 17. The Delta Wing will make its race debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

Calls to Delta Wing designer Ben Bowlby, the drivers or Dan Gurney were rebuffed with apologies and a refusal to comment. But a source, who was present at the test, said that the car could not have performed better.

“It was really impressive,” he said. “The car looked really stable under acceleration and braking, and it turned perfectly. The drivers said the car was very responsive and stable. There was no understeer and a little controllable oversteer. They said the braking was tremendous too and found they could lock-up the rear brakes without any trouble.

“Seems like there may have been some minor electronic problems like you might expect in a first test,” our man added. “But all the systems performed perfectly and everyone seems to be excited and in very good spirits. For a completely new concept, it was a hell of a first test.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQOXiRU4orc[/youtube]