ELMS: Arjun Maini completes RLR Msport line-up in LMP2

Indian driver Arjun Maini joins Bruno Senna and John Farano in the RLR Msport Oreca 07 this season in the European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours. 

21 year old Arjun Maini raced in the Formula 2 championship last season with Trident Racing.  He finished 16th in the championship, his best results in Baku and Monaco with a fifth place finish. In 2017 he became the first Indian driver to win a race in the GP3 series in Barcelona.  Since May 2017 he is also one of Haas F1 development drivers.  

Maini is now set to broaden his horizons and divert his attention from open-wheeled competition to endurance sportscar racing, as he will join RLR MSport for the 87th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June and a full season in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).  He will share the RLR MSport-prepared ORECA with ex-F1 star Bruno Senna and Canadian gentleman racer John Farano in the European Le Mans Series, although other commitments will force Senna to relinquish his seat at Le Mans, and his replacement will be announced before the Automobile Club de l’Ouest reveals the 2019 entry on 11 February.

“I’m extremely excited to make my endurance racing debut this year in the European Le Mans Series,” said Maini. “The highlight of the year will surely be the race at Le Mans and I’m hoping I can do my country proud as it is one of the most prestigious events in motor racing. It is imperative for anyone to succeed to be backed by a strong team and I think the team at RLR MSport will provide the perfect environment for me to perform at my very best, especially considering I will be racing in a category I have no prior experience in. Given that they are the reigning ELMS LMP3 Champions, the expectations for the 2019 season will be quite high and I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

RLR MSport Director of Motorsport Operations, Nick Reynolds: “RLR MSport’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series’ headlining LMP2 class is an important milestone for the team and we feel it’s absolutely imperative to maximise our chances of achieving great results by recruiting the best drivers. Arjun Maini has shown a great deal of innate speed during his illustrious single-seater career and his talent is unquestionable. I’m certain his transition to prototypes will be a successful one and that he will give a positive contribution to RLR MSport’s 2019 programme at Le Mans and throughout the European Le Mans season.”

FIA WEC: Gibson confirms engine deal with Rebellion Racing & Oreca

Gibson Technology confirmed today their new contract with Rebellion Racing and manufacturer Oreca to supply LMP1 engines for the 2018/19 World Endurance Championship Super Season. The 2017 WEC LMP2 Champions have confirmed their intention to contest LMP1 in FIA WEC in 2018, running a two car team with an Oreca chassis and Gibson GL458 engine. This is a return to the top category of WEC for Rebellion and will include competing in the grueling Le Mans 24 hours.

The new LMP1 engine supplied by Gibson will be based upon their successful LMP2 engine. Design, development and production of the new GL458 are taking place at Gibson’s state-of-the-art Repton facility, with the first engine being scheduled for delivery to Rebellion next month.

All LMP2 teams in WEC, ELMS, Le Mans 24 Hour and IMSA in the USA are currently powered by Gibson engines, with over 600,000kms covered so far with the GK428 engines. The new LMP1 contract with Rebellion Racing is a natural progression for Gibson’s highly motivated engineers to prove their reliability and success at the top level of endurance racing.

Hugues de Chaunac, CEO, ORECA Group: “ORECA has a great and successful relationship with Gibson Technology on the LMP2 program. So when we had to investigate the different options for an LMP1 engine, it made sense to talk about this project with Gibson and at the end it was an obvious choice. They have shown their abilities in sportscars for many years. We need a strong, reliable and competitive engine for the Rebellion R13 and we are confident we will have it with the Gibson V8. We will have a strong package and we are looking forward to it.”

Calim Bouhadra, Vice President of the REBELLION Group: “We are excited to make our come-back in LMP1 and to do this project with both ORECA and Gibson Technology. We had an excellent package in 2017 with the ORECA 07 chassis and the V8 Gibson engine and we made it successful by winning the FIA WEC title. We are really happy to continue this partnership. It was the natural step for REBELLION Racing and it will be for sure a great challenge. We all share the same motivation.”

John Manchester, Gibson Technology’s Operations Director: “Everyone at Gibson Technology is delighted that our engines have been chosen by yet another top-flight team and sportscar constructor to compete at the highest level of world endurance racing. The new LMP1 engine contract with Rebellion Racing and Oreca is a natural progression for our company and we are extremely pleased to continue with the successful partnership that we formed with them during 2017, which will further enable us to develop our engine technology to compete against some of the top sportscar and engine manufacturers at the pinnacle of world sportscar racing. We are all very much looking forward to the exciting challenge ahead.”

FIA WEC: Oreca builds "R13" LMP1 for Rebellion Racing

Rebellion Racing and Oreca confirmed their partnership for its return to the LMP1 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season. It's a continuation of a long time partnership between the team and the manufacturer, as Oreca also designed and built the Rebellion R-One and Rebellion won the 2017 LMP2 title with the Oreca 07.  

© Oreca/Rebellion

Several months ago, the French manufacturer began working on designing and manufacturing a new LMP1 car for the Swiss team, in addition to bringing operational support to Toyota Gazoo Racing.  

For Alexandre Pesci's men and his 10 year old quad it seemed natural to come back to LMP1 with the new regulations put in place by the ACO.  For a fifth year this is a true partnership set up between Rebellion Racing and Oreca.   

“To design this new LMP1 prototype is a wonderful challenge” said Hugues de Chaunac, CEO of the Oreca Group. “When the design bureau began developing the Oreca 07, we really wanted to move up to the next level, one step higher compared to the Oreca 05. The successes achieved last year really motivated and convinced us to now tackle this highly competitive main category. Fitted with an atmospheric engine, this LMP1 will face a hard task agains the Hybrid cars, but the Rebellion R13 will be a very determined challenger”. 

The new “Rebellion R13” will be equipped with a naturally aspirated Gibson engine and will be finalised shortly before the prologue for a first shakedown with Rebellion Racing's team members and drivers.  The car will probably be presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March. 

Kristof Vermeulen.