FIA WEC: 2 new driver crews for Rebellion at Sebring

Rebellion Racing announced a second revised driver crew for the 1000 miles of Sebring next month. 

© Rebellion Racing

André Lotterer will be expectionally be replaced by Mathias Beche in the #1 Rebellion R13 in March.  Lotterer won't be able to attend the race in Florida due to a simulator test with his team in Formula E on the same dates.  For the German driver this will be the first race ever he will miss in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Christian Ried (Dempsey Proton Competition) now remains as the sole driver who has been racing in every round of the WEC since its inception.

Earlier, Nathanaël Berthon was announced as a new driver in the #1 car together with Thomas Laurent and Gustavo Menezes.  Beche now switches from the #3 to the #1 car. 

FIA WEC: Nathanaël Berthon joins Rebellion Racing in 2019

Nathanaël Berthon will start a new adventure at the 1000 Miles of Sebring next March with Team REBELLION Racing. He will participate in the last three rounds of the FIA ​​WEC Super Season 2018-2019 but also in the entire Super Season 2019-2020.

Nathanaël Berthon has evolved into single-seater racing competition and eventually entered the GP2 category. He has since completed tests in Formula 1 and has raced three times in Formula E. Since 2014, Nathanaël Berthon has also been evolving in endurance: with Lotus in LMP1 and in international teams such as Panis Barthez Competition in LMP2 category. He did the best chrono of the LMP2 category in free practice and the best lap race of the category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2018 with Team Dragonspeed. After spending 2018 mainly focused on WTCR, he returns in 2019 to endurance prototypes by joining Team REBELLION Racing.

At this moment it's not exactly clear how the addition of Berthon will change the crew of the #3 Rebellion R13. 

Calim Bouhadra, vice-president of REBELLION

“We are delighted to welcome Nathanaël Berthon to the REBELLION Racing family. I would like to thank Olivier Panis who allowed us to be in touch with Nathanaël and to obtain his services. Personally, that's exactly what I love about endurance: that spirit of fellowship and fraternity. Olivier knows Nathanael very well, knows his value, and that has convinced us that he is the right driver for us to be even stronger against tough opponents like Toyota. I am sure he will be successful with us.”

Nathanaël Berthon, N.3 driver

“I am very happy that REBELLION's LMP1 team trusts me. The idea of participating in the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 2019 and in 2020, with a team and a car playing to win, is a great source of motivation for me! REBELLION’s ambitions are big, and to be a part of this project makes me feel proud and also brings strong responsibility. I want to thank everyone who made this possible. I can’t wait to be in Sebring to get to know the team, the proto R13 and work alongside my future teammates!”

Olivier Panis, Director of Triple A Motorsport, Management of Nathanaël Berthon

“I have excellent relations with the REBELLION Racing team and I’m aware of the talent of Nathanaël, I thought it would be interesting for the two parties to work together. Nathanaël is a very fast driver, author of very impressive chronos at Le Mans last year. I can easily talk about it because he signed the first pole position of Panis-Barthez Competition in ELMS. In LMP2, he has always been one of the top drivers, so seeing him driving a LMP1 car and fighting with Toyota is really exciting.”

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.

Rebellion Racing announces 2 car FIA WEC effort

Today Rebellion Racing confirmed a 2 car effort in the 2017 World Endurance Championship. As announced before, the team makes the switch from the LMP1-L class to LMP2 with 2 new Gibson engined Oreca07's. 

Four drivers have also been announced today. Nicolas Prost and Matthias Beche are up for their ninth and fifth season with the Swiss team. Nelson Piquet Jr, who drove the first three races of the 2016 season with Rebellion, including Le Mans, also makes his return for his first full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

A new name in the 2017 line-up will be Bruno Senna, leaving RGR Sport for a full season campaign with Rebellion. Senna had a successful campaign last season, scoring 2 class wins in Silverstone and Mexico and four class podiums.

The driver line-up will be completed with 2 silver drivers later on. Pierre Thiriet is one of the most named possible drivers to join in for next season.

The new Oreca07 has been tested for the first time at the Dunlop tyre tests at Sebring last week.

© Dunlop

The Swiss team will also compete in the 2017 Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, the 4 longest races in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans) with a one car effort. Rebellion has already been successful in the States, winning Petit Le Mans in 2012 and 2013 and finishing on the podium in Sebring. 

For the Daytona 24 hours in January, Rebellion already has a stellar driver line-up with Neel Jani, Sebastian Buemi, Nick Heidfeld and Stéphane Sarrazin.  

Quotes

Nicolas Prost: "I am of course very glad to continue for a ninth year with REBELLION Racing. I know the team very well, I am very happy here and I am always involved in the development of the team. We have grown together over the years and it was clear to me that the right thing to do was to stay with REBELLION Racing in their challenge with the new LMP2 cars. The competition in LMP2 is going to be very hard, but we will give everything to fight for all the races. I am looking forward to driving the Oreca 07 LMP2 which I have heard a lot of good things about."

Mathias Beche: "This will be my fifth season with REBELLION Racing and we know each other well. I am extremely happy and grateful to be able to be part of this new challenge, moreover under the colours of Switzerland ! The new car is fantastic to drive and the fight on the track is going to be fierce, that's what makes us all excited ! I believe that my experience with the LMP1, coupled with the experience I gained in LMP2 will be a great asset to help the team meet this beautiful challenge."

Nelson piquet Jr: "I am really happy to return with the team, this time for a full season. It’s going to be a big challenge for us in our first year with the new LMP2. I am looking forward to work with people I know from last year and to make a good championship together with the team and my teammates. I can’t wait for the season to start !"

Bruno Senna: "I'm so excited to be part of REBELLION Racing's line-up for FIA WEC in 2017! The team really has strived to get the most competitive line-up possible to challenge for the championship as well as winning Le Mans in LMP2. Our job will be very tough with so many strong drivers and teams out there, but I'm very much looking forward to kicking things-off in Monza during the Prologue !"

Bart Hayden, REBELLION Racing Team Manager : "We are very pleased to confirm our plans to enter two Oreca 07 LMP2 cars in the 2017 World Endurance Championship alongside our already announced entry with a single car in the IMSA North American Endurance Cup races. We are also very happy that Nico, Mathias and Nelson will be driving with us again in 2017 and I would like to welcome Bruno to the REBELLION Racing Team. We were impressed with the Oreca 07 when we tested it in Sebring last week, it should be a good car to go for race victories and the Championship. We are putting together all the ingredients to run a strong campaign in 2017!"