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!"

Riley Mk30 LMP2 breaks cover

With the delivery of Visit Florida Racing's Riley Mk30/Gibson this afternoon at Carolina Motorsports Park, the fourth and final new LMP2 chassis broke cover. 

© Visit Florida Racing

The pictures released by the American team are the first of the new Riley LMP2 chassis. Marc Goossens and Renger van der Zande, both full time drivers for the team in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship took their first laps in the car today. Further testing will continue at the official IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway next week. 

© Visit Florida Racing

All four cars now broke cover and are undergoing intensive testing ahead of the 2017 season. 

The Ligier JSP217 was the first car to be unveiled at the ELMS weekend at Spa. Since then, the Onroak Automotive prototype has covered more than 6000 testing kilometers so far, both in Europe and in the USA with the first tests as a converted DPi prototype scheduled in the upcoming weeks. 

© Onroak Automotive

The Oreca 07 was presented by the end of October at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. Oreca is also the only manufacturer who offers an "upgrade kit" for their current Oreca 05 to the 07 specification. 

© Alexis Goure/Oreca

The car has been tested thoroughly in the past months, ahead of racing in the FIA WEC, ELMS and IMSA.

© Alexis Goure/Oreca

Meanwhile some spy shots were published of the brand new Dallara testing in Italy. Up untill now, the Dallara LMP2 hasn't been officially presented, with not much details already known about the car. 

© Racing Team Nederland

Villorba Corse have published some renderings of the Dallara that will be entered in the ELMS next season. Dutch team "Racing Team Nederland" who also acquired the Gibson engined Italian chassis though have published several pictures since they started testing the car in november. As from next week they will test the Dallara at Sebring. An entry in the ELMS is on the cards for 2017 and an application for the Le Mans 24 Hours. 

© Racing Team Nederland

Kristof Vermeulen.

FIA WEC: Larbre Competition ready to move up to GTE-Pro

French team Larbre Competition continues to focus on an improved effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season. It's no secret that Jack Leconte and his team were already pursuing a move up to the GTE Pro class ahead of this season, but ultimately things didn't work out, resulting in a new entry in the GTE-Am class. 

In 2016, the Corvette C7-R finished in the points in 8 out of 9 races and scored four podium finishes at Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Nürburgring and COTA. The increased collaboration and factory support of  Pratt & Miller and the addition of Ricky Taylor to the driver line-up in the second half of the season has certainly upped the team's performance. 

Leconte and his team now wait for a decision to be taken by the General Motors management whether they will be able to enter a Corvette C7-R in the GTE-Pro class next year. After a successful partnership of 6 years with Corvette Racing, expectations are high again to make the move with factory support.  Adding the Corvette to the Pro class would bring a fifth manufacturer in the mix, joining Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche, with BMW set to join in 2018.

FIA WEC: Date change for 2017 prologue

A date change for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship prologue has just been announced. The prologue, the official pre-season test for all entrants in the championship has been rescheduled to Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd of April 2017 at Monza.

The visit of Pope Francis to the Italian town of Monza on March 24th and 25th made it impossible to retain the original date for the WEC prologue due to security and organisational reasons.  The European Le Mans Series prologue keeps its initial date on March 28th and 29th. Both prologues now follow up to each other. 

The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship calendar: 

1-2 April: WEC Prologue, Monza, ITA

16 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone, GBR

06 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, BEL

04 June: Le Mans testday, FRA

17/18 June: Le Mans 24 Hours, FRA

16 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring, DEU

03 September: 6 Hours of Mexico, MEX

16 September: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, USA              

15 October: 6 Hours of Fuji, JAP

05 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai, CHN

18 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain, BAH

The 2017 European Le Mans Series calendar: 

28-29 March: ELMS Prologue, Monza, ITA

15 April: 4 Hours of Silverstone, GBR

14 May: 4 Hours of Monza, ITA

23 July: 4 Hours of the Red Bull Ring, AUT

27 August: 4 Hours of Le Castellet, FRA

24 September: 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, BEL

22 October: 4 Hours of Portimao, POR

Kristof Vermeulen.

Porsche reshuffles driver line-ups for 2017

Porsche announced its 2017 driver line-ups for the 2017 World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Weatertech Sportscar Series tonight at the "Porsche night of champions" in Weissach, Germany. 

© Porsche

The celebrations for the German manufacturer started yesterday when Porsches winners of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship have been celebrated at the 2016 FIA prize giving ceremony in Vienna. For the second year in a row Porsche is World Champion of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Following the triumph of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley, and Timo Bernhard last year, this year’s crown went to the crew of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb.

LMP1 defending champions

Porsche returns to the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship as defending champions, and will be out on the hunt for a third consecutive crown. Both Porsche 919 Hybrids will race again with the starting numbers 1 and 2. The driver line-ups of both cars will see some major changes next year. After Mark Webbers retirement and the departure of Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb from the LMP1 driving squad, three newcomers will join the crew. 

Returnees to the LMP1 program are New Zealander Earl Bamber and Britain Nick Tandy. Both have already gained a lot of experience in the 919 Hybrid LMP1, winning the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Nico Hülkenberg. The third new name in Porsches driver line-up is André Lotterer. The  35 year old German, three time Le Mans winner and 2012 WEC champion, makes the move from Audi to Porsche.  Lotterer and Tandy will join Neel Jani in the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid. The #2 car will have two "Kiwi's" at the wheel next season with Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber, who will be joined by German Timo Bernhard. 

Next year's 919 represents another step in its technological evolution, featuring a completely new colour design, an optimised aerokit, and the complete overhaul of almost all components. The  car will be officially unveiled on 23 March at the WEC prologue, which is held for the first time in Monza, Italy.

GTE in WEC and IMSA

2017 will also see the return of a Porsche factory effort in the GTE Pro class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The return of Porsche in the GTE class with the whole new 911 RSR will see the German manufacturer on the hunt for the GT world championship titles for best driver(s) and manufacturer.  Confirmed drivers for the World Endurance Championship so far are Michael Christensen, Frédéric Makowiecki and Richard Lietz. At least one more driver has to be confirmed and 2 more for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

© Porsche

With Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy moving up to LMP1, new drivers have also been signed on to race in GTE. German Dirk Werner returns to Porsche after several years as BMW works driver. Another driver coming over from Audi is the highly talented GT ace Laurens Vanthoor. The 25 year old Belgian already has an impressive resume in GT racing, clinching the 2013 FIA GT title and victories in long distance racing at the 24 hours of Spa, Nürburgring and Dubai. Sven Müller will also be promoted to Porsche works driver after winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. 

Porsche will also take on the competition with 2 factory cars in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. As in the FIA WEC, 2 brand new 911 RSR's will be on the grid of the North American championship. Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner will drive the 911 car where as Laurens Vanthoor will join Frenchman Kevin Estre in the #912. Fred Makowiecki and Richard Lietz will join in for the long distance races. 

Kristof Vermeulen. 

FIA WEC: Successful rookie test for Robert Kubica in Bahrain

After his rookie driver test with the ByKolles CLM P1/01 yesterday afternoon in Bahrain, 31 year old Robert Kubica took a few moments to speak about his future racing plans. 

Kubica's fastest time over 27 laps was a 1.47.222, over 2.5 seconds faster than Pierre Kaffer and over 5 seconds quicker than Francesco Dragone in the ByKolles LMP1 in yesterdays test.  Compared to Pierre Kaffer's time in the practice sessions in Bahrain, Kubica was half a second faster. "I had a pretty good feeling in the car today, although it's very different to what I've been driving in the past months. Today was a good opportunity to see if I could be able to drive a car like this. My laptimes were good, but I feel I even could go faster with more time behind the wheel as there was a lot to discover right now". 

More than 5 years after his terrifying accident in the opening stage of the Andorra Rally in 2011, Kubica now feels ready for a comeback to circuit racing. "The first times I went back to a track to test a race car, it didn't feel right" said the Polish driver. "It was tough to drive on track again still recovering from my injuries, and when leaving the circuit at the end of the day it just didn't feel right. This was one of the main reasons why I switched to rally in the past years. Rally has a completely different atmosphere around it, new people, a whole new paddock ... which really attracted me to go there instead of back to circuit racing.  

About his plans for the future, Kubica said he wanted to have a programme for next year ready past October, but that didn't happen until now. "I want to come back to racing but in a truly professional environment, with the right team and the right people behind it, so I'm still weighing out my options". Asked about the WEC and the Le Mans 24 Hours, he said that Le Mans is a unique and very appealing event for any racing driver.  "I haven't seen the race yesterday as I only arrived late night in Bahrain, but for sure the WEC is a very attractive championship with high racing standards. Driving there and at Le Mans in the future would be great. It would take me some time though to become a good endurance driver as it's very different to what I have been up to until now. Adapting to a whole different type of car, racing with 3 drivers with different driving styles, it's all new for me". 

As for now  no programme for next year is known for Kubica. With an encouraging first test in a prototype, who knows if might be some kind of interest to give him a chance to compete in the WEC next year.

Kristof Vermeulen.

FIA WEC: Did Alonso just hint at a switch to the WEC in the future ?

Yesterday evening at the FIA WEC end of season awards ceremony, the retiring Mark Webber was celebrated by the whole WEC paddock.

Webber, who finished his last race on the podium last Saturday, was given the FIA WEC Excellence award. An appreciation for his whole racing career and 3 fantastic years in the World Endurance Championship, giving him the drivers title in 2015 and the manufacturers titles in 2015 and 2016.

© RIP/Arne Simons

In a video, Andreas Seidl, Brendon Hartley, David Coulthard, Alex Wurz, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso Daniel Ricciardo and Timo Bernhard had a farewell message for the Aussie. The message from Alonso stood out, and might have given a hint to the future of the Spanish driver whose contract ends at McLaren by the end of next season.

This is literally what Alonso had to say to Webber : "You've had a fantastic career, an then now all your success with Porsche. You didn't wait for me there, because it could be nice. But I think you will be around so I will ask you many things when I join your adventure. You're a really great man, and from all my heart, all the best".

For the first time Alonso really spoke out about his future and a possible switch to the World Endurance Championship after his active F1 career. In 2014 Alonso was a guest at Le Mans and waived the green flag for the start of the race. Last year he was a well sollicited guest in the Bahrain paddock at the final race of the season. 

Will we see Alonso in a Porsche 919 hybrid in 2018 ?  And will other drivers join him from the F1 paddock ... at least two have already hinted at a new future in endurance racing. 

Kristof Vermeulen. 

FIA WEC - 6 Hours of Bahrain: Emotional win for Audi in its final race

At the end of an emotional 6 Hours of Bahrain, Lucas Di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarves waived the Audi R18 goodbye with a win in its final race. The second place of Lotterer, Tréluyer and Fässler made Audi's success complete. What better way to waive the R18 Hybrid goodbye ? Pole position, fastest lap and a clean sweep on the podium. 

The formation laps started with both Audi's in front of the field. A fitting farewell to the team that raced its final endurance race in the FIA WEC yesterday. When the green flag was waived, Loic Duval kept the lead after the first corner over Neel Jani in the #2 Porsche 919. Timo Bernhard fell back to third place, and would soon be challenged by Fässler in the second Audi.

Misfortune for the Porsche #2 in the first hour after contact with the #78 KCMG Porsche, straight after its first pitstop. Neel Jani had no other choice to come back in again, eventually losing a lap over the leading Audi and rejoining in sixth position. Meanwhile, Marcel Fässler who started fourth, made his way up to second place, before handing over the car to André Lotterer. 

After the second round of pitstops, André Lotterer in the #7 was leading Lucas di Grassi in the #8 by 5 seconds.  A problem with a tire change during the third pitstop, cost the leaders about 11 seconds, dropping them back to second place. Behind both Audi's, the Toyota #5 had been driving in third place for a while, but lost that spot to the #1 Porsche by the 3 hour mark.

In the second half of the race, the Audi's consolidated their lead and never really got into trouble again. The short full course yellow that was called when Dalla Lana stopped his car on the track, gave the Audi engineers the chance to change the pitstop strategy of the #8, which came in under FCY and so easily could hold on to it.  

The final hours of the race were all about consolidating places and bringing the cars home. The #7 Audi had a steady lead of about 20 seconds, not really under pressure of the #8 R18. Behind both Audi's, the Porsche #1 of the retiring Webber and teammates Hartley & Bernhard was comfortable second, ahead of both Toyota's. 

Both Toyota's never were really up to pace during the race, despite getting the #5 in third spot for a while. Surely a bit disappointing after their competitive display in the last races. The #6 never has been in a position to win the race or the championship. Finishing fifth for the #2 Porsche of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb was enough to secure the championship. Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the drivers & manufacturers championship, 2016 has treated the #12 Porsche crew well.

By the end of the race, all attention went to both leading Audi's. Di Grassi brought the #8 R18 Hybrid home, finishing a day with lots of tears and emotions. After all those years, splitting up the whole team feels like splitting up a family. Racing is emotion ... watching the Audi team from close by, and how the complete WEC paddock lived with them from the grid to the podium, even the entire weekend, was unique.  Tears were shed before and after the race, but Audi can be proud of what they achieved over all those years and leave an impressive legacy behind. 

Audi has been active in endurance racing for 18 years. Dominated the sport, had to dealt with rivalry of Peugeot, Toyota and Porsche but always emerged back to the top. An era comes to an end, let's hope this won't be a farewell from Audi but a goodbye and we'll see them back in the WEC or Le Mans at some time.

Gustavo Menezes held on to first place in LMP2 at the start, ahead of Bruno Senna in the #43 RGR Sport. Alex Lynn in the #44 Manor didn't have a clean start of the race and dropped down to fourth in the first lap.  At the back of the field Rene Rast, who started dead last, was flying during his first stint in the #26 G-Drive Oreca. A few laps into the race and Rast was already at the back of the LMP1 field, only to move up further in the order up to sixth place after an hour. 

A different pitstop strategy put Lynn back into third after the first hour. The batlles in the class really began after the third round of pitstops when Bruno Senna put up a fight with Lapierre for the lead. Lapierre managed to hold on to first place and was able to get away from Senna again. With a different strategy the #31 Extreme Speeds Motorsport Ligier got into the lead, letting the pro drivers take the first couple of stints and leaving the am driver 'till the final part of the race. 

After the final round of pitstops, Chris Cumming started to fall down the order, eventually finishing fourth in class. At the front the battle for the lead really got on in the final hour. Rast, Rusinov and Brundle kept on charging through the field and were up to third, right behind the #36 Alpine and Filipe Albuquerque in the #43 RGR Sport who got into the lead earlier. 

In the final 20 minutes, Rast made a gutsy move in turn one, passing the Ligier and stormed off to victory after an impressive race. 

Gianmaria Bruni had the best start in GTE Pro, leading the field after the first corner ahead of both Aston Martins. After the first round of pitstops, the #97 Aston Martin of Jonny Adam & Darren Turner took over the lead from the Ferrari.  A few hours into the race, and both Aston Martins seemed to have everything under control, leading the class ahead of the #51 Ferrari and the #67 Porsche. By the end of the second hour Darren Turner lost his right front wheel, limping back to the pitlane and losing his lead. Repairs to the car (new brake disc and caliper) would put the #97 3 laps down. 

With the #97 out of contention for the win, the #95 now was in front but trailed by both AF Corse Ferrari's. Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen kept their cool and started expanding their lead in the fourth hour of the race. After four hours the Danish duo put both Ferrari's one lap down. The #51 Ferrari fought back in the final hour of the race, put in the fastest lap, but ultimately was 12 seconds short to challenge the "Dane Train" for the win.

Thiim and Sorenson crowned themselves GTE-Pro drivers champions of 2016. The manufacturers title ultimately went to Ferrari since the #97 Aston Martin didn't finish higher than fifth after losing their wheel halfway in the race. 

Abu Dhabi Proton Racing took its second win of the year, beating the #78 KCMG Porsche and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari in the GTE-Am class.   Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas  in the #83 Ferrari didn't take any risks during the race as they only had to focus on the #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy & Matias Lauda. Drama struck however for the Aston crew when just over the 3 hour mark Dalla Lana stopped the car on track. An engine failure ended the race of the championship challengers, giving the #83 AF Corse crew the 2016 GTE-Am title.

Throughout the race, the GTE Am class was hardfought, with 5 of the six cars in class eventually leading the field. The winning #88 Porsche got to the front of the field in the second hour of the race, only briefly to lose that lead again after 4 hours. Khaled Al Qubaisi, David Henemeier Hansson and Patrick Long kept their cool and stayed out of trouble which automatically put them back in front. By the end of the race the #88 Porsche had a one lap lead over the #78 KCMG and the #83 AF Corse. 

Race results

Kristof Vermeulen.

FIA WEC - 6 Hours of Bahrain: Friday Gallery