REBELLION Racing finished on a high in Bahrain cementing five years of total domination of the LMP1 Privateer category of the FIA World Endurance. The #13 Rebellion R-One AER won the last race of the season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
The 6 Hours of Bahrain was a flawless race and no incident on track or technical issue interrupted the progress of the Rebellion R-One #13 AER car on its way to the chequered flag. Alexandre Imperatori, Dominik Kraihamer and Mathéo Tuscher won the LMP1 Privateer with a comfortable lead of four laps over the ByKolles #4 car and secured seventh place overall.
From the start until the sixth hour of the race, the Rebellion R-One #13 drivers built and extended their advantage over the ByKolles #4 car with a strong and safe pace. The right strategy from the pit wall and faultless pit stops from the crew helped to make the last race of the Rebellion R-One LMP1 car a perfect farewell and an illustration of the dominance of the Swiss team in the LMP1 Privateer category since 2012.
During the 2016 FIA WEC season, REBELLION Racing won eight of the nine races, including two overall podiums, a win at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours and secured eight pole positions along the way. Rebellion Racing won their fifth straight FIA WEC Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams, winning in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. It’s an achievement that the whole team is proud of.
After starting 22 races since 2014, the Rebellion R-One cars will now head to the museum. Developed and built in association with ORECA, the Rebellion R-One cars have claimed 19 LMP1 Privateer victories and have been crowned three times as winners of the FIA World Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Privateers from 2014 to 2016 (to add to the two titles that Rebellion Racing had won previously with their Lola cars in 2012 and 2013).
As the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship is now over, the REBELLION Racing team will focus on 2017 and their new racing challenge in the updated LMP2 category as previously confirmed. The Swiss team also announced last week their choice of the ORECA 07 LMP2 car, two of which have been ordered.
Alexandre Imperatori – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « It was a good send off for the R-One, we are really pleased to finish with a victory. We had a good and strong race today with no issues, my team mates did a great job. I joined the R-One programme last year and since then it’s been two very successful seasons amongst a very talented and committed group. I’m proud to be a part of it. We are now looking for the future and new challenge.»
Dominik Kraihamer – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « Really nice and sweet to end the season that way. No problem on track or in the pits and a very solid job from both team mates. We started the season as a dream with two overall podiums and after the team decided to focus on one car we were the lucky ones and we proved that the team’s choice was right. All the team deserves the results we achieved this year, it’s been a fantastic season. It’s now time to focus on 2017.»
Mathéo Tuscher – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « We had the race we were expecting, even stronger than we thought compared to the ByKolles car. I want to thank my two team mates and our entire team for this incredible season. We had a very well prepared and reliable car and we avoided mistakes on track, aside from our Le Mans DNF it’s only positive memories and the results are now written on the paper. I am now looking forward to next season.»
Bart Hayden – Rebellion Racing Team Manager : « It’s fantastic that the last race for the R-One played out so well. No problems at all, great driving and smooth pit stops made it almost feel easy. The three seasons with the R-One cars have been very rewarding for Rebellion Racing, we’ve won many races and all the Championships. There are many people that have contributed to the success, the drivers, the engineers, the mechanics and also our technical partners, it has been a true team effort. We are very proud to have delivered these great results for our partners, especially Rebellion Timepieces. We’ve worked with different technical partners over the years, but this season’s success is shared by Dunlop tyres and Advanced Engine Research. There’s an end of season party tomorrow, so we will celebrate then and afterwards turn our attention to the new challenge in LMP2. »