Two weeks after it first turned a wheel, and a little over one year following the project’s launch, the REBELLION R-One is ready to make its competition debut this weekend at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Designed and built by ORECA for REBELLION Racing, the Toyota-powered R-One LMP1-L today was seen for the first time today at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Five of its six drivers were present for a photo with their car on the start-finish straight - only Andrea Bellichi was missing due to a delayed flight.
The team, which is led by Bart Hayden, is viewing the race ahead as a major step in its preparation for the third round of the championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With only 5 days of testing prior to the Belgian event, the Swiss team will focus on development and testing of the cars in race conditions.
Hayden said: "Just getting to Spa with two new cars is already a massive achievement for the team. Everyone has given everything that they have to get these cars ready and I'm very proud of the work ethic and professionalism of everyone that has been involved. Our expectations for the race are quite modest, we anticipate new car teething problems, but we considered it to be crucial to be at Spa to give ourselves the very best preparation for Le Mans. We start a new chapter for the team this weekend and we hope that it will be a great continuation of what has already been a fantastic story for REBELLION Racing."
One thing is certain, the No.12 and No.13 red and white prototypes will be both very welcome and very popular additions to Saturday's grid.
Fiona Miller
Photos: SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT (SPA, ARDENNES, BELGIUM), WEC 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, THURSDAY, 1 MAY 2014. Top and Middle: the new Rebellion-Toyota R-One; Bottom (left to right): Rebellion Racing's Mathias Beche, Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost, Fabio Leimer, Dominik Kraihamer.
