In sunny conditions at the Nurburgring, the Rebellion R-One #13 drivers Alexandre Imperatori, Dominik Kraihamer and Mathéo Tuscher won the LMP1 Privateer battle in a thrilling race and took the chequered flag in seventh position overall.
They finished the weekend on a high after being the fastest in every free practice session and taking the LMP1 Privateer Pole Position. But it was not an easy and trouble free race …
At the start, the #4 CLM took the lead in front of both the Rebellion cars, #13 driven by Alexandre Imperatori and #12 with Nick Heidfeld at the wheel.
The LMP1 Privateer lead changed several times as car #12 and #13 opted for different strategies and the cars hit some unexpected technical issues.
Keeping the same set of tyres, Nick Heidfeld took the lead after the first round of pit stops. After the second round of pit stops car #13 was back in front with Dominik Kraihamer followed by car #12 as Mathias Beche took over Nick Heidfeld.
The race change at mid-distance as the #4 CLM retired on track leaving both Rebellion’s cars fighting for the win.
In the last stages of the race, car #13 was the first to face issues. Mathéo Tuscher was forced to pit because of a brake caliper seal failure, the crew changed the caliper quickly and the car was soon back on track.
Nicolas Prost in car #12 took the lead and a few laps later Nick Heidfeld was back in the car to end the race. Then Nick reported an engine misfire over the radio, so the team boxed the car for a quick repair and also a change of front bodywork. The car was back in the race, only fifty seconds in front of car #13.
In the closing stages of the race another unscheduled and slightly longer stop for car #12 handed the victory to the #13 crew.
With the win for Rebellion R-One AER #13 and second place for Rebellion R-One AER #12, the REBELLION Racing team increase their lead in the FIA WEC LMP1 Privateer Trophy, Rebellion R-One #12 with a total of 104 points and Rebellion R-One #13 with 75 points.
REBELLION Racing team members will not rest after this race as two days of tyre testing with their partner Dunlop Tyres are scheduled later this week in Monza.
The next FIA WEC race event for REBELLION Racing will be the 6 Hours of Mexico on the 3rd of September.
Alexandre Imperatori – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « It’s good to win again, especially here at Nurburgring. At the start of the race I was surprised by the start of the #4 CLM but I decided to wait and take no risk. We jumped them during the first pit stop. Dominik and Mathéo did great during their stints and the team was really good again when they had to change a rear caliper. When I came back in the car I wanted to push and fight for the win but unluckily car 12 faced problems. After this it was just about bringing the car home. »
Dominik Kraihamer – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « It was a difficult race for all of us. It’s great to finish in front and take the points for the victory. I had two good stints and Alex and Mathéo were once again super. Many thanks to our crew and our engineer to provide us a such a good car, and to repair it quickly when needed … »
Mathéo Tuscher – Rebellion R-One AER #13 : « I am pleased to be back on the top of the podium, especially after the retirement we had in Le Mans. We are closing a bit on car #12 for the championship. The race was not easy, and when I lost the brakes I was not confident about the final result for us. Our mechanics did a great job to get us back into the race loosing a minimum of time. Thank you to them. »
Bart Hayden – REBELLION Racing Team Manager : « We are pleased with the LMP1 Privateer win for car #13. It was almost a clean run for car #13, but when intervention was needed, the mechanics did a great job to effect the repair in the minimum of time. Car #12 had a couple of unscheduled stops which put it out of contention, but it finished the race and took the points for second placed privateer. Today’s race results put us in a good position for the championship and for the coming races. »