REBELLION RACING STARS WITH OUTRIGHT PODIUM AT 6 HOURS OF SAO PAULO

The Swiss team REBELLION Racing delivered a solid performance in the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo to take the third step on the podium at the fourth round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship. It is the first time this season that a Privateer team has stood on the overall podium of a FIA WEC race. Nicolas PROST, Nick HEIDFELD and Mathias BECHE drove a safe race after the works Toyota Hybrid #8 crashed out and retired.  During the safety car period that followed, the #12 Lola-Toyota lead the race on two occasions.  When the race was resumed the REBELLION Racing team focused their strategy on reaching the podium in third place and staying out of trouble amongst the traffic.

With this third place overall finish, REBELLION Racing also record their third win in four races in the 2013 FIA Endurance LMP1 Teams’ Trophy.

The next race of the FIA World Endurance Championship will take place on September 22nd in Austin at the Circuit Of The Americas, home of US Formula One Grand Prix.

Nicolas PROST : «It’s a fantastic achievement to finish third overall. We’ve won many races in the FIA Endurance LMP1 Trophy as a Privateer with a lot of fourth place overall finishes. It’s good to reach the podium this time. The podium was our aim before coming to Sao Paulo and it’s nice to get it. The team have worked very well all weekend, it’s a great result for us.»

Nick HEIDFELD : «I am really pleased with this podium here at Sao Paulo.
We have been able to work on different set ups with the car since we had no competition in the Privateers. We have learned a lot about the car and that is another good side from this weekend.  Driving with other drivers and working with the engineers that have been on the sister car in the first half of the season provided new perspectives for us.
After the Toyota was out, I had a clean race and took more attention while overtaking cars than usual. This podium is a great reward for the team that have lifted their level in the past two/three years and will give us more motivation for the remaining races and next year. »

Mathias BECHE : «I am deeply happy with this result. I want to thank my teammates who did a great job during the race and the whole REBELLION Racing team. I had a problem with the padding behind my Hans so the team took the option to shorten my double stint to only one and Nico took over from me. I went back into the car after him to finish the race and enjoyed crossing the finish line in third place.
We stayed out of problems on the track and adapted our pace through the race.
The WEC is a big commitment for a Privateer team, this result proves that the team was right to maintain their effort in the FIA WEC until the end of the season, this result is rewards that decision. »

Bart HAYDEN  – REBELLION Racing Team Manager : « The whole team is delighted at achieving an outright podium in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Interlagos, a track with great motorsport history.  It’s also nice to bounce back after a disappointing Le Mans and to see that the team has a great spirit and determination to succeed. We changed the driver line-ups from earlier in the season and the guys have gelled well and the work ethic has been very high.  The “fly-away” races are a challenge for any team, so I’m really happy that we’ve achieved this great result here in Brazil.  It’s been a real team effort with great support also from TMG for our Toyota engine and from Michelin with the tyres, together we’ll celebrate this success! »