REBELLION RACING EAGER TO BE BACK IN ACTION AT THE 6 HOURS OF SAO PAULO
The fourth round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, will take place on Sunday 1st of September. Located in Interlagos, the Autodromo José Carlos Pace, home of the Formula One Grand Prix, is a 4.309 km long rollercoaster ride of a track set in a natural amphitheatre. The track is the highest of the year at 800m above sea level. In last year’s race REBELLION Racing recorded a win and a third place in the FIA Endurance LMP1 Team Trophy (4th and 6th overall).
With only two factory Audis and a single entry from Toyota Racing in this year’s race, a podium finish is a reasonable objective this time around.
For this event, and the remaining races of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, REBELLION Racing will enter a single Toyota powered Lola LMP1 car.
In Brazil, the #12 car will be driven by Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche.
Nick Heidfeld – Lola-Toyota #12 :
“I am really pleased to be back at Sao Paulo. Interlagos is a fantastic and very challenging track, I like it. It isn’t a very long lap, but it is demanding. We drive anti-clockwise and a special loading on the neck muscles is characteristic of the circuit. My favourite corner is number 6 – an uphill double right hander, fast and blind.
There are no longer any challengers to us in the FIA Endurance LMP1 Team Trophy, so we will be aiming for the third place overall. It’s a reachable target, but we will need good fortune !”
Nicolas Prost – Lola-Toyota #12 :
“I’m coming to race here in Brazil for the second time. The track is an interesting one with several overtaking opportunities (even if the track is not very wide !), so potentially making the race an exciting one. The temperature should be hot, the driving will be physically hard and the track will be demanding for the tyres.
Our goal is always the same, to be as close as possible to the factory cars and reach the podium if something happens in front of us.”
Mathias Beche – Lola-Toyota #12 :
“It is a great pleasure for me to continue with the team outside of Europe with the race at Sao Paulo. The Interlagos track is new to me, but I am well prepared and ready to give the best for the team. The altitude will give an extra advantage to the factory hybrid powered cars. We will certainly be a bit behind them, but we must continue our efforts and take every opportunity that presents itself.”
Bart Hayden, REBELLION Racing Team Manager :
“It is good to come back to Interlagos, as this race has a great atmosphere and a lot of support from the local fans. Interlagos provides a great challenge for the teams and drivers with the high altitude location and the notoriously bumpy surface as two of the key considerations when setting up the cars for the weekend.
The 6 Hours of Sao Paulo is the first race for the team since Le Mans and we’re looking forward to getting the track action underway.
We’re the sole remaining LMP1 privateer team since the withdrawal of Strakka Racing, and that means REBELLION Racing are guaranteed to win the FIA Endurance LMP1 Team trophy for the second year in a row. We’re sad that Strakka aren’t here, but we’re instead focusing on those ahead in the factory cars and will be targeting the podium at each of the remaining WEC rounds.”
