Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans - Rebellion
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For its 13th and last participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rebellion Racing achieved its best ever result in the overall classification of the legendary Endurance race. Unfortunately, the rebells were not able to share this moment with their fans.

Rebellion Racing approached this weekend with the desire to bow out in the best possible way after many months of preparation. The two Rebellion R13 crews began their weekend on Thursday with 10 hours of testing and 45 minutes of qualifying.

The Swiss team didn't lose a second to start the work for the race during free practice. The mechanics had to work very hard to change the engine of the R13 N.1 so that it would be ready for qualifying. In free practice 3, Rebellion gets his claws out and realizes the best time thanks to a lap of 3:19.158 of Louis Delétraz.

Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans

Rebellion Racing took up the challenge of Hyperpole on Friday, with Gustavo Menezes on N. 1 and Louis Delétraz on N. 3. The talented American driver achieved provisional pole in 3:15.822 before being dethroned by the Toyota N. 7 for only 5 tenths of a second! On the sister car, Louis Delétraz also did very well for his first participation by setting the 4th fastest time.

The long-awaited moment has arrived, the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is given 463 days after the arrival of the last edition. Bruno Senna, on the R13 N.1, and Nathanaël Berthon, on the R13 N.3, make an excellent start and keep up with the two Toyota cars. Bruno Senna even takes the lead for a few meters before the first braking where the Toyota is in a better position to take back the lead. Bruno Senna has the best race lap in the 4th lap in 3:19.264. After some problems for the Toyota #8, Nathanaël Berthon moves up to third place in the first hour. Whereas the drivers took turns and did one after the other on the track, the Rebellion R13s were running like clockwork.

Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans

During the night, shortly after the mid-race, the leading Toyota N.7 enters its garage, allowing Gustavo Menezes to move up to 2nd in the N.1 and Romain Dumas to take 3rd place in the N.3. At dawn, the positions are unchanged with Norman Nato 2nd on the N.1 and Nathanaël Berthon 3rd on the N.3. A problem with the front bonnet made the R13 N.1 lose 5 minutes and came out of the pits just behind the N.3. The two cars were then wheel in wheel and had a very nice duel. Louis Delétraz climbs into the N.3 but loses time, as well as 2nd place, because the car had difficulty to restart because of a tired clutch.

Shortly before the last hour, Louis misses the braking at Indianapolis and a slight shock with the tyre wall damages the front. The team proceeded to change the muzzle and the rear wing, but when the driver wanted to restart, the clutch continued to work and caused a big loss of time that knocked the R13 N. 3 down to fourth place...

Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans

By crossing the line in 2nd position overall behind the untouchable Toyota, Norman Nato, Gustavo Menezes and Bruno Senna climb on the podium for the sixth time in a row this season. A double podium was clearly within the reach of Rebellion Racing without the clutch problems encountered by Louis Delétraz, Romain Dumas and Nathanaël Berthon in the last hours.

“Congratulations to Toyota for their more than deserved victory! We worked hard to reach this magnificent second place,” says Alexandre Pesci, President and Owner of Rebellion Racing. “ Congratulations to the whole team for having distinguished themselves in this beautiful 2020 edition and for having for hours made the colours of Rebellion Racing shine very high.”

“I'm very proud of the work accomplished by the team that has maintained a healthy pressure on Toyota throughout this beautiful yet special 2020 edition,” stated Calim Bouhadra, CEO of Rebellion Corporation. “Deprived of being at the side of the whole team because of a positive test with the Covid-19, it is with a heavy heart that we leave the Le Mans 24 Hours stage.”

Racing second in the last 24 Hours of Le Mans

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