Constructor Oreca | ||
Category Le Mans Prototype
(LMP1) Chassis Carbon fibre composite monocoque Suspension (front) Double wishbone, push rod operated over damper Suspension (rear) Double wishbone, push rod operated over damper Wheelbase 13 in × 18 in (330.2 mm × 457.2 mm) | ||
The Rebellion R-One is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is designed to meet the 2014 LMP1-L regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and replaces the Lola B12/60 chassis. The first two R-One's debuted at the 2014 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
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Development
Since forming in 2008 as a partnership between Speedy Racing Team and Sebah Automotive, Rebellion Racing have been using chassis from Lola Cars in the LMP2 class before switching to LMP1 in 2009. In 2011, Rebellion announced a partnership with Toyota Motorsport GmbH confirming an engine supply partnership.
Since Lola became defunct at the end of 2012, parts for Rebellion's existing B12/80's became increasingly difficult to obtain. Rebellion managed to negotiate a deal with French constructor Oreca towards the end of 2013 for a LMP1-spec car for the 2014 season. The car was designed "in record time" according to Oreca Technical Director David Floury. The car only began testing in April 2014 and was not ready for the first race of the FIA WEC season, the 6 Hours of Silverstone, therefore Rebellion had to race with the two existing Lola B12/80s for the Silverstone race before switching to the R-Ones for round 2 at the infamous Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
2014 season
The 2014 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was the public début of the Rebellion R-One. Both cars were struggling with teething issues that usually accompany brand new cars. The two cars were the only entrants in the privateer LMP1-L class so they were guaranteed to win the class, but whether it would be car number 12 or 13 remained to be seen. It was car number 12 that looked most likely after qualifying, where it started 12th on the grid while car 13 failed to set a time and started at the back of the grid. Car number 12 driven by Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche climbed five positions and finished seventh overall, ten laps down on the overall winning Toyota hybrid. Sadly car number 13 was the only retirement of the race, bowing out due to electrical problems after completing 47 laps.
2015 season
The car underwent an engine change for the 2015 season, changing to an Advanced Engine Research twin-turbo V6. This necessitated extensive revisions to the chassis and as a result the team missed the first two races of the season in order to modify and test the cars. The revised car was tested for the first time at Paul Ricard in France at the end of May and was expected to take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours.