Rebellion Racing have confirmed that their non-hybrid LMP1 prototype entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship will be built by ORECA.
Rebellion have a long-standing relationship with ORECA and believe that having their influence in helping to build their 2018/19 LMP1 car would be beneficial for all concerned as they hope to take on the might of Toyota this season.
An all-new Gibson engine should provide the team with a straight-line speed advantage over their Japanese rivals, with the rules allowing them to use 210.9 mJ of energy per lap compared to 124.9 mJ for the hybrid cars around Circuit de la Sarthe. This means that the Rebellion will have a higher top-end speed.
ORECA have been putting the pieces in place for a return to top-flight prototype competition following the FIA’s confirmation of revised regulations to balance the hybrid and non-hybrid cars in the top-class. By continuing their partnership with Rebellion, ORECA’s return to LMP1 for the inaugural WEC super-season seems to be perfect timing.
Rebellion will be the exclusive customer of the ORECA chassis. The whole team at ORECA are ready for the challenge to take on Toyota at their own game.
Hugues de Chaunac, ORECA Group CEO announced , “To design this new LMP1 prototype is a wonderful challenge.
“When the design bureau began developing the ORECA 07, we really wanted to move up to the next level, one step higher compared to the ORECA 05.
“The successes achieved last year really motivated and convinced us to now tackle this highly competitive main category.
“Fitted with an atmospheric engine, this LMP1 will face a hard task against the Hybrid cars. But the Rebellion R 13 will be a very determined challenger.”
Rebellion will reveal their 2018 challenger at the Geneva Motor Show before making its on-track debut at the FIA WEC Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on 7-8 April 2018.
