Lmp1 - 6 Hours Of Bahrain

[Mark H]

Rebellion Racing reinforces its lead in the FIA Trophy for LMP1 teams with a double podium

 

- 4th and 5th places overall at the 2012 6 Hours of Bahrain

- 2nd and 3rd in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Teams

- Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani move to 4th in the FIA WEC Drivers World Championship

 

After the toughest race of the season due to extreme heat and high humidity, Lotus-Rebellion Racing finishes the 6 Hours of Bahrain in fourth and fifth place overall, 2nd and 3rd in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Teams.

The 6 Hours of Bahrain saw for the sixth time in six races both Lola B12/60 Toyotas taking the chequered flag proving the high level of reliability of the Lotus-Rebellion Racing cars.

In endurance racing, minor issues can have a big impact on the final race result. Along with many other competitors (including Audi Sport and Toyota Racing), Lotus-Rebellion Racing had to deal with minor electrical problems during the race that prevented the Swiss team from making it onto the third step of the overall podium. Problems with the illuminated side number panels on both cars forced the team to stop for repairs, costing precious time in the pits.

The Lola-Toyota #12 car driven by Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost was strongly running in third place overall with one lap over the #21 HPD-Honda when the Race Director instructed the car to pit for repair after the three hour mark. The sister car, #13 driven by Andrea Belicchi and Harold Primat was successfully recovering after starting from the back of the grid and was P6 overall when same issue checked its progression.

In these stressfull and demanding conditions, the Toyota RV8KLM engines from Toyota Motorsport GmbH proved once again their performance and reliability.

Michelin provided a first class service with quick, consistant and durable tyres even with extreme heat and harsh track conditions.

REBELLION Racing now heads to the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan with the aim of securing the win in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Teams. After the 6 Hours of Bahrain, REBELLION Racing has a 37 point lead over Stakka Racing and a maximum of 50 points is available in the last two rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Japan and China.

 

Bart Hayden Lotus-Rebellion Racing Team manager : "It could have been a slightly better result for the team, but the weekend in Bahrain has positives in many ways. We had both cars on the LMP1 Privateer podium, that rewards the hard work of the whole team. The team endured extreme conditions throughout the week, the guys made no mistakes during the pit stops and had a lot of work to do in rebulding a complete car in only 24 hours prior to the warm-up. We are closer than ever to winning the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Teams. Both cars finished the race in good condition and that is important for the next fly-away races in Japan and the USA. #12 and the spare car will fly to Fuji. The spare car will be repaired and rebuilt in Japan to race there as #13. The #13 that we raced here in Bahrain will fly to Atlanta for Petit Le Mans where it will run as #12."

 

This post has been promoted to an article