Rebellion wins the 4 Hours of Shanghai and makes WEC history

Les paroles défaitistes prononcées par le clan Toyota aux 4 Heures de Shanghai (Chine) après les essais n’étaient pas du bluff. Les LM P1 Hybrides ont effectivement marqué le pas en course, et ont laissé le champ libre à la Rebellion R-13 frappée du n°1.

History made today! @RebellionRacing take its second ever WEC victory ace @BSenna @GustavoYacaman and @NatoNorman win the 4 Hours of Shanghai on Nov 10, 2019

Well done, well done! Congratulations, guys#4hShanghai #WEC pic.twitter.com/xHuM9c13cb

- WEC (@FIAWEC) November 10, 2019

The non-hybrid car, in pole position thanks to the laps of the Bruno Senna-Gustavo Menezes-Norman Nato crew, dominated the debates on Sunday November 10, helped, it is true, by a very restrictive ballast success against the Toyotas.

This is the first victory in the general classification acquired on track by Rebellion Racing, and the first success for a non-hybrid LM P1 in the WEC. Remember, however, that the Swiss team took advantage of a post-race sanction at Silverstone (Great Britain) in 2018 to claim a winner's cup on the green carpet.

At Toyota, number 7 (Mike conway-Kamui Kobayashi-José Maria Lopez) had started the event on the wrong foot by anticipating the start. Sanctioned by a passage through the pits (drive-through), it finished behind the n°8 (Sébastien Buemi-Kazuki Nakajima-Brendon Hartley).

Finally, the two Ginetta G60-LT-P1s got confused in race tactics and early starts. 

In LM P2, Jota Sport asserts itself as one of the leading teams by completing the double after Fuji (Japan). Roberto Gonzalez and the fast Antonio Félix Da Costa and Anthony Davidson did not commit the slightest fault. They are ahead of the stage locals, Ho-Pin Tung, Will Stevens and Gabriel Aubry on the Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca.

Aston Martin could well have won the GTE Pro class without a puncture for the #95 (Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim). Finally, it is Ferrari who benefits from it via the crew made up of Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, the winners of the last 24 Hours of Le Mans. THE Porsche complete the podium.

Finally, in GTE Am, success went to TF Sport and the Aston Martin Vantage of Charles Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Jonny Adam. They also appear to be the favorites for the title; this is their second performance of this rank after Fuji. 

WEC standings 4 Hours of Shanghai 2019:

Find in AUTO issue 2242hebdo, available Monday evening in digital version and Wednesday on newsstands, analysis of the WEC in Shanghai by our special correspondent.