Rebellion Set for IMSA Return; Menezes Joins Lineup at PLM

Image: Rebellion Racing

Rebellion Racing will make its return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next weekend at Road Atlanta, as the Anglo-Swiss squad seeks its third Motul Petit Le Mans victory in its three most recent attempts.

After missing the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen due to logistical reasons, the team will field an Oreca 07 Gibson in the ten-hour race for an adjusted lineup of Nick Heidfeld, Mathias Beche and American Gustavo Menezes.

The reigning FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 champion makes his Rebellion debut, in an extension of a partnership with the Swiss watch company, which he is an ambassador for.

“I am really looking forward to joining the Rebellion boys for the race,” Menezes said. “We have always been good friends and although we compete against each others during the WEC season.”

Both Menezes and Beche have been drafted into the team due to the majority of Rebellion’s regular rotation of drivers being on Formula E testing duty in Valencia next week.

Heidfeld, who drove in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring with the team, will also fulfill his Formula E obligations in Spain before traveling to Road Atlanta later in the week.

The team seeks its third overall victory in the race after claiming wins in 2012-13 with its Lola B12/60 Toyota. 

“It’s been six months since our last race in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and in that time, we have learned a lot more about the Oreca 07 LMP2 car,” team manager Bart Hayden told Sportscar365.

“We have a different driver lineup from when we raced at Sebring, but the drivers that will be in our car for the season finale at Atlanta have shown their pace previously, so we know that we will be competitive.

“On our last two visits to the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, we won the race outright, so we will be trying to keep that record going.”

The car will be sporting a revised livery (pictured above) in support of the “Only Watch” charity auction, for research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Rebellion Timepieces recently presented a unique version of the Predator 2.0 Power Reserve model, designed by Sébastien Buemi, for an auction that will take place in on Nov. 11 in Geneva.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John