HUNTINGDON, UK – Multimatic congratulates Rebellion Racing on closing out the American Le Mans Series era with overall victory at Petit Le Mans. This historic result represents the final entry in the ALMS record books, as North American sports car racing unifies under the United Sports Car Championship in 2014 and LMP1 will no longer be included.
In this historic final running of the endurance classic, the Lola coupe won the thousand-mile race in 9 hours and 37 minutes, completing 394 laps of the famous Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia. Posting the race’s fastest lap at 1 minute, 11 seconds flat, the Lola outpaced the non-finishing Muscle Milk HPD ARX-03a by nearly a second
Polesitter Neel Jani took the Lola B12/60 to an early lead, until contact with an LMP Challenge car 43 laps in. Astute strategy and strong driving saw the ‘3N’ driver lineup of Nick Heidfeld, Neel Jani, and Nicolas Prost back on the lead lap by mid-race. The superior pace of the Lola was ultimately not needed as the Muscle Milk entry retired at the 200 lap mark and the Rebellion car assumed total control of the race, running trouble-free to the end.
The victory represents the second-consecutive Petit Le Mans overall win for the Rebellion Racing Lola, which also took the pole and race’s fastest lap in 2012.
With aerodynamic revisions and Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV®) dampers from Multimatic, Rebellion has netted multiple World Endurance Championship wins this year. Multimatic completed an aerodynamic update to the Lola B12/60 chassis ahead of the 2013 season opener, conducting extensive computer modeling and analysis, scale model wind tunnel testing and full-size validation, as well as the update and manufacture of over 25 carbon fibre body parts. In addition, Multimatic outfitted the Rebellion LMP1 prototype with DSSV® dampers, complete with inerter and platform control system functionality.
Rebellion’s historic Petit Le Mans win caps five successful years campaigning Lola prototypes, during which the Anglo-Swiss team won international top privateer honours in 2009 and 2012, an LMP2 podium at Le Mans in 2009, and the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. This historic win is the last for an LMP1 car in North America, as LMP2 and Daytona Prototype cars assume top rank next year.
About Multimatic: Multimatic is a privately held global corporation supplying components, systems and services to the automotive industry. The company is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Canada, and has operating divisions in North America, Europe and Asia with manufacturing partners in South America and Australia. Multimatic’s core competencies lie in the manufacture of stampings, welded assemblies, mechanisms, and suspension components, as well as the design and development of automotive body and chassis systems. For more information, please contact: Stephen Charsley // Manager – Motorsport Business Development // scharsley@multimatic.com
About Lola: The world’s oldest and most recognized independent racing car manufacturers, Lola continues its long history of international race wins with Multimatic delivering design, engineering, and manufacturing, as well as ongoing development and trackside/technical support for Lola customer teams. Long-standing business partner Carl A. Haas Imports continues to provide parts and spares support from new and existing stock.
Building on its 15-year, Le Mans-winning association with Lola, Multimatic has retained Huntingdon’s key engineering and technical staff to ensure design continuity, and brings composites and volume component manufacturing expertise along with industry-leading modeling, simulation and testing capabilities to this historic brand.
With reinvigorated infrastructure and a renowned engineering and motorsports company behind it, the Lola marque is poised to build an increasingly competitive position in global motorsports, while continuing to provide ongoing support to existing customer teams. For more information, please contact: George Howard-Chappell // Motorsports Business Director // ghoward-chappell@multimatic.com
From Multimatic | +1 905 470 0025 | jvinden@multimatic.com | http://www.multimatic.com // 85 Valleywood Drive // Markham, L3R5E5 Canada
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