The two Lola-Toyotas of Rebellion Racing qualified in the wake of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro and Toyota TS030 Hybrid, confirming their hold on the private team field in LM P1 after qualifying for the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2013.

Qualified sixth and seventh, Neel Jani-Nicolas Prost-Nick Heidfeld (n°12) and Andrea Belicchi-Mathias Beche-Cong Fu Cheng (n°13) were ahead of the Honda HPD of  Strakka Racing, their adversary for the private team trophy.

Neel Jani (driver Lola-Toyota n°12, Rebellion Racing, LM P1) : “We are happy with our result of today. We are the best privateer on the grid and that was what we were targeting. More would only have been a bonus. For the race, we are close enough to the factory cars to benefit from the situation if something should happen with them. ”

Nick Heidfeld (pdriver Lola-Toyota n°12, Rebellion Racing, LM P1) : “It has been a very good day for us. We topped our class in each of the 3 sessions of the day. We were very close in the practice sessions to the factory cars. I'm sure that I would have improved my best laptime if I hadn't been slowed by an LMP2 car on my last flying lap, but I'm happy with the position we are today. We are developing the car and we are getting the harvest from our efforts. ”

Andrea Belicchi (pilote Lola-Toyota n°13, Rebellion Racing, LM P1) : “The format of the day at Spa, 2 free practice sessions and the qualifying in a single day, was a first for everybody . It's a special exercice because you haven't very much time to find the right set-up to be competitive for the qualifying session. We did improve the car during the two free practice sessions but not enough compared to our team mates in the #12 who are far ahead. ”

Mathias Beche (driver Lola-Toyota n°13, Rebellion Racing, LM P1) : “It was the first time for me that I drove in real qualifying spec with a new set of tyres and with low fuel. And I had only 2 laps to be on the pace. Unfortunately, I was blocked by trafic. We are glad to be ahead of the HPD. Regarding the championship, it will be a good result if we can keep this position after the end of the race. But I can't be satisfied with my performance compared to the laptime of the #12 drivers. I feel that we are not at our good place yet, we have some work to do.”

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO

(Quotes from Rebellion Racing press release)

Photo : SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS (BELGIUM), 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS WEC, QUALIFYING, 3rd MAY 2013. After getting between Audi and Toyota at Silverstone, Rebellion Racing is once more lying in ambush at Spa-Francorchamps.