WEC: Rebellion's new LMP1 hits the track

The new Rebellion Racing R-One World Endurance Championship LMP1 challenger ran for the first time at Paul Ricard on Wednesday. The Toyota-engined coupe designed and built by ORECA was put through its paces by Swiss driver Mathias Beche in what was described as a "successful shakedown."

The roll-out follows a series of delays with the new car that mean Rebellion will rely on its old Lola-Toyota B12/60s for this weekend's WEC opener at Silverstone.

"Today the Rebellion R-One has turned its first laps and we are absolutely delighted by that," Rebellion team manager Bart Hayden said. "Our mechanics have been in the ORECA factory for the past few weeks without a break, and so today's running of the car is a great reward for all the hard work."

It is planned that the R-One will make its debut at the second round of the WEC at Spa on May 3 after further testing at Ricard at the end of next week.

ORECA boss Hugues de Chaunac described the test of the car, his company's first completed ground-up LMP design, as a "proud moment."