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Rebellion to end its motorsport involvement after Le Mans
Swiss watch brand Rebellion announced this morning that it will step away from all of motorsport activities following the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours, meaning the team's FIA WEC LMP1 program has just four races remaining.
The announcement implies, but doesn't categorically state, that Rebellion will no longer be a part of the forthcoming Peugeot Sport FIA WEC hypercar effort. Said Rebellion CEO Calim Boudhadra: “I am convinced that the Peugeot Brand’s challenge in WEC will be a great success in the future, which I regret not being able to attend.”
This ends a 13-year run of involvement, racing as a privateer team at the highest levels of sportscar racing, as a front-running privateer team in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team has also competed in Dakar.
“Motorsport has been a great resource for Rebellion,” said Alex Pesci, the president of Rebellion Corporation.
“The circuits have been exceptional showcases and an important sounding board for our brand with a very wide audience. The returns on investment of [our] activities in the motorsports business have been more than satisfactory. We are giving ourselves time to redefine the contours of our business, but the effects of this decision will be immediate for the racing department as soon as the WEC season ends.
“These are not easy decisions to make and we are saddened that we will not be able to meet our past commitments for the years to come.”
“The Rebellion Corporation brand strategy must change,” Boudhara added. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2020 will be our last race, and we will make it a point of honor to end the endurance adventure on a positive note and enrich an already excellent record of achievements.
"We would like to thank our partners for having trusted us and for having taken up so many challenges together with a rebellious spirit. As a private team, we are proud to have written a page in motorsport.”
Rebellion said in closing that it “will eventually turn its attention to other challenges".
Stephen Kilbey
UK-based Stephen Kilbey is RACER.com's FIA World Endurance Championship correspondent, and is also Deputy Editor of Dailysportscar.com He has a first-class honours degree in Sports Journalism and is a previous winner of the UK Guild of Motoring Writers Sir William Lyons Award.
Read Stephen Kilbey's articles
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