The privateer section of the LMP1 category might only have featured three entries in 2015 but it has provided some great entertainment in 2015. Rebellion Racing added a fourth WEC title to their tally despite a late start to the season that saw the Swiss team debut their new AER powered R-One chassis at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and compete in just six of the eight races in 2015.
Mathias Beche and Nicolas Prost triumphed in the Driver’s category and the Franco-Swiss duo were assisted at Le Mans, Nürburgring and CoTA by Nick Heidfeld. The no12 R-One racked up two wins, two second and two third place finishes, with Japan and China providing the high point of the season. The victory in China sealed the Team and Driver Championships with just one race remaining in Bahrain.
The victories were evenly split amongst the competitors with the no13 Rebellion winning at Le Mans and in Bahrain and the no4 Bykolles CLM winning in Germany and Texas. The difference between the three cars was the consistency of the no12 Rebellion R-One, with Beche and Prost finishing all six races that they started while the no13 car only finished four races and the Bykolles CLM reached the chequered flag five times.
The first race of the 2015 season for the no12 Rebellion saw Beche, Prost and Heidfeld standing on the second step of the podium after 24 Hours alongside the no13 car of Dominik Kraihamer, Alex Imperatori and Daniel Abt. It was a relief for the whole Rebellion Racing team who had worked tirelessly to get the two cars ready in time for Le Mans and the payment was a 1-2 finish in the world’s greatest endurance event.
Another second place followed at the Nürburgring following technical issues with the car, but this time Prost, Beche and Heidfeld finished behind the Bykolles duo of Pierre Kaffer and Simon Trummer, claiming the first victory for Bykolles.
A third place finish in Texas at the Circuit of The Americas was probably the low point of the 2015 season for the no12 car but Prost and Beche, who raced with Heidfeld for the first time in 2015, bounced back to claim victory in Japan in extremely wet conditions.
In Shanghai it looked like the title race would go down to the final round of the year as the no12 Rebellion hit the barriers with 12 minutes left on the clock. The car rejoined but then more drama as the no13 Rebellion stopped on track just before the chequered flag. The no12 Rebellion took the victory and because the no13 car wasn’t classified, the title was decided in favour of Mathias Beche, Nicolas Prost and the no12 Rebellion Racing R-One AER.
In Bahrain the victory went to the no13 car, with the no12 taking the chequered flag for the sixth out of six times in 2015 in third behind the Bykolles CLM-AER.
Mathias Beche and Nicolas Prost accumulated 134 points, as did the no12 Rebellion, 26 points ahead of their nearest rivals, their teammates Alex Imperatori and Dominik Kraihamer on 108 points in the no13 Rebellion R-One.
