Rebellion Racing has announced it will partner with tyre supplier Dunlop for the upcoming 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Dunlop had previously announced it was seeking to return to WEC's LMP1 category, but had yet to announce which team it would partner with. Following extensive testing of its new rubber, Rebellion is convinced Dunlop's offering will be competitive and will therefore partner the tyre manufacturer, bringing the brand back to the LMP1 category for the first time since 2012.
Rebellion team manager Bart Hayden is hopeful that the partnership will help to maintain Rebellion's position as the leading non-manufacturer team and provide a step forward in their efforts to take on the likes of Audi, Porsche and Toyota.
"We are delighted to welcome Dunlop as tyre partner of Rebellion Racing and are excited about working alongside a company with such a deep motorsport background and rich history at Le Mans," he said.
"We look forward to establishing a strong and long term relationship with Dunlop. We saw in recent seasons that Dunlop have provided very competitive tyres to the LMP2 cars and we hope that this partnership will further improve the competitiveness of the Rebellion R-One LMP1 cars."
Xavier Fraipont, Dunlop motorsport managing director, added: "Team Rebellion Racing has established itself as one of the most respected and professional teams in the FIA WEC paddock. We are delighted that they have chosen Dunlop as a technical partner. We are proud that they selected our iconic brand after an intensive comparative tyre test and we will be providing focused technical support to help us drive forward together during the season."
The two companies will conduct an extensive development and testing programme over the coming weeks before official testing starts on March 25 at the Paul Ricard circuit.
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