Rebellion Racing has made history by becoming the first privateer team in FIA WEC history to win a race on track, taking victory in the 4 Hours of Shanghai ahead of both Toyotas.
The Swiss squad already had one race win to its name, but that was not earned on track as it was handed the win during last year's 6 Hours of Silverstone the day after the race when both Toyotas were disqualified on technical grounds.
Today was a different case. Norman Nato had started the #1 Rebellion R13-Gibson on pole, but had a poor getaway and quickly dropped down the pack. The two Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1 – AERs were quick to pick up the lead and settled into a one-two lead as they outpaced the Toyotas.
As Rebellion recovered and fought its way back out to the front, both Ginettas and the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid were handed a drivethrough penalty for overtaking the Rebellion before the start line, which dropped those three cars out of contention for the win. A late full course yellow due to debris then handed the advantage to the Rebellion, now in the hands of Bruno Senna.
Senna then made history as he brought the car over the line when Rebellion became the first privately entered team in WEC history to win a race on track, taking victory alongside Gustavo Menezes and Norman Nato. The #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Kazuki Nakajima, Brendon Hartley and Sebastien Buemi finished second ahead of the #7 Toyota of Jose Maria Lopez, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, who finished a lap down.
The historic victory also marks a personal milestone for Senna, who became the first driver in WEC to win in all four classes of the championship.
The two Ginettas brought up the rear in class. The #5 of Egor Orudzhev, Jordan King and Ben Hanley came fourth ahead of the #6 Charlie Robertson, Mike Simpson and Guy Smith.
JOTA Sport took victory in LMP2. The #38 ORECA 07-Gibson of Antonio Felix da Costa, Roberto Gonzalez and Anthony Davidson held off the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA of Gabriel Aubry, Ho Pin Tung and Will Stevens to take the victory. A late spin for the #36 Signatech Alpine at the hands of Thomas Laurent handed third to the #22 United Autosports ORECA of Paul di Resta, Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson, who recovered from an early engine intake issue to take an impressive third.
The win marked the first victory for Goodyear tyres in the World Endurance Championship, and the first win for Gonzalez and Davidson since the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May.
AF Corse have taken their first win in Shanghai when James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi took an unlikely victory in the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. The #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen led almost the entire race until an exploding rear tyre at the end of the third hour dropped them down the order and handing the victory to Ferrari.
That was until stewards found a ride height infraction on the #51 Ferrari and stripped Calado and Pier Guidi of victory. As a result, Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen took victory in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19. Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz were promoted to second in the #91 Porsche, while Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin joined the podium in third after previously finishing fourth in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR.
You can read the details of the disqualification here.
TF Sport took their second straight victory in GTE Am, further underlining the Aston Martin Vantage AMR's strong pace as Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood and Jonny Adam brought the #90 car across the line. Team Project 1 collected another podium finish as the #57 Porsche 911 RSR of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating and debutant Larry ten Voorde came second.
The #98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage AMR of Ross Gunn, Darren Turner and Paul Dalla Lana recovered from an early clash to recover and finish third.
The 31-car field had 30 cars making it across the line, with one car retiring: the #42 Cool Racing ORECA 07-Gibson suffered an electronics issue that could not be repaired.
