TVR joins forces with Motul and Rebellion Racing
05.04.2018
The FIA WEC Super Season is poised to start and REBELLION Racing has announced its partnership with the iconic British sports car manufacturer TVR.
In September 2017, the brand – which is well known for being on starting grids for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – revealed its latest "Griffith" model. It is fitting for the brand to want to associate its image with the world endurance champion team REBELLION Racing for its return to Le Mans.
Following its entry in the LMP1 category, REBELLION Racing chose to reveal the outline shape of its ORECA R-13 prototype at the Geneva Motor Show. It was at Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet that the team unveiled on 5th of april its livery.
Motul, at the heart of the collaborative alliance, is a mutual partner with REBELLION, TVR, Gibson and the FIA WEC. The creation of a synergy around these different major motorsport names therefore seemed an obvious move. The specialist of high performance lubricant and Gibson engines have worked together during the winter to develop an experimental lubricant for use in the LMP1 category.
TVR back to Le Mans
The TVR name will make a sensational return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with both REBELLIONs in the premier category of the World Endurance Championship. The brands share common values on and off track, which is the reason why REBELLION Racing and TVR have decided to take up this new challenge together for the 2018-2019 Super Season.
About TVR
Founded in 1947 in the South of England by Trevor Wilkinson, TVR is a sports car manufacturer. Specialized in light and powerful vehicles, the brand was the third largest manufacturer of specialized sports vehicles in the world for some time. After a period of inactivity of five years and a change of ownership, TVR presented the new Griffith on September 8, 2017 at the Goodwood Revival in England, which is due to be marketed in 2019. Equipped with a V8 engine from the Ford Mustang VI, reworked by Cosworth, the car has an output of 500 bhp.
TVR’s last participations at Le Mans were in 2003, 2004 and 2005 with a T400R in the GT2 category. That last entry goes back 13 years, which is kind of a sign for the rebel team...
Romain Grabowski, External Communication Manager of Motul:
"What better platform than the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to submit our lubricants to the most extreme conditions? It is with this in mind that Endurance is at the heart of Motul's strategy in motorsport. 2018 will be, for sure, a very great year as it marks our return to the LMP1 category. For that, we formed a group of people composed of ourselves, our friends and partners at REBELLION and TVR, without forgetting Gibson Technology, with which we developed a brand new experimental lubricant for the LMP1 engine this winter. It completes the 300V Motorsport Line range already recommended for the entire LMP2 category. In this context, it is an understatement to say that everyone at Motul can’t wait to see the first green flag of the season lowered! "
Calim Bouhadra, vice president of REBELLION:
"We are happy to once again enter the World Endurance Championship alongside partners such as ORECA, Motul and now the iconic TVR brand that all motorsport fans know. Since winning the title last November we have worked on an ambitious project for this new Super Season, with the creation of a brand-new car and recruitment of a quality driver line up. So, it's a new ambitious adventure that starts for REBELLION and we're looking forward to seeing our two R-13s face our competitors."
Les Edgar, Chairman of TVR:
“Endurance racing is a key part of TVR’s DNA, and our role as the primary automotive partner of Rebellion Racing TVR gives us a great opportunity to return to the sport for the first time in 13 years. It also allows TVR to work with a competitive racing team and apply these learnings to the development and production of not only TVR road cars, but also our future one-make series and track cars. In this respect, the opportunity to work alongside Gibson, ORECA and Motul is fantastic, and will contribute to our ongoing development efforts.”