No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion suffers Le Mans disqualification


Vaillante Rebellion appeared as a certain contender for the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall win during the night time after the Toyota breakdown but was demoted to a podium finish due to problems in the morning. In an attempt to solve these problems they ended using a solution that a day later was deemed as illegal by the ACO, meaning the No. 13 Oreca 07 was disqualified from the race.

As there were problems with the starter solenoid during the early morning, the Vaillante Rebellion crew tried various solutions in order to round this problem, then they settled for opening a hole in the bodywork to be able to access the malfunctioning component without having to remove the engine cover in order to gain time, but the drilled hole was confirmed to be a breach to the regulation as the homologated bodywork was modified with consent of the team. Video footage evidence was shown and team representatives confirmed to the stewards the use of the method.

With the disqualification of the No. 13 Vaillante Rebellion Oreca, the No. 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca was promoted to third overall and second in LMP2, with this becoming a class 1-2 for the JOTA Sport-run team. The No. 35 Signatech Alpine completed the LMP2 podium and jumped to fourth overall.


It is expected later on that Vaillante Rebellion will appeal against the stewards decision.

PHOTO: Vaillante Rebellion/Eric Fabre

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