Daniel Abt passed his baptism of fire with flying colors at the world’s most famous motorsport event. The 22-year old from Kempton completed almost eight hours at the wheel of the sports car entered by private team Rebellion Racing and won the LMP1 Privateer category of the endurance classic together with Dominik Kraihamer (A) and Alexandre Imperatori (CH).
“The whole day at Le Mans was a unique experience with many highlights. One can feel the mythical ethos of this unique track in every corner,” said Daniel Abt, who had only completed a few laps in the closed sports car before the race weekend. “I was particularly impressed by the drivers’ parade though the city center on Friday afternoon – unbelievable, we were very excited to see how many people attended the event.”
After 24 hours of the 13.629 kilometer long circuit, during which the crew suffered some setbacks and repairs, followed the celebration on the podium: As a winner of the LMP1 Privateer category, Daniel Abt was honored in front of 100,000 fans with one of the coveted Le Mans trophies for his living room. “Much more important for me was that my first Le Mans ran smoothly: I drove a total of ten stints and brought the car back without a scratch each time, “ said Abt. “Thanks to my team-mates and the entire Rebellion crew – it was great fun.”
The race at Le Mans was just the prelude to further appearances in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC. After the finale of the FIA Formula E in London next weekend, Daniel Abt will contest the rest of the WEC season for Rebellion Racing. “I am looking forward to it, as I have now raced the car. With 24 hours of experience I can now approach the six-hour long races of the world championship complete differently.”