Rebel Rock Racing Looking for ‘Second Start” at Sebring

SEBRING, FL (12 March 2019) – Rebel Rock Racing will be looking to build momentum for the 2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season as the team prepares for Friday’s Alan Jay Automotive Network 120. The race is the second round of the 10-race championship, with the 2 hour sprint race being staged as part of a blockbuster Sebring event that will also include races from both the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as the feature IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 12 Hour on Saturday.

Frank DePew and Robin Liddell will co-drive the No. 71 Urban Grid Solar/MVP Capital Camaro GT4.R in the two-hour race, set to take the green flag on Friday at 12:05 p.m. (ET), with live streaming of the race available at IMSA.com.

After the team outing was cut short at Daytona, the Rebel Rock crew rebounded to prepare the Urban Grid Solar Camaro GT4.R for a productive test at Sebring in February.  DePew and Liddell continued to learn the nuances of the new Michelin tire on the challenging and bumpy Florida circuit. 

“Our test was very positive and Frank did a great job in the car, very relaxed and methodical so we were able to make some good progress with the Camaro and really learned a lot,” said Liddell, who has the dual role of driver and Team Manager. 

The team was eliminated in an incident early at Daytona in the high-speed kink, with resulting suspension damage sending the Camaro to the paddock. 

Heading to a track that has seen Liddell take victory behind the wheel of a Camaro before (2014+2015), Rebel Rock Racing will look to fight back to the IMSA podium in Sebring. 

“Daytona was a disappointing start to the season, because we’ve been working really hard and we had a good car,” said Liddell,“It was a shame for this to happen, but we went home, thought about it and assessed where we were, and we’ll come back stronger at Sebring. This is a track where I’ve had some very good days and that always gives you some confidence ahead of the event. And with what I’ve seen from this Rebel Rock crew, that is another big source of confidence for me.”

With the Rebel Rock squad having rallied to prepare for the test, the team now has its sights set on a straightforward event at Sebring. 

“Our race ended a lot earlier than we wanted it to at Daytona, but it was still a very good weekend for us as a team,” said Depew. “The guys really hustled to have the car repaired in time for our test and we’ve just been building up as a group. Sebring is a tough place, with the conditions changing all the time and we will have a lot of different tire companies on track this weekend so that will make it different every time out. But the Camaro has been very good and hopefully we can show more of that in the race this weekend.” 

The Sebring weekend opens with official practice beginning at 8:20 a.m. on Thursday. Additional practice sessions will be held at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., with a 15-minute GS qualifying at 6:15 p.m. Thursday evening. The pre-race open grid and fan walk for the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 will begin at 11:10 a.m. on Friday. The race—set to be streamed live at imsa.com—will go green at 12:05 PM ET.