M-Sport Bentley Ready to Race Around The Clock

Following successive victories in the Blancpain Endurance Series, M-Sport Bentley is setting up at the world-famous Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium for the Total 24 Hours of Spa – the headline race of the season, starting at 4:30 PM local time on Saturday, July 26^th. The team is looking for both of its cars to finish in the points, and aiming to strengthen the championship lead of the Bentley Boys of the #7 Continental GT3 (Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane).

The Continental GT3 is built by the Bentley motorsport team in conjunction with M-Sport. The Bentley GT3 team is led by Bentley Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush and M-Sport’s Chief Engineer, Christian Loriaux. M-Sport was originally formed in 1979, and in 1994 M-Sport won national rally titles in Italy, Portugal, the Middle East and Britain, the latter with founder Malcolm Wilson himself behind the wheel.

Through seamless teamwork and consistent pace, the narrow victories scored at Silverstone and Paul Ricard have put the team in to a strong position going in to the fourth and most important round of the championship at Spa. Three sets of points are awarded over the course of the race, with teams scoring at the six- and twelve-hour marks before the final finishing order completes the points allocation.

The team is targeting a top-ten finish for both Bentley machines. This task has been made more difficult due to a new Balance of Performance for the Continental GT3 which both increases weight and reduces engine performance.

Despite this, Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, is still hopeful of a strong result.

“We come to Spa with a great deal of excitement. Bentley’s motorsport heritage is built on 24-hour racing, and the last time we took part in a race of this length was our victory at Le Mans in 2003. The nature of racing over so many hours means that we not only need a reliable car with great performance, but a good deal of luck. We think the Continental GT3 will suit Spa, but our pace has been dealt a blow with a new Balance of Performance that will certainly restrict us. The thrill of 24-hour racing is that it could be anyone’s race, and we’ll be racing to give the British fans something to cheer about.”

Bentley Boy Steven Kane has taken the checked flag in his Continental GT3 at the last two races. He comments, “Spa will be a race like no other this season, as the only 24-hour marathon on the calendar. The first test race for the Bentley was the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, and we’ve done a 24-hour test too, so we know we have the reliability. Hopefully we can complement that with the speed needed to compete for major points. We also know that there’ll be a lot of Bentley fans watching the race and we don’t want to let them down!”

Belgian former F1 driver Jérôme D’Ambrosio knows the Spa-Francorchamps circuit better than most, and is very aware of the challenge it presents. Jérôme will be racing with Duncan Tappy and Antoine Leclerc in the second Continental GT.

“I’m thrilled to be racing with Bentley at Spa,” said Ambrosio. “It’s an historic track, including some of the best corners in the world, and to be racing in front of my home fans again will be fantastic. It’s a really tricky circuit, and while I’ve raced here in series from Formula Renault to F1, I’ve never driven it in the dark – that’s a really exciting new challenge. Duncan, Antoine and I will be looking for our best result of the season so far and I’m confident we can have a great race.”

M-Sport Bentley’s progress over the weekend can be followed at @BentleyComms, where live updates will be posted from the track, while Eurosport and Motors TV will provide live television coverage.

Bentley Continental GT3 Battles to Top 10 Spot in Toronto Round of Pirelli World Challenge

It was a competitive race for Butch Leitzinger in the #08 Bentley Continental GT3 today in the Pirelli World Challenge double header in the streets of Toronto.  At the end of the thirty-seven minute race, Leitzinger had moved from thirteen to ninth and set a time three tenths off the fastest race lap. It was a weekend of positive progression as the team dialed in the car and found increased speed in each session.
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The weekend showcased the development of the Bentley Continental during its inaugural street race and put the team in a good position for future racing on tight courses. 

“The car really came into its potential during the race today,” said Leitzinger. “During long greens, the car got quicker and quicker.  It was a challenge today to work through some of our competitors.  Once we had some clear track, we were able to go hard at it, and the car had good pace and we were the best we were all weekend.  I have to keep on reminding myself that this is a development year. We are here to learn and not just concentrate on the results page. The goal was to come out of this weekend with a lot of data and to figure out how to come back here next year with a competitive package so we can challenge for a win.

“The best thing about the car is how predictable it is.  On street tracks, the wall is your defining exit point as opposed to a road course where you can drop a wheel off and not lose any time.  Here you end your day if you take it too far.  But with the Bentley, I am able to exit right on the wall and feel confident that it is not going to do a last kick and catch the wall. That is a confidence building characteristic and bodes well for future street races.”

Jon Divaio, Motorsports Manager for Bentley Motors, Inc., echoed the take-away:  “Overall, it was a quite positive race weekend.  This is the first time we have run on a track like this and we certainly learned a lot about the setup of the car. It is a real tribute to the team that we were able to get the car moving quicker than we had on the previous days.

“The program is moving at a quick pace.  We are learning a lot, not just about the car, but about working together and the partnership between Dyson Racing and Bentley Motors.  We both share the same goals and the program is showing positive traction.  We could not ask for a better partner.”

This weekend’s races can be seen Sunday, August 10 at 12:30 p.m. CST on the NBC Sports Network. Dyson Racing Team Bentley and the Pirelli World Challenge will next race at Mid-Ohio August 1-3.

Race Report: Bentley Continental GT3 in Toronto Race 1

Butch Letizinger finished 19th in the first race of the Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader on the streets of Toronto on Saturday afternoon in the Bentley Continental GT3.  His race came to a premature end on lap 19 of 30 after coming together with another competitor two thirds of the way through the fifty minute race. 

The car was not badly damaged, and Dyson Racing Team Bentley will be ready for the drop of the green flag for Sunday’s race.

“The Bentley is a great car, but it actually needs a piece of road to drive on!  The driver in front of me did not want to give me any piece of the road,” explained Butch Leitzinger after the accident.  

Leitzinger was in close pursuit of another competitor who moved over aggressively to defend going into turn three.  Street courses are known for their tight confines and the cars came together and unfortunately both were eliminated from contention.

“It was not an ideal race result, but overall we are making good progress,” commented Chris Dyson, the team’s Vice President and Sporting Director.  “This weekend is really a learning weekend, and a building weekend for the future, and is all part of putting together a data base for the fall testing and for racing on this type of circuit next year.”

It is a weekend of firsts: the first time for the team to race at Toronto and the first time a Bentley Continental GT3 has raced on a street circuit. 

“The rough and tumble of a street course is brand new to this car,” commented Leitzinger. “But that is one of the things we knew coming in, that this would be more of a development weekend than our first race at Road America. Everything is homologated on the car, but there is a lot of room to work with the hardware as far as shock absorbers, spring rates, anti-roll bars, as well as the ride heights. So there are quite a few variables that we can work with and will continue to gather data through the race tomorrow.”

Street tracks in general and the course here on the shores of Lake Ontario present a unique set of challenges.  Leitzinger commented on the characteristics of the Toronto track. 

“There are concrete patches through many of the turns which are extremely slick.  They “rubber up” some during the weekend and you get a bit more grip but not a lot.  Plus it is a bumpy track. So between these two factors, it is test for the car as well as being a challenge for me to figure out the best lines.  Many times the best lines are not the conventional ones as you go where the grip is. But these challenges are the same for everyone and make for competitive racing.”