"BENTLEY BOY" ABRIL ON BOARD FOR SPRINTX ROUNDS

Bentley Motorsport will send Bentley Boy Vince Abril to the USA to race for Bentley Team Absolute in the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX alongside Adderly Fong in the #88 Continental GT3. The first race will be held at the picturesque Virginia International Raceway from April 28-30.

At just 22 years old, Vince Abril has been selected by Bentley Motorsport to support Bentley Team Absolute, following two successful season of racing in Europe. Abril, who resides in Monaco, was promoted to Bentley’s works team at the end of 2015 after he won the Blancpain Sprint Series in a Continental GT3.

“I am delighted and honored to represent Bentley Motorsport in such a major and growing championship that is the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint X,” said Abril. “It was a big career goal for me but I didn't expect it to come so soon; I am very grateful and will do the best to capitalize on the opportunity I'm given.

“Bentley Team Absolute has obtained fantastic results for us, and I can't wait to get started with them and Adderly, who has good experience with the car and the tracks. Together we will aim to bring Bentley to the top of the podium once more.”

SprintX is a recent addition to the Pirelli World Challenge schedule and features two drivers sharing the car in one hour races with a compulsory driver change. The championship has been attracting the attention of the world’s leading GT3 manufacturers, which are deploying factory drivers to support their top American customer teams.

“We watched the first season of SprintX very closely and felt that it was a championship that Bentley Motorsport should be involved in,” explained Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “Bentley Team Absolute is a great team and Adderly and Vince will make a good pairing. We recognized Vince’s talent early on and, after a year of supporting him as he raced for our European customer team, we selected him to race for our works team. He is a great representative for Bentley on a global level and we are proud to be sending him to the USA to embark on a new challenge for himself and the brand.”

In a second Continental GT3, Bentley Team Absolute Pirelli World Challenge racer Yufeng Luo will race alongside Swiss driver Alex Imperatori for the first two rounds. The Los Angeles-based Chinese racer Luo finished one spot off the GTA class podium at the most recent Pirelli World Challenge round on the streets of Long Beach.

The two Pirelli World Challenge SprintX races at Virginia International Raceway will be streamed live on the  championship website at www.world-challenge.com. Saturday's race on April 29 will begin at 2:30pm (Central) with Sunday's 60 minute battle scheduled for 12:15pm (Central) on April 30.