Bentley announces it's 2015 race program, with a huge filed of events, this year is going to be great.

• Continental GT3 race programme expands around the world
• Works, Works-supported and customer teams for 2015
• Bentley Team M-Sport confirms 2015 driver line-up
• First race of the season will be the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour

Bentley Motorsport announces its full schedule of races around the world for 2015 after a successful debut season for the racing version of Bentley’s iconic Continental GT grand tourer, the Continental GT3. Building on the success of the 2014 season, which saw the Continental GT3 win three races on two continents and finish second overall in the Blancpain Endurance Series, for 2015 the programme expands to cover six race series over four continents.

Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, comments:

“2015 promises to be a very exciting year for Bentley Motorsport, as we grow our programme through customer teams to see the Continental GT3 facing fresh challenges at new tracks across the globe. This year will see the most extensive campaign of racing in Bentley’s illustrious history, as we continue to use the Continental GT to build on our racing heritage. Racing is in our blood, and with the Continental GT3 we continue to build on a winning tradition. Bentley customers are now going racing with their marque, in a Bentley, in race series around the world.”

2015 sees the brand’s Works team, Bentley Team M-Sport, return to the Blancpain Endurance Series. In addition, Bentley is also taking on three of the world’s premiere sports car endurance events. The Bentley Motorsport season will begin with the two Continental GT3s of Bentley Team M-Sport tackling Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 12 Hour on Sunday 8^th February. 

Later in the year, Bentley will also enter arguably the world’s most gruelling endurance race – the ADAC Zurich 24h Race at the Nürburgring – an event for which preparations began earlier in 2014 when Bentley took part in two VLN series test races. The year will close with one final endurance race, the Gulf 12 Hours at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Alongside the Works team, Bentley announces additional partner teams to race the Continental GT3 in key regions, as Works-supported entries:

• Following a race-winning half-season in 2014, Bentley Team Dyson Racing will contest the full Pirelli World Challenge season in the U.S.A.
• In Europe, Bentley Team HTP will use five Continental GT3s to race in the Blancpain Sprint Series, Blancpain Endurance Series and ADAC GT Masters championship
• In Asia, Bentley Team Absolute will compete in the GT Asia series

The Works and Works-supported teams are complemented by customer teams, who will extend the racing activities of the Continental GT3 even further, including events such as the Dubai 24 Hours and the Australian GT series. Bentley’s customer racers have already had success with the Continental GT3, including a win in the NGK Racing Series in Dubai.

The 2015 Bentley Boys

Bentley Team M-Sport also announces its driver line-up for the 2015 season. After scoring victories at Silverstone and Paul Ricard, and finishing second in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2014, car #7 retains the all-British trio of Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane. The three Bentley Boys are looking forward to a second complete season with the team, and to working together again. Andy Meyrick comments:

“It was an honour to race for Bentley last year and I’m thrilled that Guy, Steven and I will be together again in the Continental GT3 this year. 2014 was the car’s debut season and so second place in the championship was a real achievement, but that clearly leaves us room to go one better and that’s our target for the Continental GT3 this year.”

Car #8 sees an all-new and truly European team of drivers for 2015. Joining Bentley Team M-Sport are Spanish racer Andy Soucek, German GT3-specialist Maximilian Buhk and Belgian Maxime Soulet. All three have raced in the Blancpain Endurance Series before, showing prodigious speed and racecraft and making them natural choices to join Bentley Motorsport for 2015. New Bentley Boy Andy Soucek comments:

“It feels fantastic to join Bentley, a company with such a long and prestigious connection with motorsport. Racing for this team will be very special to me and I’m excited to take on the challenge. I drove the Continental GT3 for the first time at Portimao recently, and was really impressed with its performance. I’m looking forward to getting the season underway.”

Bentley’s progress throughout the season can be followed at www.bentleymedia.com or via the@BentleyComms Twitter feed.

2015 Race Schedules in Full

Premiere Endurance Events:

Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, 6^th-8^th February

ADAC Zurich 24h Race, Nürburgring, 16^th-17^th May

Gulf 12 Hours, Abu Dhabi, 13^th December

Blancpain Endurance Series (Bentley Team M-Sport, Bentley Team HTP):

Monza, Italy: 11th-12th April

Silverstone, UK: 23^rd-24^th May

Paul Ricard, France: 19^th-20^th June

Spa 24 Hours, Belgium: 23^th-26^th July

Nürburgring, Germany: 19^th-20^th September

Blancpain Sprint Series (Bentley Team HTP):

Nogaro Coupes de Pâques, France: 18th-19th March

Brands Hatch, UK: 9^th-10^th May

Zolder, Belgium: 5^th-7^th June

Moscow City, Russia: 3^rd-5^th July

Algarve, Portugal: 4^th-6^th September

Misano, Italy: 2^nd-4^th October

Baku World Challenge, Azerbaijan: 24^th-25^th October

ADAC GT Masters (Bentley Team HTP):

Oschersleben, Germany: 24th-26th April

Red Bull Ring, Austria: 5^th-7^th June

Spa, Belgium: 19^th-21^st June

Lausitzring, Germany: 3^rd-5^th July

Nürburgring, Germany: 14^th-16^th August

Sachsenring, Germany: 28^th-30^th August

Zandvoort, Netherlands: 18^th-20^th September

Hockenheim, Germany: 2^nd-4^th October

Pirelli World Challenge (Bentley Team Dyson Racing):

Circuit of the Americas, Texas: 6th-8th March

St. Petersburg, Florida: 27^th-29^th March

Long Beach, California: 17^th-19^th April

Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama: 24-26^th April

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ontario: 15^th-17^th May

Road America, Wisconsin: 26^th-28^th June

Mid-Ohio, Ohio: 31^st July-2^nd August

Miller Motorsports Park, Utah: 21^st-23^rd August

Sonoma Raceway, California: 28^th-30^th August

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, California: 11^th-13^th September

GT Asia (Bentley Team Absolute)

Yeongam, Korea: 15th-17th May

Okayama, Japan: 26^th-28^th June

Fuji, Japan: 17^th-19^th July

Sepang, Malaysia: 14^th-16^th August

Shanghai, China: 25^th-27^th September

Buriram Chang, Thailand: 23^rd-25^th October

Macau: 13^th-15^th November

The first Ferrari Sergio has arrived in the United Arab Emirates.

The first Ferrari Sergio has arrived in the United Arab Emirates. It has been delivered today to its new owner, the SBH Royal Auto Gallery in the UAE, at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, where the Finali Mondiali Ferrari are being staged and which is home to the Ferrari World theme park.  

Designed by Pininfarina, just six of this incredibly limited edition roadster are being built. The car was created to celebrate the spirit and core values of the historic Cambiano company in the 60th anniversary year of its collaboration with the Prancing Horse. Needless to say, Sergio was the only possible choice of name for the model, in homage to great Sergio Pininfarina, who sealed the unique, longstanding partnership with Ferrari. 

The Ferrari Sergio is a genuinely radical car. It is both exclusive and spare in the sense that every single element aboard is focused entirely on performance. An authentic open-top, it explicitly references the track, underscoring and intensifying its sense of sportiness, fun behind the wheel and the pleasure of design at its purest.  

The Ferrari Sergio’s performance and dynamics are excellent in the extreme too. It is based on the 458 Spider and retains the latter’s technological content as well as all of the functional aspects of its cockpit. It is powered by the latest 605 hp version of Ferrari’s naturally aspirated 4497 cc V8 which has won the International Engine of the Year award on three consecutive occasions. This power unit also guarantees the car sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds. 

The Ferrari Sergio has an extremely simple, clear style. Both its volumes and treatments of its surfaces reflect the spirt of Pininfarina’s 1960s and 70s creations for Ferrari. Its proportions have been pushed to the extreme with the front of the car seeming to penetrate the rear which itself projects forward. 

The result is an exceptionally sculptural, three-dimensional take on the classic roadster. The two bodyshell masses are melded together via a longitudinal black insert, the main styling cue of the design.  The flank is also characterised by the same black longitudinal element which acts as both a dividing and unifying element between front and rear. The two sections of the car flow effortlessly into one another resulting in sublimely harmonious yet extremely muscular forms.

As with all Ferraris, the Sergio’s design was never an end in itself but is a marriage of function and aesthetics. The semi-floating development of the front spoiler beneath the bonnet balances downforce and optimises heat exchange. The roll-bar is a modern take on the classic Ferrari flying buttress and negative rear window.  Integrated into the roll-bars are the air intakes for clutch and gearbox oil cooling.  Lastly, the rear nolder and rear extractor generate downforce, adding an efficient finishing flourish to the car’s design.  

At the front of the car, Pininfarina has integrated the headlights in a classic move, turning them into a single transparent transverse element, a signature of the car’s extreme formal purity. At the rear, the circular tail lights are another modern nod to Ferrari history.  The two-tone theme continues on both the front bonnet and rear deck with the latter featuring the iconic circular air vents seen on other iconic Pininfarina creations from the past.

The cockpit is pared-back and functional in the extreme with the engine compartment actually hugging the backs of the seats. The example delivered to Abu Dhabi has three-layer red exterior paintwork and an extremely sporty cockpit with black leather upholstery with contrasting red stitching, Alcantara seat inserts, and extensive carbon dash and door well trim. It also features Sergio-specific forged wheels, in this instance gold in colour with a diamond finish.

Each one of the six Ferrari Sergios was configured by its owner in dedicated sessions at the Tailor Made atelier in Maranello where clients are invited to personalise their cars to their own individual tastes. The atelier offers enormous freedom of choice in terms of colours, materials and finishes. As a result, every detail is extremely exclusive, thereby continuing the Prancing Horse tradition begun in the 1950s and 60s of creating bespoke cars minutely tailored to each client’s wishes. 

World Premiere of the new FXX K at the Ferrari Mondiali in Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari’s new FXX K research and development programme receives its world premiere next weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The laboratory-car is based on Maranello’s first hybrid model and will grace the world’s tracks from next year onwards. The K in its moniker is a reference to the “KERS” kinetic energy recovery system it adopts in maximising its track performance.  

Unfettered by homologation and racing regulations, the FXX K will never be used in competition. It was, in fact, developed to be completely uncompromising, incorporating technological innovations that will guarantee an unprecedented driving experience to the exclusive group of Client-Test Drivers with whom the Prancing Horse will roll out a test programme over the coming two years.

The car’s enormous potential is attested to by two significant figures:  a total power output of 1050 cv (860 cv delivered by its conventional V12 engine and 190 by its electric motor) and maximum torque in excess of 900 Nm.

The FXX K’s 6262 cc V12 features new camshafts and a modified valve train with mechanical rather than hydraulic tappets. The intake manifolds have been redesigned and given a special type of polishing treatment. The exhaust system has been modified as its silencers have been eliminated.

The HY-KERS system has been evolved specifically for pure performance with the result that the driver can control the function logics from the specific 4-setting Manettino on the centre console: Qualify, for maximum performance within a limited number of laps; Long Run to optimise performance consistency; Manual Boost for instant maximum torque delivery; and Fast Charge, for a fast recharge of the car’s battery. 

A focus on delivering maximum efficiency at every stage of every track lap has resulted in extensive but integrated work on the entire car body in terms of both active and passive aerodynamics.  

The front of the car is dominated by a twin-profile spoiler and a larger splitter, which is 30 mm lower, with a gap in its centre. This design is an application of the concepts developed to improve aero balance in the GT category of the WEC, which Ferrari has won for three consecutive years.  

Two pairs of vertical elements, an endplate and, externally, a dive plane, together with vertical fins channel the air towards the car’s flanks, generating a longitudinal vortex that creates a localised depression. This in turn sucks the wake from the wheels to the outside of the aerodynamic underbody. Along with the side skirts that extend out from the sills, the vortex helps isolate the airflow from the underbody to boost its efficiency.

The solutions on the rear of the car are highly sophisticated, too. The tail section is now higher and the mobile spoiler extends further for a total increase in extension of 60mm when fully deployed. A vertical fin and a small wing each side of the tail act as guide vanes in the low drag configuration and boost the spoiler’s efficiency in the high downforce one. 

This system also creates considerable downforce at the rear of the car, allowing the use of an extreme diffusion volume for the rear diffuser which optimises air extraction from the underbody.  The section of the flat underbody just ahead of the rear wheels is also exploited to the full to generate downforce thanks to the reduced pressure in the wheel arch guaranteed by the direct connection to the rear of the car by a by-pass duct.

The result is a 50% improvement in downforce in the low drag configuration and a 30% improvement in the more aggressive downforce configuration, resulting in a figure of 540 kg at 200 km/h.

Vehicle dynamics are further improved by the adoption of Pirelli slicks complete with sensors that monitor longitudinal, lateral and radial acceleration, as well as temperature and pressure. This ensures an accurate analysis of the interaction between the tyre and track surface, providing even more vital data to enable the traction control system to guarantee maximum performance.

The intervention level of the E-Diff electronic differential, F1-Trac traction control, Racing SSC (Side Slip Angle Control) - now specially calibrated to suit the car’s slick tyres - and the high-performance ABS can be controlled using the five-position Manettino on the steering wheel.

McLaren continues development of 650S GT3 with 12 hour desert endurance test.

• 650S GT3 to face its toughest test yet with 12 hour desert endurance test
• Global competitive debut of the latest GT model from Woking
• Dramatic 650S GT3 preview video – ‘The Chase’

The 650S GT3 will be unleashed in a competitive environment before the end of the 2014 season as the latest model from McLaren GT is confirmed to complete its development programme sign off with the ultimate test of endurance and performance at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The global competitive debut will take place at the 2014 Gulf 12 Hour race, 12-13 December, before the 650S GT3 joins customer teams from next season.

McLaren GT has used the 2014 season to develop the 650S GT3 before joining GT grids with customer teams around the world from the start of 2015. The race will be the final sign-off for the latest Woking-built model, and also be the most challenging to-date, with the race debut also being one of the most competitive events on the GT calendar. The grid attracts some of the biggest names in GT racing, and is the final headline event of the season with the 2014 event expected to feature around 30 cars in the GT3 category.

Andrew Kirkaldy, Managing Director McLaren GT, explained: ‘The development programme of the 650S GT3 has been extensive already, with the team testing over thousands of kilometres in various conditions. The Gulf 12 Hour will give us the opportunity to fully evaluate the 650S GT3 in a real life race environment, which presents a very different challenge. It will be the toughest test the 650S GT3 has faced so far – a real race situation with a highly competitive grid in high ambient temperatures.

‘Any endurance race is a true test of a car, but we are pushing the boundaries with the 650S GT3. We have worked hard to enhance all areas of driver engagement, and optimised cooling with no adverse affects of performance. This has broadened the performance envelope to make the 650S GT3 more of a drivers’ car, with its performance more easily accessible to all drivers on the growing GT grids we are now seeing around the world.’

Further details regarding the driver line-up for the 650S GT3 at the Gulf 12 Hour will be confirmed in the coming weeks.