Bentley to contest more than 90 races in 2016 after a hugely successful 2014 and 2015.

• Bentley Motorsport races across the globe in 2016
• Works team adds Blancpain Sprint Series to calendar
• Wolfgang Reip becomes latest Bentley Boy

Bentley Motorsport will contest more than 90 top-level GT races around the world in 2016, as both its works and customer team programmes expand. The Bentley Team M-Sport works outfit will now enter the full Blancpain GT Series and welcomes Wolfgang Reip to the Blancpain Endurance Series line-up.

Following success in the 2014 and 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series, the Crewe-based operation will now enter the Blancpain Sprint Series aiming to retain the Continental GT3’s championship title and enabling it to contest the full Blancpain GT Series.

In addition, it will contest the inaugural SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge, which comprises Bathurst 12 Hours, Spa 24 Hours and Sepang 12 Hours.

The Bentley Boy line-up sees two changes for 2016, with the promotion of Vince Abril from a customer team driver to full works team position and the addition of Wolfgang Reip, winner of the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series.

“When you’re looking for a new works team driver, you naturally look at your toughest competition,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “For the last two seasons we have enjoyed some really close battles with Wolfgang so we invited him along to test with us. We were very impressed and we’re pleased to welcome him as our latest Bentley Boy.”

Alongside the works team programme, Bentley Continental GT3s will run in the world’s top national championships; Blancpain Endurance Series; Pirelli World Challenge; GT Asia; ADAC GT Masters and the British GT Championship, with customer and partner teams carefully selected by Gush.

“We’ve been very careful when selecting which teams will represent us this season,” commented Gush. “When you look at our teams and their programmes, I’m proud to say that I think they could all win their championships and that’s exactly where Bentley belongs – at the front, at all times.”

With Bentley Team M-Sport busy contesting the Blancpain GT Series, the British manufacturer’s Nürburgring 24 Hours assault will, this year, be campaigned by Bentley Team Abt Sportsline.

“Although we are working with Bentley Team Abt Sportsline at Nürburgring 24 Hours this year, the works team and manufacturer support will be at the same high-level it has been at for the last two years. A win here is as important for the brand today as it has ever been.”

The 2016 Bentley Motorsport works team will next race at Misano on 8 April for the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series.

Works team driver line-ups:

Blancpain Endurance Series

Car #7; Guy Smith (GB), Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO)

Car #8: Andy Soucek (ES), Maxime Soulet (BE) and Wolfgang Reip (BE)

Blancpain Sprint Series:

Car #7: Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO)

Car: #8: Andy Soucek (ES) and Maxime Soulet (BE)

Customer/works-supported teams:

Bentley Team Absolute: GT Asia and Pirelli World Challenge

Bentley Team Abt Sportsline: ADAC GT Masters and Nürburgring 24 Hours

Bentley Team Parker Racing: Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship

Bentley to race a two GT3's in the Pirelli World Challenge championship with Andrew Palmer & Adderly Fong.

• Bentley confirms 2016 Pirelli World Challenge championship campaign with Absolute Racing
• Two cars confirmed with third entry planned
• Andrew Palmer and Adderly Fong will each race a Continental GT3

At least two Bentley Continental GT3s will enter the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge as Bentley Team Absolute announces a programme including entries from young American rising star Andrew Palmer and one of Asia’s top sportscar drivers, Adderly Fong.

The Pirelli World Challenge is a 20-round GT championship comprising 50-minute-long, single-driver races on eleven of America’s most historic and iconic race tracks, including Laguna Seca and Road America.  The Continental GT3 has taken race wins in the championship this year and Bentley Team Absolute is looking to continue the race car’s success in the States.

The campaign will run alongside the team’s GT Asia Series programme, in which it aims to retain its teams’ championship-winning title while claiming the drivers’ championship title.

“We’ve won major international championships in Europe and Asia this year and it is certainly the plan to take a title in America,” comments Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush. “Bentley Team Absolute has proven they have what it takes, so we are excited to take our relationship into another continent to take on another challenge.”

“We are pleased to have Adderly back for a second season and look forward to welcoming Andrew into the Bentley fold,” continues Gush. “We have been very impressed with Andrew, not only did he become the youngest ever overall race winner in Pirelli World Challenge in 2014 but he has shown great maturity and talent in 2015 and we look forward to working with him to develop his career further.”

Bentley Team Absolute’s Team Director, Ingo Matter, comments:

“We’re delighted to confirm this additional programme. It’s a major new market for our team and we couldn’t be happier to be doing it with Bentley. Our experience in Asia with the Bentley Continental GT3s will give us a major boost. We’re sure that the combination of Adderly’s experience with the car and Andrew’s experience in the Pirelli World Challenge will also add further layers of confidence to the programme.”

Despite being new to Bentley, 21-year old Palmer has completed a season in Pirelli World Challenge and impressed in his debut Blancpain Endurance Series season racing against the Bentley Motorsport factory team.

25-year old Fong is no stranger to the Continental GT3, as he and his Bentley Team Absolute team-mates took the racecar’s first teams’championship-win in GT Asia Series earlier this year.

While the two-car programme is confirmed, the team is in talks with several drivers regarding a third entry.

The Pirelli World Challenge kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on 3 March 2016.

BENTLEY brings home the points, at Monza, in the latest race, for the Continental GT3.

• Car #7 makes a strong start to the season with a second-in-class* finish
• Car #8 also scores championship points, finishing eighth-in-class*
• Bentley Team M-Sport looks forward to home race at Silverstone

Bentley Team M-Sport made a strong start to its 2015 European season, with the #7 Continental GT3 of British trio Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane finishing a provisional second-in-class (fourth overall) in the opening round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Italy’s famous Monza track. 

The sister #8 car of new Bentley Boy team Maxi Buhk, Maxime Soulet and Andy Soucek fought through the field, overcoming multiple challenges to climb 23 places overall and finish provisional P12 and eighth-in- class, also scoring championship points.

Both cars endured some bad luck during the race, with higher results being limited after cars were forced off the track by slower competitors. However, the result bodes well for the season ahead, and Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, was satisfied with the outcome:

“This is the start to our season that we were looking for. 

We've spent the off-season focusing on the setup of the Continental GT3, and we're now seeing the results of those efforts. I’m delighted that car #7 has scored some really valuable championship points, and equally impressed by the hard-fought position of car #8. 

Buhk, Soulet and Soucek had to fight from P35 on the grid after a harsh penalty, and overcame a puncture and some questionable driving from our competition to finish in the points. We'll be aiming to build from here for the next round, our home race at Silverstone.”

The Story of The Race

After a very busy morning qualifying session that saw all 59 entrants fighting on-track for grid position, the two Continental GT3s lined up 10^th (car #7) and 35^th (car #8) for the three-hour race. Guy Smith drove the opening stint in car #7, climbing four places at the start to sit P6 before snatching P5 by lap 10.  Andy Meyrick took over from Guy after an hour, driving a solid stint that saw him pit from P7 to hand the car to Steven Kane. 

Steven immediately set to work, taking P6 before being spun off the track after being hit from behind by a competitor. Fortunately, he rejoined without issue and maintained the place, and was able to finish provisional P4 overall and second-in-class.

Car #8 had a more eventful race, but still managed to finish in the top 10 in class and earn valuable championship points. Maxi Buhk started the race, climbing all the way to P19 in his stint before a right rear puncture forced him to pit several laps early. 

Maxime Soulet replaced Maxi behind the wheel, and drove an exceptional stint to climb to P10 overall. Andy Soucek took control with an hour left in the race, climbing to P9 early in his stretch. Unfortunately, more bad luck was to hit car #8, after two different competitors forced Andy off the track, costing him places. The eventual, provisional result of P12 overall was sweetened by being eigth-in-class place and so scoring four valuable championship points.

Driver Quotes

Guy Smith, car #7: “I’m pleased with my performance today and very satisfied with our result. We arrived here with a good setup for our car that we refined in the practice sessions. I was concerned about the start – Monza is a very tricky place to start a race, especially with 60 cars on the grid, but I had a great start and made four places in to the first chicane. From there I was able to manage my position well, and Andy and Steven did the rest. We’ve made a running start to the season and I can’t wait for Silverstone.”

Andy Meyrick, car #7: “This has been a really good opening race for us. The car felt fantastic, really balanced and driveable, and even though we were outpaced by some cars that haven’t yet been properly performance-balanced, we’ve scored a class podium and leave here with great championship points. Our home race is next and I’m really hoping we can be back on the podium in front of the British fans.”

Steven Kane, car #7: “As usual, Guy and Andy drove mega stints to put me in a position to push hard to the finish. The car was so much more balanced than this time last year, but getting hit from behind and spun off the track was really frustrating – I was really enjoying my stint and making great progress. Leaving here with trophies feels fantastic though, and we’ve made the championship start that we were aiming for.”

Maxi Buhk, car #8: “After a really tough qualifying this morning, and the 10-place grid penalty, this was about recovering as best we could. The reality was better than that – we could push our car hard, and the setup was perfect. Between us we climbed 23 places, despite all the challenges. I had to end my stint early when I got a puncture going through Parabolica, but the pit crew responded so quickly that we minimised the time lost.”

Maxime Soulet, car #8: “This was my first race as a Bentley Boy, and I loved it. The Continental GT3 was superb today – to climb places the way we did needed a really driveable, stable car, and when we pushed it rewarded us. We could’ve done even better if it wasn’t for the issues that weren’t out fault today, but even so we’ve scored points in our first race and that feels great. I’m really optimistic for the next race.”

Andy Soucek, car #8: “That was a crazy race. Maxi and Maxime drove really well to get us in to the top ten, but luck just wasn’t with us today. I was pleased with my pace in my stint, but then I was hit and forced off-track twice in the closing laps – costing me four places. I still think this was a good race for us though, as we get to know our race car more and more. We can definitely challenge for podiums and wins if we continue where we left off today.”

Bentley continues winning ways at latest round of the Endurance series.

• Smith, Meyrick and Kane victorious in close race at Paul Ricard
• Continental GT3 wins third round of Blancpain Endurance Series
• 2014 Bentley Boys take championship lead

After scoring an historic victory at Silverstone last month, the #7 M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 of Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane finished first in the third round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France, for the team’s second victory in a row. With the victory, Smith, Meyrick and Kane move in to the lead in the overall drivers’ championship standings ahead of the Series’ headline event at the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of July.

In the dusk light of the track at Le Castellet, Steven Kane powered his way to victory with a narrow lead of just 1.1 seconds after three hours of racing, in a race that demanded the very best from both the Continental GT3 and its trio of drivers. The fight for the win dominated the third and final hour-long stint of the race, with the gap between the #7 car and the ART McLaren of Parente, Demoustier and Lapierre varying between six seconds and less than one second.

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

“This was a tough race to win, and I’m delighted that we’ve succeeded. We know that our race pace tends to be better than our qualifying pace, so we went in to this evening’s race with the aim of improving from our grid slots. When we saw how well the Continental GT3 was looking after its tyres, we knew we had to push for the podium, and the team responded. The pit stops were slick, the calls from the race engineers were outstanding and our strategy was ideal. Andy then did a great job to take the lead during his stint, but Steven had to get everything out of the car to hold off the McLaren. The last 40 minutes were tense for everyone and we weren’t sure if we could keep ahead, but it was a great battle and I’m delighted that Andy, Steven and Guy leave here leading the championship.”

Bentley Boy Andy Meyrick took the lead half way through the race, and comments:

“We came here knowing we could do well, but to come away with another win feels incredible. Guy was able to make a great start on new tyres, and he used them really well to make up places in the first few laps. That put me in the position to challenge for the lead, but the McLaren made me work for it, and I had to pull-off a really tricky move to get past him. Steven then had to keep the lead, which definitely wasn’t easy and we had to push right until the end. We’ve shown what the Bentley is capable of in a close fight and I couldn’t be happier.”

The second Continental GT3 of Antoine Leclerc, Jérôme D’Ambrosio and Duncan Tappy was forced to retire on lap 41 due to a drivetrain issue.

The Story of The Race

The two Continental GT3 racers both qualified in the top ten on Saturday morning, with #8 in P7 and #7 in P9. The stewards then issued a series of penalties, including one for #8 for setting a fast time just as the final qualifying session was red flagged. This demoted #8 to P14 on the grid, but elevated #7 to P7.

Guy Smith and Antoine Leclerc started the race in their respective cars, and both drove impressive opening stints. Guy climbed from 7^th to 3^rd in the space of his 32-lap stint, before handing over to Andy Meyrick. Antoine made up even more places, moving his Continental GT3 from 14^th to 7^th before pitting and being replaced by Jérôme D’Ambrosio.

The M-Sport Bentley pit crew delivered extremely fast pit stops, including a sub-23 second tyre change that brought Andy back on to the track in 2^nd place. It only took Andy a handful of laps to close on the leading McLaren, which then put up a great fight until Andy was able to dive up the inside for the lead. Jérôme was matching Andy’s pace and had brought his Continental GT3 up to 5^th, before a driveline issue brought him to a halt half-way round the circuit.

Andy pitted from the lead on lap 57, to be replaced by Steven Kane. A slightly slower pit stop allowed the McLaren, now driven by Nicolas Lapierre, to be immediately behind Steven as he rejoined the track. The next hour was full of tense racing as the two cars traded times, with them frequently separated by less than a second. Steven was able to hold on for the win, and crossed the line in emphatic style as the team celebrated the second victory for the Continental GT3 in its maiden season.

M-Sport Bentley scores maiden victory at home race

• M-Sport Bentley scores maiden victory at home race
• Historic win for British brand in first UK race for 84 years
• Continental GT3 proves outright pace in only second competition race

M-Sport Bentley writes a new piece of Bentley history at Silverstone with a stunning victory at the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. In only the second competition event for both the Continental GT3 and the new race team, the #7 car driven by Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane drove an astonishing race to take the chequered flag in first place.

After recovering from a drive-through penalty in the first stint that left car #7 in 7^th place, a combination of flawless driving and perfect pit-stops allowed Steven Kane to take the lead with just 15 minutes of the three-hour race left. He was then able to manage the pace and maintain a two-second gap to the #99 McLaren of Andy Soucek, eventually leading him across the line to take the chequered flag to the delight of the M-Sport Bentley team and the British fans gathered at the track.

Rolf Frech, Member of the Board for Engineering at Bentley, comments:

“We knew our Continental GT3 was a potential race winner, but to finish first in only the car’s second race in the series feels very special. Bentley has a history of winning, and today we’ve written the start of the next chapter in our long history. The victory today is the result of an outstanding effort by the whole team, and is the reward for a great deal of hard work since the first round at Monza.”

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

“That was a hard-fought race. When Guy took the drive-through penalty in the first hour, we knew we had the pace to get back on the podium, and we were determined to do so. The car was very strong, the drivers were impeccable and the pit stop crew recorded their best ever times – including their practices over the last month! The Continental GT3’s strength is in long, fast corners, and our pace here will hopefully translate in to good speed at the other rounds of the championship. In the meantime, a maiden victory at the home of British motorsport feels fantastic.”

Steven Kane was behind the wheel for the final stint and took the chequered flag. He comments:

“Today has been epic. We didn’t get any real dry running done yesterday because of the weather, so we were relieved when we set good times in qualifying this morning. In the race, the car was fantastic, especially with how well it looked after its tyres. That gave me the grip and traction I needed to take the lead in to Brooklands, and after that we knew we could hold first place. Standing on the top step of the podium with Guy and Andy was a very, very special moment and I now know I can call myself a true Bentley Boy.”

The second M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 of Jérôme D’Ambrosio, Duncan Tappy and Antoine Leclerc had a tougher afternoon. Starting from P14, Jérôme was hit by another car and forced off the track on the third lap, sustaining a puncture. The ensuing pit stop dropped the #8 Bentley to 42^nd place, but over the rest of the race the car was able to recover to finish in 15^th – a great result given the poor start.

The Story of the Race

The two M-Sport Bentleys started the race in 4^th and 14^th. As the race began, Guy Smith was able to move the #7 car up to 2^nd, while Jérôme took #8 to P12. Contact with a BMW Z4 GT3 forced Jérôme off the track, with the car puncturing its right-left tyre. The slow in-lap and pit-stop cost time, and the car returned to the track in 42^nd place.

On lap 15, while fighting through traffic, Guy was boxed-in by backmarkers, allowing the McLaren in 3^rd to move in front. A few laps later, both Bentleys were given drive-through penalties for improving their sector times while a yellow flag was in force. This dropped Guy in the #7 car to P7. The cars pitted sequentially on lap 31, with Andy Meyrick and Duncan Tappy taking control of cars #7 and #8 respectively. The pit stops were fast enough to bring #7 out in 5^th place, while #8 re-joined in P26.

In his stint, Andy Meyrick was able to move quickly up to 3^rd place on lap 38, and after closing a 27-gap then made a stunning move to take 2^nd place from Gregoire Demoustier in the McLaren. He made his pit stop a few laps later on lap 54, handing the car over to Steven Kane. Duncan Tappy pitted on lap 61 having moved up several places, and Antoine Leclerc was able to make further progress in the final stint to finish 15^th.

Steven’s stint began with a charge in to the 21-second lead of the #99 McLaren. Having closed the gap to 17 seconds, the safety car was deployed, compressing the field. At the restart on lap 67, traffic meant that Steven had a 6.5 second gap to the leader, but with less than 15 minutes to go Steven had caught the McLaren and made his move up the inside through the Brooklands complex. He crossed the line six laps later to take an historic win for M-Sport Bentley.

The team now looks forward to the third round of the Blancpain Endurance Series, to be held at Paul Ricard on Saturday 28^th June.

Bentley celebrates best result at 2014 Mille Miglia.

• Bentley Blower secures highest position to date
• Continental GT3 racer Jerome D’Ambrosio excels on debut 
• Unique Bentley celebration held in Brescia

This year’s Mille Miglia challenge, which involved hundreds of classic cars from across the world attempt to complete a gruelling 4-day and 1700km drive through Italy, saw Bentley Motors secure its best position to date with one of the company’s iconic 4 ½ Litre supercharged Bentley Blowers.

Rolf Frech, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Engineering and Jerome D’Ambrosio, finished in 73^rd position out of the 438 cars that took part; the best result achieved by Bentley to date and also one of the highest British finishers.

Rolf Frech comments: “Once again Mille Miglia proved to be a real test of every driver’s stamina and ability. The Bentley Blower, which is now in its ninth decade, demonstrated that it is a remarkable piece of engineering and more than capable of meeting the challenge.” 

Bentley works racing driver Jerome D’Ambrosio, making his Mille Miglia debut, proved to be a great addition to the team. Using his considerable skills (usually employed behind the wheel of his Bentley Continental GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance Series) Jerome ensured the Blower was always competitive. Jerome explains:

“It was great to get behind the wheel of such a famous Bentley and understand the immense skills the original Bentley Boy racing drivers had. The car requires a lot of raw strength to drive but has such immense character that even after four days of hard driving it was a shame to reach the finishing line. Following in the footsteps of the first Bentley racing drivers was a great honour and I now feel like a true Bentley Boy.”

A unique meeting of Bentleys before the start of this year’s event ensured the Mille Miglia began in fine style for the Bentley team.

Customers and friends from the Bentley Drivers Club (www.bdcl.co.uk) joined the drivers in the city centre of Brescia. Fittingly, the location for the meeting of Bentleys was the Piazza Bruno Boni which is named in honour of one of the founders of the original Mille Miglia race.