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. It was the historic win for British automaker in first UK race for 84 years. Two M-Sport Bentleys were pitted in the race in 4th and 14th grid. Guy Smith drove the #7 while Jérôme took his hands on #8.
The Continental GT3 #7 crossed the finishing line in the first place and a heavenly celebration took off at the paddock of Bentley.
Hence, it was a remarkable victory as both the Bentleys were penalized for accruing the tarmac when the yellow flag was in force.
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.”
And that’s not all the team is going to stop at, it has expressed eagerness of participating in the third round of the Blancpain Endurance Series, which is meant to be held at Paul Ricard on Saturday 28th June.