There were serious doubts that the big and bulky Bentley Continental GT3 race car would cause any worry to the faster Ferraris and McLarens in GT racing. But the behemoth Bentley from M-Sport has proven critics wrong by claiming its first victory at round 2 of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series!
The #7 Bentley M-Sport with drivers Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane, held-off the other 43 cars in this 3-hour endurance race at Silverstone, UK. The victory was a hard fought one as the Bentley managed to overtake the leader Andy Soucek in the #99 ART Grand Prix McLaren, twenty minutes before the end of the race. Moreover, the #7 car driven by Guy Smith was hit with a drive-through penalty for improving sector times under yellow flags, which dropped them to seventh, before third driver, Steven Kane, fought back. This is an amazing feat for the “Bentley Boys” considered this is just the second race and the car started in fourth.
The other #8 Bentley M-Sport car driven by Jerome d’Ambrosio, Duncan Tappy, and Antoine Leclerc weren’t that lucky as mechanical troubles hit them, but worked its way into 15th at the race’s end.
Guy Smith (#7 M-Sport Bentley): “This is the first time ever that Bentley takes a win in Silverstone, so this victory is very important to us. A little bit of history for the company, as it were. A big thanks to the team as well, they worked so hard since Monza and did an amazing job in improving the car. The pit stops were fantastic as well, I think we managed to gain two places due to a very quick first stop.”
[Source: FIA]
