Bentley’s motorsport season is set to continue this weekend with the first European race of the 2015 season for the works operation, Bentley Team M-Sport. The pair of Continental GT3 race cars, a new favourite amongst GT racing fans, will open their Blancpain Endurance Series accounts at Monza in Italy in a three-hour race on Sunday 12th April.

Having started their season in February with a fourth place finish at the gruelling 12 Hours of Bathurst in Australia, and a second place finish in the Blancpain Endurance Series last year, Bentley is looking to challenge for the title in its second season of GT3 racing. Preparations for the contest have been extensive, with the winter off-season spent refining the setup of the Continental GT3 and recruiting three new Bentley Boys for car #8. Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, is ready for the start of the season:
“We’re all looking forward to getting our second Blancpain Endurance adventure underway. We start at Monza with all of the knowledge we’ve acquired in the last twelve months, and so will be able to hit the ground running. The competition will be fierce as we go up against some new GT3 entrants, and our focus will be scoring consistent points at every race so we can challenge for the title.”
The #7 Continental GT3 retains its all-British driver line-up of Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick and Steven Kane, who finished second in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ championship last year. The sister #8 Continental GT3 welcomes an all-new European driving trio, with Andy Soucek (Spain) and Maximilian Buhk (Germany) being joined by Maxime Soulet (Belgium).
Guy Smith, car #7: “Andy, Steven and I have spent weeks together over the break, training hard to be ready for the new season. We’re really looking forward to getting started, given that we can now use the experience of last year. We have base setups for all of the tracks and can hopefully compete at the front. We’ve refined every element of our operation as a team and we’re all excited about the races ahead.”
Andy Soucek, car #8: “I’m honoured to be a Bentley Boy, and after my first race with the team at Bathurst, I can’t wait to start our European season. The Continental GT3 has continued to be fast and reliable in our pre-season testing, and Maxi, Maxime and I have bonded really well as a driving team. Hopefully we can be quick straight away, and challenge our friends in car #7 immediately.”
Bentley’s progress throughout the race can be followed via the @BentleyComms Twitter feed, and live on Motors TV and www.blancpain-gt-series.com.
Note: Press release courtesy of Bentley Motors.