- TEAM AIMS FOR SUCCESSFUL FINISH AFTER ROAD AMERICA DEBUT
- BENTLEY MOTORS CELEBRATES IMPRESSIVE RESULTS FOR CONTINENTAL GT3
(HERNDON, VA, 15th July 2014).- After a strong finish in their Pirelli World Challenge debut, Dyson Racing Team Bentley is poised for their next race. The team will once again take on the competition in a pair of sprint races, this time on the street circuit around downtown Toronto, Canada beginning Saturday 19th July.
This marks the fourth year the PWC has raced at the 11-turn, 1.75 mile temporary street course that runs around the Exhibition Place grounds. The urban circuit offers great views of downtown Toronto and is known for its competitive and exciting racing with a number of tight corners connected by short straights.
In his debut appearance piloting the Bentley Continental GT3, Bentley Boy Butch Leitzinger set the second fastest lap time in two sprint races held at Road America. Finishing sixth and fourth place respectively in a doubleheader at 18th-19th June, the appearance marked Bentley’s return to the North American racing circuit since competing in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2003.
“We were encouraged with how everything went at Road America,” Leitzinger said. “The car was reliable and fast, but Toronto is about as different a circuit from Road America as it could be”. Leitzinger added:
“With its stop-and-go nature Toronto presents a different challenge. We’ve seen how good the car is on a flowing, high-speed track. The slower, tight confines and more uneven surface of Toronto will be a new test for the Continental GT3, but I’m confident that our package of great traction and smooth power delivery will result in a strong performance here”.
“We have very little practice time at Toronto, a track where some of our PWC competitors have raced the past three years and we absolutely need to qualify well. Passing is really tough on a street circuit, so we’ll need to start near the front if we want a good finish.”
Rob Dyson, president of Dyson Racing Team Bentley, was satisfied with the results of the team’s first outing at Road America.
“It was a strong first time out for the car and the team,” Dyson said. “The car and the series were both new to us, but everything came together well. We left Road America secure in the knowledge that it was a successful debut and a good foundation for the rest of the season.
We’re grateful to Bentley and to M-Sport for the terrific job they’ve already done in developing the GT3. With the compressed time frame we’re operating on here it’s been great that we haven’t had to reinvent the wheel.”
Concurrent with the North American Pirelli World Challenge, the Bentley Continental GT3 continues its successful run in the European Blancpain Endurance series. Having raced three rounds in the series to date, the Bentley M-Sport team have two first place finishes under their belt and is preparing for the next race of the series, the Total 24 hours of Spa, on Saturday 26th July.
The Pirelli World Challenge continues its 25th anniversary season at the Toronto street circuit, July 18-20, as part of a shared weekend with IndyCar. Dyson Racing Team Bentley’s performance can be followed via live stream at www.world-challengetv.com. The race can be seen Sunday, August 10 at 1:30p.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network.
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Text and photographs by: Bentley
