The Racing Heritage of Bentley Motors LTD
Recently I had someone look at me bewilderingly when I mentioned Bentley was racing again. I was told by this bewildered individual that Bentley is a luxury car and hasn’t raced since the 1930s.
I felt it was necessary, nay, my civic duty to my fellow gear heads to drop some knowledge in case you are faced with such a conversation while attending a dinner party or other non-car related event.
By now those of us who follow racing are all accustomed to seeing the big, white, bad-ass, Dyson Racing Team Bentley running in the Pirelli World Challenge series.
Bentley’s return to motorsports is the latest step in a long heritage that was founded in racing. Here is a quick look at Bentley’s highlights in Motorsports.
W.O. Bentley founded Bentley Motors Inc in 1919.
Bentley’s EXP 2 wins at the Brooklands in 1921
Clement and Duff take the overall victory at Le Mans in 1924. Seen here with W.O. Bentley (center).
Bentley finishes 13th at the 1922 Indianapolis 500 driven by W. Douglas Hawkes.
In 1923 Frank Clement teamed with John Duff to finish 4th in the inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1927 ‘Old Number 7’ survives a crash that took out the other two factory cars to win Le Mans.
1929: ‘Old Number 1’ won the Six Hour Race at Brooklands and finshed first at Le Mans, where Bentleys swept the top four places. Frank Clement and Jack Barclay won the 500 mile race at Brooklands.
1930: ‘Old Number 1’ again wins Le Mans. Sir Henry Birkin finishes an impressive 2nd in the French Grand Prix.
1931: Bentley is acquired by Rolls-Royce. ‘Old Number 1’ wins another 500 mile race at the Brooklands.
Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin captured the Le Mans win in a prototype named ‘Mother Gun’ in 1928.
Bentley returns to Le Mans Tommy Wisdom and Soltan Hay manage a 6th place finish in 1949.
Eddie Hall finishes 8th at the 1950 Le Mans in a streamlined Bentley.
Bentley runs one car at Le Mans. Leitzinger, Poele, and Wallace finish 4th overall.
With Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristesen, and Guy Smith in the No. 7 car and Mark Blundell, David Brabham, and Johnny Herbert in the No. 8, Bentley finishes 3rd and 4th at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 1st and 2nd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003.
2014 The M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3, driven by Guy Smith, wins at Silverstone in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
2014 Dyson Racing Team Bentley debuts in the Pirelli World Challenge series. Driver Butch Leitzinger started 19th and finished 6th in the short 23 lap race.
Bentley has a long standing tradition in racing. When Bentley was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931 there was very little focus on any factory backed racing effort although privateers still raced Bentleys throughout Europe when World Wars weren’t interrupting racing seasons.
After being acquired by Volkswagen AG in 1997, Bentley was back to winning Le Mans within a few years. Bentley Motors was founded on race proven endurance cars before becoming ultra luxury sedans. It’s nice to see that the company is now coming full circle, back to its roots in racing and producing some fire-breathing, powerful, Grand Touring cars.
Will Bentley once again fight for an overall win at Le Mans? That’s hard to say, but one thing is certain, W.O. would be proud.