BENTLEY FINISHES IN SECOND PLACE IN MISANO

• Bentley Motorsport starts the 2017 European season with second place
• Opening round of the Blancpain GT Series took place at Misano
• Kane and Abril put in strong performances to secure points haul

2 April 2017, Crewe – Bentley Motorsport has finished in second place in the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series with the #7 Continental GT3 and drivers Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO).

Bentley Team M-Sport has once again entered two cars in the full GT Series and has its sights set on all three titles, including the Sprint Series Cup that started in Misano this weekend.

The #7 Continental GT3 started Saturday’s qualifying race from ninth position but great driving from Abril and Kane, combined with solid strategy and pit-stops, meant they finished in third. In Sunday’s main race, the team fought hard in a wheel-to-wheel battle and crossed the line in second place.

Fortune, however, was not on the side of the #8 sister car of Andy Soucek (ES) and Maxime Soulet (BE), which was caught-up in an incident in Saturday’s qualifying race and forced to retire for the weekend.

“It’s great to have some points in the bag following the first race and even better to see that the team straight back in to its stride all weekend,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush. “It’s a shame for car #8 but we have a long season ahead of us to make up lost ground. It’s three weeks until Monza so we’ll repair the car and head into the second round of the season feeling confident and focused.”

The Monza round of the Blancpain GT Series takes place on 22/23 April and fans can watch at www.youtube.com/gtworld.

-Ends-

DRIVER QUOTES

• Vince Abril, Car #7: “I thought I could have taken the lead at the start but I didn't want to take any risks. The leader was on new tyres and I knew that even if I got past it would have been difficult to keep him behind. It feels like a win because we achieved in every aspect. The team was fantastic, the pit crew was on it and Steven was great all weekend. His second stint was the best stint I’ve ever watched.”
• Steven Kane, Car #7: “I’m really happy that we are going home with two trophies. The team did a fantastic job with the car the whole weekend. The pitstops were fantastic and Vince did a cracking job. We need to continue this performance into the next round at Monza in three weeks time.”

Notes to editors

• Bentley Motorsport is based at the Bentley Motors headquarters in Crewe. From there, the operation runs Bentley Team M-Sport, and oversees three Works-supported teams around the world.
• The Continental GT3 is built by the Bentley motorsport team in conjunction with M-Sport. The Bentley GT3 team is led by Bentley Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush supported by M-Sport’s Chief Engineer, Christian Loriaux.
• Bentley Motors’ headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s four model lines, Continental, Bentayga, Flying Spur and Mulsanne. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury car brands