Bentley Wins Debut Blancpain Sprint Series Cup Race

It was a strong opening effort for Bentley Motorsport, as it won its first qualifying race on Saturday April 9. The qualifying race win gave the #8 Bentley Team M-Sport Continental GT3 pole position for Sunday’s main race.

The win ultimately came down to a strategic gamble. Despite the track being wet for the race start, the Bentley was one of two cars on the grid to start on slicks, rather than rain tires. The decision proved to be the right one, giving Andy Soucek and Maxime Soulet the race win.

Sunday’s main race, however, was less successful. While running in third place, the #8 Bentley Team M-Sport Continental GT3 was bumped from behind, sending it spinning off the track. Despite the shunt, Soucek raced valiantly for an hour to get the car across the line in 11th place.

“We struggled to match the qualifying pace, so we knew we had to rely on strategy to get a result in the races,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “We took a gamble with tires with car number eight and it paid off. We would have liked to have come away with more points but, given the circumstances this weekend, I think we did the best job we could.”

The #7 Continental GT3, meanwhile, started much lower on the grid, in P20. Its drivers, Steven Kane and Vince Abril, managed to make up three spots, finishing in P17.

Despite the trouble in Sunday’s event, Bentley earned itself eight points in the Blancpain Sprint Series Cup title race with its strong Saturday performance.

The teams will compete again at Monza on April 23 and 24.

The post Bentley Wins Debut Blancpain Sprint Series Cup Race appeared first on VWVortex.

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