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giugno 12, 2023 - Bentley Motorsport

Bentley works race cars from past and present return to Le Mans to celebrate centenary

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  • 2003 #speed8 that won #lemans 20 years ago returns to famous track
  • Laps La Sarthe for the first time since taking the chequered flag in 2003
  • Two laps completed ahead of start of 24 Hours of #lemans, as part of centenary parade
  • Blower Continuation Series to race at #lemans Classic
  • Le Mans winner Guy Smith (GB) returns to the #speed8 cockpit
  • Speed 8 on display in #lemans Museum until July

(Crewe, 12 June 2023) The most famous race car of the modern #bentley era, the 2003 #speed8, made its return to #lemans this weekend to take part in the centenary celebrations of the ultimate motorsport marathon – the 24 Hours of #lemans. The dynamic demonstration of the highly popular fan-favourite precedes the return of a new Works #bentley to #lemans, with a pair of Blower Continuation Series cars to compete at this year’s #lemansclassic.

The very same car that won the race in 2003 – #speed8 chassis 004/5 – took to the track on Saturday afternoon as part of a centenary parade. It was piloted by Guy Smith, the same driver who took the chequered flag twenty years ago, as the car turned a wheel at the circuit for the first time since. After being reunited with the car and completing two laps of the circuit, Guy commented:

“This car delivered Bentley’s first #lemans victory since 1930, and became the springboard for my #racing career, and so it’s incredibly special to me. While I’ve driven it a couple of times since 2003, this is the first time it’s been back to #lemans and driving it here brought back so many memories and emotions. It feels exactly the same as it did when it crossed the line twenty years ago. #bentley is part of #lemans, and #lemans is part of #bentley, and it’s been an amazing weekend of celebrations of 100 years of history here.”

Le Mans Classic will then see a Works #bentley race at #lemans for the first time since the victory in 2003 – as a pair of Blower Continuation Series cars take part in the Grid 1 race. Both the factory-owned Blower Car Zero and a customer car will be #racing, with the former building on its recent first test race at Donington Park in the UK. The entries mark not only the first official #bentley entries to a #lemans race since 2003, but also the return of a Works-supported Blower to the track for the first time since 1930, when the legend of the #bentley Blower was born.

As part of the rejuvenation of Bentley’s #heritage Collection, #speed8 004/5 has recently undergone a complete rebuild to return it to as-new standard as it was before its most famous victory. The car is one of eight motorsport vehicles in the #heritage Collection, all of which are maintained in running order alongside the 37 road-going members of the fleet, all of which will be road legal by the end of the year.

The #speed8 now stays at the circuit for the rest of June, on display in the #lemans Museum until #lemansclassic at the end of the month, where #bentley will have a significant presence and exhibition alongside the race programme. The #speed8 will then make a number of other dynamic appearances this summer, before returning to Crewe to be positioned on display with its sister cars from 2001 and 2002, and the rest of the #bentley #heritage Collection, in three new and purpose-built areas that embed the fleet into any visit to Bentley’s campus.

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