Win in the first round of this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge.

#7 Continental GT3 led 12-hour race for more than seven hours before a nail-biting finish.

Continental GT3 breaks the race distance record for Bathurst 12 Hour by two laps.

(Middle East, 02 February 2020) Bentley has won Bathurst 12 Hour, the opening round of the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge, with its #7 Continental GT3 and drivers Maxime Soulet (BEL), Jordan Pepper (ZAR) and Jules Gounon (FRA).

Motorsport is known for creating some of the greatest sporting stories, and this week Bentley Team M-Sport became the protagonist of a tale that saw its crew scale a mountain, both literally and metaphorically.

In the first day of practice, an engine issue for car #7 and sensor fault on car #8 resulted in the limited running for the team, as the pit crew worked hard in extreme heat to repair the 4.0-litre V8-engined Continental GT3 machines, based on the Continental GT grand tourer. But, that wasn’t the end of the bad luck for the British manufacturer – the following day, a collision with the wall gave the car #8 technicians a second late night in a row, as they rebuilt the car for the race.

Car #7 started P11 but quickly moved up through the order into podium contention. World-class stints from Soulet, Pepper and Gounon, and strong strategy and pit stops from the team, moved the team into P1 for a total time of seven hours – with the car running flawlessly. A superb reactionary pit-stop just over an hour from the end to deal with a puncture was the final act from the team to set the car up for victory. Rain loomed while ambient temperatures exceeded 40°C, but after the half-day sprint, the #7 Continental GT3 crossed the line as the winner of the Bathurst 12 Hour. As they took the chequered flag, the crew also set a new race distance record of 314 laps – before the heavens opened and the team rejoiced in the rain.

Car #8’s performance was just as strong, but luck was not on the side of the British driving trio of Oliver Jarvis (GBR), Al Buncombe (GBR) and Seb Morris (GBR). After starting from the pit lane following the all-night repairs, they climbed through the pack of 35 cars into the top six, even leading the race for a lap at the half-way point. In contention for a podium finish, the car was unfortunately retired four hours from the end thanks to damage sustained by a punctured rear tyre.

Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Paul Williams, comments:

“What a weekend. Our crew has been pushed to its limits but shown that whatever racing throws at you, you must never give up. It’s been a long-deserved Intercontinental GT Challenge win for our Continental GT3 – we’ve been in contention many times, especially here at Bathurst, so it feels good to finally make it stick. It’s a great way to start our season and we hope it is a sign of things to come for our customer teams around the world as we embark on our largest motorsport programme to date.”

Bentley’s weekend of racing now continues in Zell am See, Austria, where a specially prepared Continental GT is competing in the famous GP Ice Race.

The next round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge is the 24 Hours of Spa in July, so Bentley and M-Sport’s attention will now return to the customer racing teams and the new Bentley Motorsport Academy, along with expanded testing and development programmes.

Fans can follow the action from all of Bentley’s racing teams on social media by searching @BentleyRacing on Twitter and @BentleyRacingOfficial on Instagram.