Bentleys rejoin Australian GT grid
The Bentley marque will return to the GT World Challenge Australia grid for the season finale in Adelaide this week.
Bespoke Motor Cars will field two Continental GT3s owned by Mike Bailey over the Adelaide 500 weekend.
Bailey will race a latest-generation Continental which only recently arrived in Australia from Europe.
It will mark the first time the latest-spec Bentley has raced in Australia since M-Sport's successful tilt at the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour.
M-Sport engineer James Allinson will be on hand for Adelaide while Bailey will share driving duties with Aussie GT regular Brett Hobson.
Bailey's older spec Continental will also be in action with Carrera Cup regular Matthew Belford behind the wheel.
Bailey, who hasn't raced much this year due to business commitments, tested the new car at Phillip Island recently.
“This [new spec] Bentley was going to stay in Europe and do a lot of the tracks there, but due to my availability to travel out of Australia at the moment I’m going to be continuing over here,” explained Bailey.
“I’m very much looking forward to racing in Adelaide. It was awesome to get in [the car] and get familiar again. It’s got the auto clutch and there are a lot more buttons on the steering wheel than the previous version, so there’s a bit more software control.
“[Bespoke team owner] Jordan [Roddy] was able to get it out of customs on Wednesday, so the crew has been going hammer and tongs to get it here.
“When I was racing Hobbo he kicked my arse, so I thought what better driver to get to join you!”
“Another friend, Matthew Belford called me to say he wanted to race in Adelaide, so I said to take the Bentley out. He’s been really coming up to speed with his racing and has the same mentality as me.”
Hobson, who campaigned a Nissan GT-R in Aussie GT in recent seasons, said he's looking forward to racing another car that's considered a fan favourite.
“I’m really looking forward to getting there,” said Hobson.
“Obviously, the Bentley is a bit like the GT-R as it’s something that the fans love to follow and I think a lot of people want to see it on track, so we’re looking forward to getting to Adelaide to see how we go.
“The last time I was there was in 2015 driving Super2, but I love the track, atmosphere and I just can’t wait to get back there. And to swing this thing around, we’ll see how we go.
“I can’t thank everybody enough, Mike and all the guys, for getting us on the grid again.”
The Adelaide 500 kicks off this Thursday.
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