Two Bentley Continental GT3 cars will take part in this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance event, oftentimes called the world’s toughest GT race.
Even so, the British automaker is looking to conquer the “Green Hell”, which is why it put forward a two-car campaign run by its Crewe-based works outfit together with its new European partner team, Bentley Team ABT Sportsline.
Aside from seasoned Bentley race drivers Guy Smith and Steven Kane, the Nurburgring 24 Hours line-up will also feature talent from Bentley Team ABT Sportsline’s GT Masters squad and local talent. All in all, Christopher Bruck, Marco Holzer and Steven Kane will race in car #37 and Guy Smith together with Christian Menzel and Fabian Hamprecht will take the reigns of car #38.
“The Nürburgring Nordschleife is renowned for being the toughest race track in the world and that’s why we test all of our road cars there too, covering thousands of kilometres development phase,” said Bentley director of motorsport Brian Gush. “Add changing weather conditions, darkness, high speeds and approximately 160 cars, and you can see how this track plays host to the most challenging race in the world – that’s what drives Bentley’s desire for success at Nürburgring 24 Hours.”
As for ABT, their teams have raced at the Nurburgring on multiple occasions since 1999. They even managed to qualify on the front row for the opening round of the VLN ten-race series during their debut with the Continental GT3 – making their experience and understanding of the Nordschleife extremely valuable.
“The VLN races have gone well for us but there is a huge difference between a four-hour and 24-hour race,” explained Gush. “We know we have a good car, strong line-up and experienced team – but at this race, you also need a healthy quantity of luck. We’ll be fighting from the very first minute.”
The Nurburgring 24 Hours is set to take place on 26-29 May.
PHOTO GALLERY
