Following success in the 2014 and 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series, the Crewe-based operation will now enter the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup aiming to retain the Continental GT3’s championship title and enabling it to contest the full Blancpain GT Series.
In addition, it will contest the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge, which comprises Bathurst 12 Hour, the Total 24 Hours of Spa and Sepang 12 Hours.
The Bentley Boy line-up sees two changes for 2016, with the promotion of Vince Abril from a customer team driver to full works team position and the addition of Wolfgang Reip, winner of the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series.
“When you’re looking for a new works team driver, you naturally look at your toughest competition,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “For the last two seasons we have enjoyed some really close battles with Wolfgang so we invited him along to test with us. We were very impressed and we’re pleased to welcome him as our latest Bentley Boy.”
Bentley Team M-Sport driver line-ups
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup :
Car #7; Guy Smith (GB), Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO)
Car #8: Andy Soucek (ES), Maxime Soulet (BE) and Wolfgang Reip (BE)
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup :
Car #7: Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO)
Car: #8: Andy Soucek (ES) and Maxime Soulet (BE)
Wolfgang Reip, car #8: “"I am thrilled to be announced as the latest Bentley Boy. To work with such an iconic and prestigious brand is truly a dream come true. Having already met Maxime, Andy and the Bentley Team M-Sport crew, I am confident our strong team will be in contention for the top spot."”
Andy Soucek, car #8: “It’s fantastic to welcome Wolfgang to become the latest Bentley Boy – there are only six in the world so it is a special position. We knew he was quick, because we have raced against him, so we were pleased to see that he also fitted into the team really well at the test. This is a team sport and the importance of working well together is often undervalued. It is, in fact, one of the most influencial factors in a team’s success.”
Guy Smith, car #7: “We have effectively doubled our works team programme this year, which demonstrates Bentley’s commitment to GT racing. By entering the entire Blancpain GT Series, we can develop and test the Continental GT3 even further, enabling us to provide our customer teams with extremely comprehensive data.”