Wahhaj
10-20-2003, 02:51 PM
Bentley Won't Defend Le Mans Title
Bentley, which gained first and second places in this year's Le Mans 24-Hour race, won't be back in 2004 to defend its title. The British marque, now owned by VW and part of the German company's high-performance group, along with Audi and Lamborghini, came back to Le Mans in 2001, after an absence as a factory team of sixty-one years. The program was announced then as a three-year operation with the target of winning, but there was little likelihood of Bentley taking victory in 2001, because the car was too new and was still in its shake-down phase. 2002 was out too, because that would have meant beating an Audi team intent on winning the 24-hour classic three years in succession. This target was achieved, and the factory Audis withdrew from competition, leaving the field open for Bentley to go for victory. It seems that there are no plans to emulate Audi's success, or to follow the exploits of the original Bentley factory team, which dominated the race in the late 1920s.
Bentley's chairman and CEO, Franz-Josef Paefgen, who decides motorsport policy for the whole VW group, has not ruled out further participation by the British team in motor sport, but for the moment an official effort at Le Mans is off the agenda.
Audi passed on its factory racecars to independent teams who continue to run them, but there is no mention of a similar move by Bentley in the official announcement from the company headquarters at Crewe in England.
Running a race team for Le Mans is an expensive operation, and with order books already full for its new Continental GT, Bentley probably feels it can cut this expense out of its promotional budget.
It's interesting that Lamborghini announced a new racing version of its Murcielago at the Frankfurt auto show. The car, which will have its first race in Italy this month, has been designed to fit in with the Le Mans regulations, where it will compete in the Grand Touring section of the race against Ferraris and Corvettes. Maybe VW thinks it is time for another Audi group member to win at Le Mans next year. -Ian Norris
Source: Car Connection
Bentley, which gained first and second places in this year's Le Mans 24-Hour race, won't be back in 2004 to defend its title. The British marque, now owned by VW and part of the German company's high-performance group, along with Audi and Lamborghini, came back to Le Mans in 2001, after an absence as a factory team of sixty-one years. The program was announced then as a three-year operation with the target of winning, but there was little likelihood of Bentley taking victory in 2001, because the car was too new and was still in its shake-down phase. 2002 was out too, because that would have meant beating an Audi team intent on winning the 24-hour classic three years in succession. This target was achieved, and the factory Audis withdrew from competition, leaving the field open for Bentley to go for victory. It seems that there are no plans to emulate Audi's success, or to follow the exploits of the original Bentley factory team, which dominated the race in the late 1920s.
Bentley's chairman and CEO, Franz-Josef Paefgen, who decides motorsport policy for the whole VW group, has not ruled out further participation by the British team in motor sport, but for the moment an official effort at Le Mans is off the agenda.
Audi passed on its factory racecars to independent teams who continue to run them, but there is no mention of a similar move by Bentley in the official announcement from the company headquarters at Crewe in England.
Running a race team for Le Mans is an expensive operation, and with order books already full for its new Continental GT, Bentley probably feels it can cut this expense out of its promotional budget.
It's interesting that Lamborghini announced a new racing version of its Murcielago at the Frankfurt auto show. The car, which will have its first race in Italy this month, has been designed to fit in with the Le Mans regulations, where it will compete in the Grand Touring section of the race against Ferraris and Corvettes. Maybe VW thinks it is time for another Audi group member to win at Le Mans next year. -Ian Norris
Source: Car Connection