PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE
Team History (Part 10)
For the 2014 and 2015 seasons Dyson Racing partnered with Bentley Motors to field a pair of the venerated British automaker’s race-prepared Continental GT3 models in the Pirelli World Challenge series. Following the racing program’s announcement on the Bentley display at the New York International Automobile Show in April, 2014, Dyson Racing Team Bentley made its debut in June at Wisconsin’s Road America circuit. At Sonoma Raceway in California in August, Butch Leitzinger took the first Bentley podium as Guy Smith joined the team in the second car.
The team ended the 2014 season at Miller Motorsports Park in September in style, with Smith scoring a race win in his #88 Bentley Continental GT3 and Leitzinger taking the third step of the podium in the sister #08 entry. The team’s win at Miller Motorsports Park gave Bentley its first-ever win outside of Europe, a significant addition to the brand’s heritage. Despite Dyson Racing Team Bentley joining the series mid-season, at year’s end Smith was tied for first in drivers’ fastest race laps and Bentley was second in manufacturers’ fast laps, and third in manufacturer’s poles.
All in all, a successful American debut for the Bentley Continental GT3 and a notable race season for Dyson Racing Team Bentley. As a Follow-up in 2015, Chris Dyson raced full-time and he scored Bentley’s second North American victory with a dominant drive at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Dyson set fastest lap on three occasions in 2015, started from pole at Road America, and added podiums at Long Beach and Mosport. Guy Smith competed in the last three race weekends of 2015 and added a podium at Miller Motorsports Park.