Team Bentley Marks Triumphant Return to Le Mans With Third- and Seventh-Place Finishes During Test Weekend

    LE MANS, France, May 8 Following a 71-year absence,
Bentley Motors has returned to the fabled Circuit du Mans in grand fashion, as
its two EXP Speed 8 LM GT prototypes finished Test Weekend in third and
seventh places, recording a best lap of 3min 34sec for the Number 7 car and
3min 36sec for Number 8.
    Running all day without serious problem at the site of the world's most
prestigious endurance event, the EXP Speed 8s turned in quick and consistent
lap times, providing the data crucial to match the car to the unique nature of
the circuit.
    Team Principal, Richard Lloyd commented: "I've come to Le Mans many, many
times over the years and I'd say this is the best test I've ever had here.
Usually when you come here with a brand new car and new team, the circuit
finds some way of biting you but not today.  And what we already know from the
data gathered today is we have a platform that we can confidently fine tune
for the race in June."
    Tony Gott, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Motors was
equally buoyed by the way the cars and team have performed: "It has been a
very encouraging team performance and the result is a solid day of learning
about the track and how the car and its tyres are suited to it."
    Commenting on the specifics of the day's program, team manager
John Wickham said: "The plan was to spend a small amount of time this morning
setting the car up for the track and then concentrate on our tyre testing
programme and also evaluating the cars' fuel consumption."
    Brian Gush, Bentley's Director of Engineering commented: "We are entirely
satisfied with where we are, the cars have run all day and provided a wealth
of information for us to take home.  The circuit is not only a lot faster but
also much more bumpy than anywhere we have so far tested and the information
we have gathered today is therefore critical to making the car ready to race
in five weeks time."

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