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Nürburgring Endurance

Bentley Working on N24 Return

Bentley talking to two prospective teams for Nürburgring 24 assault…

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Bentley is working on a return to the Nürburgring 24, with the British manufacturer in discussions with two potential teams for this year’s race, according to motorsports director Brian Gush.

Having made its debut in the German endurance classic in 2015, three Bentley Continental GT3s were on the grid in last year’s race, fielded by ABT and with with support from M-Sport for one car.

With its relationship with ABT having dissolved shortly after the 2017 event, Gush is now on the hunt for a new team to represent Bentley with its current-generation machinery.

“I really want to get a car there,” Gush said. “We have cars well-developed, we’ve got good tires and it would be great if there was a team that would take them and do it.

“It’s a fan-favorite; I think on the right circumstances it can be quite competitive.

“We’ve done so much work on it because of the aero changes, the tire and the fuel changes and the ride height.”

Gush has ruled out seeing M-Sport again field a car in the race, with the factory squad focused on development of the new-gen Continental GT3, which will debut in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup season-opener at Monza in April.

The new car has initially been allocated for Blancpain GT and Intercontinental GT Challenge rounds only, prior to customer deliveries in the second half of the the year.

“At the moment I want M-Sport to concentrate on the new car,” Gush said. “It would be too disruptive to our effort for [24H] Spa for them to do Nürburgring.

“Spa is a big one for us; we need to be fully ready for the new car at Spa. The calendar is quite challenging.”

Both of M-Sport’s Continental GT3s that ran last weekend’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, meanwhile, will continue to be raced, according to Gush.

One car has been sold to an undisclosed customer, while the other chassis will be entered in the British GT Championship with Team Parker Racing.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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