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Smith Replaces Leitzinger for Final Three PWC Weekends

Guy Smith replaces Butch Leitzinger for final three weekends in PWC…

Photo: John Dagys

Photo: John Dagys

Guy Smith will make a return to the Pirelli World Challenge for the final three race weekends of the season, replacing Butch Leitzinger in the No. 20 Bentley Team Dyson Racing Bentley Continental GT3.

Smith ran the last two weekends of 2014 at Sonoma Raceway and Miller Motorsports Park in a second car, and scored Bentley’s first win on North American soil in the second-to-last race of the year at Miller.

He takes over the car Leitzinger previously drove ahead of the Miller, Sonoma and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca weekends in the next month. Leitzinger has been reassigned to a reserve driver role.

“While the team has made good progress since joining the series in the middle of the 2014 season, we’re not yet where we need to be in terms of being competitive every race weekend,” founder and CEO Rob Dyson said.

“Butch has done a great job for Dyson Racing over the past 20 years, including last season and this, and as our reserve driver he remains a member of the team.

“In our quest to increase the team’s performance in the Pirelli World Challenge we’ve been looking at every option available. Guy won for us last season at Miller and we know him very well from the many years he drove for us in the American Le Mans Series. This will be a seamless transition.”

It’s been a tough season for Leitzinger, who despite a pair of podium finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in May, missed the Barber weekend as his car was unable to be repaired in time from a heavy accident in Long Beach and missed the single Detroit race after another incident. He currently ranks 14th in points.

World Challenge runs a doubleheader at Miller this weekend before heading to Sonoma at the end of the month.

Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) is Sportscar365's North American Editor, focusing on coverage of the IMSA-sanctioned championships as well as Pirelli World Challenge. DiZinno also contributes to NBCSports.com and other motorsports outlets. Contact Tony

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