Bentley Team M-Sport will step back from its full-season Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli programme in 2020. Instead, Bentley - one of nine full-season #IntGTC manufacturers - will nominate customer teams to score points on its behalf.
An expanded programme will see at least eight customer outfits racing 12 Continental GT3s in five major championships this year. Meanwhile M-Sport, which remains Bentley’s technical partner, will focus on supporting the manufacturer’s expanded customer base.
M-Sport has overseen Bentley’s involvement in the global championship since 2016 and claimed a first #IntGTC victory at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this season when Jules Gounon, Jordan Pepper and Maxime Soulet set a new distance record at Australia’s International Enduro.
Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Paul Williams, said: “Of course we’re disappointed not to see M-Sport complete the Intercontinental GT Challenge this season – especially after their record-breaking victory at Bathurst – but we said at the end of last year that in 2020 we would be fully focused on our customers and we need to do that now more than ever. Our customer teams, drivers and sponsors have all endured difficult times financially but they have worked hard to ensure we have 12 cars ready to be competitive once racing continues – it is our duty to continue to stand by our customers and make this season a success.
“Bentley Team M-Sport was outstanding at Bathurst and we hope to have the race-winning outfit back on track with us very soon.
“We also hope to have some new customer team news to share in the coming weeks, with the Continental GT3 set to take on another top-level series. We are also working with M-Sport to see if they can run at the Total 24 Hours of Spa, which they would enter as a customer team with our backing like our other teams.”
Gounon, Pepper and Soulet lead the Drivers’ Championship following their record-breaking win at Bathurst, while Bentley occupy second in the Manufacturers’ standings.
2020’s Intercontinental campaign continues with the inaugural Indianapolis 8 Hour on October 2-4. America’s race is followed by the Total 24 Hours of Spa and Kyalami 9 Hour.