(Poughkeepsie, NY, 13 May 2015) Following a hard push, Bentley Team Dyson Racing returns this weekend in full strength to the Pirelli World Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, a venue that has brought the team great success in the past.

“Over the years our team has always run strongly at this track, and I expect we will this weekend as well,” said Rob Dyson, the team’s founder and CEO, noting the five race wins and five pole-position starts Dyson Racing has scored at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. “The new owners have changed the name of the track from Mosport and made lots of positive changes to the supporting infrastructure. But the actual track is the same as always – fast, flowing and challenging. From a driver’s perspective, it’s not for the faint of heart.”

Driver Chris Dyson, a pole and race winner at the track when it hosted the American Le Mans Series, says it’s one of his favorite circuits, and one that’s well suited to the Continental GT3. “I’ve always loved racing there. It’s very fast with lots of natural-terrain elevation changes,” he said. “The Bentley is great in fast corners and that will be a huge advantage at this track,” noting that the Continental GT3 has good acceleration and makes excellent downforce at high speeds, a major advantage at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, where most of the turns are either fast or very fast.

Addressing the specifics of the circuit, Dyson said “Turn 2 is fast, over a slight crest and off-camber, so you have to get it exactly right or the consequences can be severe.” Dyson also noted “the run uphill from Turns 5 & 6 (which are really one turn and the only slow part of the track) leads onto the back straightaway over a blind crest.  Blasting uphill there and through the esses before pit straight is a thrill every lap. The circuit is one of those rare places where every corner seems more exciting than the last one! As road racing circuits go, there are none quite like this place.”

The Return of #20

While Chris Dyson’s second-place finish in the #16 Continental GT3 last month at Long Beach, Calif. last month represents the team’s highlight of the season to date, it was also the race where an overambitious, video-gamer turned rookie real-world driver rammed Butch Leitzinger’s #20 Bentley into a wall. The damage was sufficiently severe that the car could not be repaired in the four days between Long Beach and the beginning of the next race meet at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

“It was tough being at Barber and not driving,” Leitzinger said. “But I wanted to be there with the team. I’m really pleased that my car is ready to race again and grateful to everyone on the crew who put in an extra effort to get it back together. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and justify all their hard work.”

Leitzinger, a former race winner at the track during the days it was called Mosport, wasn’t exaggerating about the amount of work necessary to repair the #20 Bentley. Disassembly of damaged components – and there were a lot of them – began in the paddock in Alabama, where work on an inventory of replacement parts began. But the biggest challenge was dealing with the damage to car’s basic chassis structure, the unibody on which every other component is attached. According to team manager Mike White, the parts of the chassis where the suspension is attached were moved several inches and twisted out of shape as well. Had it been a road car, the insurance company would probably have written the car off.

“We looked into getting a new tub from England” White said, referring to the basic chassis structure that includes the welded-in roll cage. “But by the time it would have arrived, we’d have basically had a day to install all the components, including wiring harnesses and plumbing. Instead, we decided to see if we could fix the bent one.”

The first step was locating a high-quality collision repair facility with a frame machine where the tub of the car could be pulled back into its original shape. But because each corner of the car’s the suspension needs to be perfectly fitted to the chassis and in perfect relationship to the other three suspension assemblies, the precision necessary for the repair of a race-car chassis is substantially greater than for an ordinary road car. That meant bringing in a FARO Arm, a special portable 3D computer measuring machine, and a technician capable of operating it. Armed with a set of coordinates supplied by M-Sport, the company that developed the Continental GT3 for Bentley, the FARO Arm was able to guide the final elements in the five-day process of repairing the chassis.

The chassis arrived back at the Dyson Racing facility last Friday, leaving the weekend and Monday to install all the components. “At one point over the weekend there were nine technicians working directly on the car at the same time,” White said. “But seeing the transporters leave for Canada early Tuesday morning with two great potentially race-winning race cars on board, I think made all the hard work worthwhile.”

Race Schedule (All Times are Eastern Time Zone)

Friday 15^th May

Saturday 16^th May

Sunday 17^th May

Bentley Team Dyson Racing’s performance can be followed via live stream at www.world-challengetv.com.

– ENDS –

(Poughkeepsie, NY, 22 April 2015) Dodging spinning and crashing cars that limited a scheduled 50-minute race to just 17 minutes of green flag competition, Bentley Team Dyson Racing’s Chris Dyson drove his Continental GT3 to second place in the Grand Prix of Long Beach “Replay Roar by the Shore” round of the Pirelli World Challenge.

“This was a highly satisfying result,” said a smiling Dyson following the post-race winner’s circle ceremony. “I expected it was going to be a tough race with a lot of incidents. And I knew it would require a balance between aggression and caution in order to get to the front without getting caught up in somebody else’s accident.”

Dyson, who set a new race lap record on his way to the runner-up position, was also presented with the “Move of the Race” award in recognition of the many passes he executed in less than a dozen laps of green flag racing.

“For reasons beyond Bentley’s control or ours, the team struggled at Circuit of the Americas,” said Rob Dyson, CEO of Bentley Team Dyson Racing. “And we were a bit disappointed with the outcomes in yellow-shortened at St. Pete. But it all came together here in Long Beach and I think this confirms the promise the Continental GT3 showed when the team ran it in a few races at the end of last season.”

It wasn’t all post-race smiles in the Dyson section of the paddock though. Butch Leitzinger, who had lined up for the start directly behind Chris Dyson, had his race ruined before the first full green-flag lap when a rookie with little real-word racing experience drilled Leitzinger in the middle of a corner and pushed his Bentley straight into the wall. The car sustained sufficient damage that it the team will be unable to repair it prior to this weekend’s race in Alabama.

“We were prepared to repair any damaged bodywork,” said team manager Mike White. “And we had on the truck all the necessary suspension pieces to repair the car. But the damage to the chassis itself was more than can be repaired on short notice. It’s really unfortunate because I think Butch would have followed Chris right up through the field at Long Beach. Now Chris won’t have a teammate to work with at Barber and we won’t have a second car so we can try different setups during the testing and practice.”

Despite the team fielding a single car this weekend for the Grand Prix of Alabama, Rob Dyson is upbeat about Bentley’s chances this weekend. “This definitely gives us great momentum going into this weekend’s races at Barber Motorsports Park. I’m very optimistic about the team’s chances there.”

“The primary purpose of running Matt in the ELMS was to give him exposure to the highest echelon of sportscar competition and to prepare him to fulfill his goal of becoming the youngest driver to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Dyson said. “Matt’s performance at Le Mans was impressive and he achieved not only his goal of becoming the youngest starter in the race but also the youngest finisher. His performance overall this season has exceeded our expectations. Matt’s learned most of what he can from Tom and me; now his gains will come from more time in the car and working with a variety of teammates.”

Dyson noted that the recent expansion of Dyson Racing’s horizons through the creation of the Junior Development Program and the initiation of our partnership with Bentley Motors and the establishment of Dyson Racing Team Bentley has made it increasingly important that the organization marshal its resources as efficiently as possible.

“I now need to turn more of my focus to our partnership with Bentley and our joint program in the Pirelli World Challenge,” Dyson said. “We had a great start last month at Elkhart Lake, where Butch (Leitzinger) finished sixth and fourth in the two races. We started the PWC season at its midpoint and have four race meetings remaining to develop the car further and determine our plans for the 2015 season.

“I’m grateful to Mark for stepping in for Austria. Tom continues to work with us but he has some conflicts that preclude his participation in the ELMS beyond that race. So we’re evaluating other drivers who would wish to join Matt in the final two races on the ELMS schedule. We are working hard to build on what we started this year with the junior program, and interest in these available seats is indeed strong.”

Dyson noted that with a pair of fourth-place finishes, the team currently stands second in the ELMS point standings. “We are grateful to our long-time partners and friends at Greaves Motorsport, who have fielded a strong car for us all season long. My expectation is that the team will continue to enjoy high finishes in the remaining races, and that Matt will continue with his impressive progress.”