“Chris did a terrific job today, as did the Bentley team,” said Rob Dyson, the team’s founder and CEO, and Chris’s father, who has enjoyed multiple wins at Road America since first racing here in 1983. “I couldn’t be more proud of Chris.  He had a dream run.”

Dyson started Saturday’s race from the second position on the grid. Following a good start, for the first quarter of the 50-minute sprint Dyson hounded the leading Lamborghini of Tomas Enge, passing for the lead when Enge bobbled at Road America’s flat-out kink in the middle of the backstretch. Enge later pitted to replace a cut tire while Dyson slowly extended his lead over the second-place Nissan GT-R GT3 of James Davison. A full-course yellow at the two-thirds mark in the race allowed Davison to close up on the Bentley’s bumper, but when the green came out with ten minutes remaining, Dyson pulled away comfortably.

“I knew this would be a good track for the Continental GT3,” Dyson said, following Saturday’s race. “The Bentley guys gave me an unbelievable car today, and we made the most of it. It’s not very often that you have a car that’s so good on a specific day on a particular track and I was savoring every lap. I love Road America and it’s a great feeling to win here. I grew up coming here watching my dad (Rob) race.”

The first highlight of the weekend was Friday’s qualifying session, where the Bentley’s swept the front row, Butch Leitzinger setting a lap record for the classic 4.0-mile Kettle Moraine circuit on his way to the pole (2:03.912 / 117.606 mph), while Dyson posted the second-fastest time of the session.

“The conditions were perfect, I was able to get heat into the tires and I was fortunate to get a clear lap with no traffic,” said Leitzinger, who was behind the wheel of a brand new car after his previous mount was badly damaged in a practice crash at Detroit last month. “The new car was fantastic right off the trailer. The Continental GT3 has great high-speed downforce and that’s critical at this track.”

That very promising Friday morning first turned into disappointment, followed by great efforts in the race and fifth and sixth-place finishes. Dyson’s problem began when his car experienced a steering problem part way through the morning qualifying session, fortunately after he’d set a time good enough for second on the starting grid. With less than three hours before the cars were due to line up for the race, and once Dyson had completed his qualifying run, the crew rolled the #16 car back to the paddock and tore into the front end to find the problem – which turned out to be a faulty steering pump.  This was corrected in short order but the team had left pit lane during the session, which is prohibited by the series rules.  The penalty was for all Dyson’s qualifying times being disallowed, relegating him to last on the 26-car grid.

Leitzinger’s car bogged on the standing start and he dropped several spots before the car reached the first corner. For most of the rest of the race Leitzinger was trapped behind the surprisingly wide Ferrari driven by Olivier Beretta. Meanwhile Dyson was scything through the field, averaging about two passes per lap on his way to sixth, directly behind his teammate.

Saturday’s race didn’t begin well for Leitzinger, whose car stalled on standing start due to sensor issues. The long-time Dyson driver fought back to an excellent fourth-place finish. And Sunday was a disappointment all around. In another chaotic standing start for the series, Leitzinger’s car was one of three that hesitated or stalled on the grid. Fortunately his Bentley was not one of the four cars damaged too badly to continue and following another charge through the field, Leitzinger finished a respectable sixth.

Dyson started Sunday’s race on the pole by virtue of setting the fastest lap during Saturday’s victorious drive. He was running third mid-way through the first green-flag lap when he was shunted off the track and into a gravel trap. After climbing back through the field, Dyson was rear-ended again, resulting in a 17th-place finish.

The last upbeat note was that Leitzinger set the fastest lap of Sunday’s race, while Dyson posted the second-fastest.

“It was great that we were able to get our first win of the season,” Rob Dyson said. “We’ve got some work to do before the Mid-Ohio races late next month, particularly on the launch-control system, which is essential for standing starts.”

A delayed, edited broadcast of all three races in Road America’s Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup weekend will be shown on CBS Sports Network Sunday, July 5, 2 PM (ET). Times and dates subject to change.

– ENDS –

Leitzinger, who last year drove the team’s single Bentley Continental GT3 entry to sixth and fourth-place finishes at Road America, is optimistic about the team’s chances on its return to the classic 4.0-mile circuit in Wisconsin’s hilly Kettle Moraine. “Our Bentleys are well suited to Road America,” he said, noting that during last year’s meet he set the second-fastest race lap. “The Continental GT3 has very good low-end torque and produces excellent high-speed downforce. Road America’s turns are medium to high-speed while the straightaways tend to be long – and two of them are uphill.”

A year’s worth of development has meant good progress in addressing two technical challenges the team faced during its early races. The first was getting a handle on the car’s electronic launch control, which is essential in order to do well on the standing-starts that are a feature of the series. “These are sprint races, less than an hour in length,” noted Dyson, who finished third in the sole Detroit race last month. “If you give up four or five places before you even get to the first corner, you’ve put yourself at a disadvantage. The top half of the field in the Pirelli World Challenge – the teams, drivers and cars – are all first-rate and there are no easy passes. We’ve made good progress with the launch-control system, and that’s been a big help.”

The other area where the team has improved its performance is in the car’s ability to make full use of the Pirelli tire that all competitors are required to use. “Pirelli provides an excellent tire for the series,” said Peter Weston, the team’s long-time technical director. “But it’s a bit ‘one size fits all’ and while some cars must carefully manage their tire strategy in order to be competitive at the end of the race, our challenge is just the opposite. Our Bentleys are easy on tires. We’ve worked to get our tires up to proper operating temperatures more quickly. Also, and it’s pretty much out of our control, a race that goes start to finish with no full-course cautions is to our advantage.”

Rob Dyson, the team’s founder and CEO, pronounced himself pleased with Bentley Team Dyson Racing’s first 12 months in Pirelli World Challenge competition, but not satisfied. “Bentley’s given us an excellent car to work with, and we’ve made good progress with it. We did win one race last year, one of the two during the season’s final weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, where the track layout and the high altitude both worked to our advantage. We’ve been close to victory a couple of times in the first half of this season. But I tend to look forward rather than back, so our focus is on progress in terms of on-track performance, further developing the car, and building on our strong relationship with Bentley Motors and M-Sport, who have both proved to be excellent partners.”

Live streaming of all three GT-class races is available on WWW.WORLD-CHALLENGETV.COM. Friday 1:40 to 2:35 PM (CT); Saturday 1:35 to 2:35 PM (CT); and Sunday 2:25 to 3:25 PM (CT). Note: All times listed are Central Time Zone.

A delayed, edited broadcast of the Pirelli World Challenge GT Cup presented by MOMO will be shown on CBS Sports Network Sunday, July 5, 2 PM (ET). Times and dates subject to change.

“Johnny and I were both flat out the whole way,” Leitzinger said following the post-race celebrations. “Neither of us were holding anything back. In a straight fight I couldn’t get past him, but Johnny couldn’t pull away at all. I was hoping lapped traffic might give me a shot at passing him, but every time we came up to lap slower cars it was pretty much the same for both of us.”

Leitzinger paid tribute to the Dyson Racing crew that put in a major effort to restore his #20 Continental GT3 to like-new condition after Leitzinger was crashed by another driver into a concrete barrier at Long Beach. “The guys worked so hard to get my car ready for this weekend,” he said. “I’m so grateful. I know that the good results that Chris and I had this weekend helped justify all their work.”

Bentley Team Dyson Racing CEO Rob Dyson pronounced himself satisfied with the team’s performance over the weekend. “You always want to win, but if you don’t win, then you want to do as well as you can. Chris’s second-place finish at Long Beach last month and Butch and Chris’s good results here confirm that we’re making good progress at unlocking all the performance in the Bentley. More good results are on the way.”

“We have always done well when we had rolling starts,” Dyson said. “But we’ve had a persistent issue with standing starts, which is a feature of Pirelli World Challenge racing. We have worked really hard on it lately. The standing start for Sunday’s race went better for us and the team continues to make progress in that area.”

Dyson said he wished he could have been right in the mix with Leitzinger and O’Connell at the end of Sunday’s race. Earlier in the stint he had been running in very close company “But there was a traffic issue and I lost several seconds that I just couldn’t make up. We were all really flying – nothing held back. Our friends at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park got a big crowd today and the spectators saw an excellent race.”

After a weekend off the Pirelli World Challenge reconvenes 29-31 May on Belle Isle in the middle of the Detroit River, sharing the bill with the Verizon IndyCar Series at the Detroit Grand Prix.

This weekend’s races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park will be featured on CBS Sports Network Sunday, May 24, at 5:00 PM.

(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.”

(Poughkeepsie, NY, 16 April 2015) Bentley Team Dyson Racing CEO Rob Dyson will be closely watching the team’s pair of Bentley Continental GT3 race cars at Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach round of the Pirelli World Challenge. Keeping an eye on the competitive performance of drivers Chris Dyson and Butch Leitzinger, Dyson will also be aware that both cars need to be on track just four days later in Birmingham, AL, for a test session that kicks off the Grand Prix of Alabama race meet.

“On street courses like Long Beach there are a lot more chances for a car to be damaged in a crash than at a regular road course,” Dyson said. “That’s just a fact. We saw it in (the two most recent Pirelli World Challenge street-course races at) St. Pete.”

“Our Bentley’s have been getting stronger each race,” Dyson said, “and I think we’ll do well at Long Beach and at Barber, which is a road course that maybe suits our cars a little better. But with two races so close together, it’s also really important that we finish the race at Long Beach with two ready-to-race cars.”

Leitzinger emphasized the balance between aggression and discretion that’s a key to success on street courses. “There aren’t a lot of chances to pass and these are sprint races that tend to have a lot of full-course yellows,” he said. “You’ve got to make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. But you don’t want to be the reason for that next full-course yellow.”

Leitzinger’s teammate, Chris Dyson, noted that the team’s pair of tractor-trailers won’t be able to depart Long Beach until Sunday evening and are scheduled to arrive at Barber Motorsport Park, 2,000 miles away, by 8:00 a.m. Wednesday. “They’ll need that all of those two-and-a-half days for the drive from California to Alabama,” he said. “We’re not on track until Thursday morning. The good news is that the Continental GT3 was developed for long-distance races as well the sprint racing we do. Hopefully, all the crew will need to do is change the oil and tires and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Butch and I will have 90 minutes of track time to get our cars set up for qualifying,” Dyson said. “Our team has plenty of experience at St. Pete, but it’s all been with sports-prototypes cars. I like the circuit a lot and our Bentleys should be strong performers there. However there are differences between prototypes and production-based race cars, including the Continental GT3. Many of our competitors in the Pirelli World Challenge have raced their cars here several times. We’re going to have to get with the program quickly if we want to do well in qualifying.”

Starting position is always of great importance in a sprint race, but according to team-owner Rob Dyson, qualifying will be particularly important at this “Monaco-on-the-Gulf-Coast” temporary street circuit, where spectators are treated to spectacular views, but drivers have relatively few opportunities to pass.

“If you’re not starting in the first two or three rows, you’re going to have a hard race” Dyson said. “It’s not just that it’s hard to pass – though St. Pete is one of the better street circuits in that regard – but there are a lot more on-track incidents on street circuits and you don’t want to get caught up in somebody else’s crash.” Dyson further noted that one of the Continental GT3’s strengths in a race — that it is easy on tires and fastest in the closing laps is a challenge in the short runs between pit-stops to make chassis tweaks.

“For both qualifying and the races we will be going with setups that both give mechanical grip and generate tire temperatures as quickly as possible,” said Peter Weston, Bentley Team Dyson Racing’s director of engineering. Weston pointed out that different paving materials in different sections of the course complicate the task of setting up the car and also noted the polished nature of asphalt that is run on by road cars 362 days each year makes for a low-grip racing surface compared with permanent road circuits. These factors, along with the unforgiving concrete barriers that define the circuit’s perimeter, increase the likelihood of full-course yellows that both eat up precious green-flag race laps and cause tires to cool down.

“We’d be happy if the race went green all the way from start to finish,” Leitzinger said. “The Bentley has good high-speed downforce and is particularly good in fast corners and under braking,” noting that in addition to the usual low-gear turns that are typical of street circuits, St. Pete features several very fast sections, including the Turns 2 & 3 complex and the kink in the harbour straight, where the Bentley should shine, particularly after a long green-flag interval. “Chris and I want to be close to the front with warm tires in the last few laps. That’s how we’re going to have the best shot to win.”

(Poughkeepsie, NY, 3^rd March 2015) Bentley Team Dyson Racing is in final preparations for its first race of the season, the opening round of the Pirelli World Challenge at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. At a track which is renowned for being a challenge both to car and driver, Bentley’s North American race partner is looking forward to what should be a compelling weekend of racing, according to Peter Weston, the team’s Director of Engineering:

“We’re excited for the start of the season, and COTA is a great place to begin our championship challenge. It’s a very technical circuit and needs a well-balanced car. We’ve worked hard in the off-season and we feel ready.” said Weston, who in addition to overseeing the ongoing development of the team’s pair of Bentley Continental GT3 racers has engineered sports-prototypes in both development tests and races at the Austin, TX facility that is home to the United States Grand Prix. He noted that to be quick on this circuit a driver needs a car that is “neutral with good traction. Grip is at a premium because the asphalt is so smooth. Literally, your shoes will squeak on it.”

“We’ve had a good winter test program,” said Team Bentley Dyson Racing CEO Rob Dyson. “The Bentley was a terrific car when we started racing it at mid-season last year and it’s only gotten better as the team has been able to unlock more of its performance potential.” Dyson noted that the Continental GT3 posted competitive lap times at its debut race and ended the season with a win at Miller Motorsports Park.

Chris Dyson, who drives the #16 Bentley Continental GT3, has tested extensively and raced at COTA in the 2013 World Endurance Championship.  Dyson noted that the circuit presents unique challenges:  “The track has a wide variety of very technical corners that place an emphasis on car placement and technique and on having a car that stops well and puts the power down cleanly.  There are no other configurations of layout like this in North America.  There are a few key passing areas:  the dramatic Turn One and the two hairpins at the end of the longer straights.  The key will be to be patient and size up the opposition and look for the right opportunities at these places on the track.”

Butch Leitzinger, driver of the #20 Bentley Continental GT3, has spent 20 seasons driving sports-prototypes for the Dyson team. But Leitzinger has also driven production-based Trans Am cars and NASCAR stock cars. Leitzinger, who in 2003 finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Bentley Speed 8 sports-prototype, says the technological sophistication of his current Bentley produces a feel that’s closer to the sports-prototype cars than the other modified road cars he’s driven.

“The Continental GT3 is similar to those other production-based cars in that it has a lot of power for the size of the tires, and you have to be more conscious of managing the mass of the car,” Leitzinger said, also noting that Bentley had a huge advantage in terms of aerodynamic development. “It is much more refined aerodynamically. Bentley has done so much with CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and wind tunnel work. Before I drove the car I was expecting it to be kind of like a Trans Am car with low grip. I was really impressed with the downforce and what that allowed for braking – I pretty much use the same braking points as I would in a prototype – and the excellent grip the Bentley produces in both medium- and high-speed turns.”

Rob Dyson said he wouldn’t be drawn into specific predictions on the outcome of the season-opener, noting the strength of the Pirelli World Challenge field. “But I can tell you this,” he said, “the Bentley is a great race car and our team always brings its A game. I’m confident we’re going to be a major factor in the championship and it’s our goal to win it this year.”

Race Schedule (All Times are Central Time Zone)

Friday 6^th March

Saturday 7^th March

Sunday 8^th March

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

– ENDS –

Notes to editors

• The Continental GT3 is built by the Bentley motorsport team in conjunction with M-Sport. The Bentley GT3 team is led by Bentley Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush supported by M-Sport’s Chief Engineer, Christian Loriaux.
• Founded in 1974, 2015 marks Dyson Racing forty-first year in racing, the most recent 32 of which have been spent competing in professional classes.
• In the course of those seasons in professional racing, the team has won 10 team championships, five manufacturers’ titles and seven driver’s championships, 71 race victories, 72 pole-position starts and 218 podium finishes.
• Bentley Motors’ headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s three model lines, Continental, Flying Spur and Mulsanne. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury car brands such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley employs around 3,700 people at Crewe.