ELKHART LAKE, WI — Dyson Racing Team Bentley improved on yesterday’s sixth place finish with a fourth place today in the second race of the Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader at Road America. As he did yesterday, Butch Leitzinger in the Bentley Continental GT3 set the second fastest lap of the race, underlining a strong debut weekend for the team.
The first day of summer dawned misty and damp with heavy fog lingering at the 9:10 am race start on the four mile, 14-turn natural road course. Forty-three cars took the green flag with Leitzinger starting from the outside of the front row. He lost three positions at the start and was making up ground when the yellow came out on the fifth lap. The race resumed twenty minutes later on lap 12 for twelve minutes of green running to the checkered flag.
“We lost some positions on the first lap, but once the car came in after a couple laps and all the temperatures were good on the tires, the car was just fantastic,” said Leitzinger. “I was trying so hard to get a podium for Bentley today but just could not do it. It was a shame it was not a longer race or we had more green laps, because the car was getting better with every lap. But that is part of sprint racing.
“It was a very good weekend. The car ran every session with no problems and we kept on making it better and more competitive every time we went out. I was very impressed with the car and with the team effort between us and Bentley. I had a blast and cannot wait for the next race and further develop the potential of this Bentley.”
Team principal Rob Dyson shared the same positive view of the weekend’s effort. “It was a good start. I would give it a solid grade. Sprint racing is a new discipline for us and we are coming into a new ‘neighborhood.’ The series and competitors are friendly, giving and helpful. They have terrific and fast cars here in Pirelli World Challenge. Bentley has done an excellent job in the engineering and development of the Continental GT3, and as it continues to be raced on both sides of the Atlantic, it will continue to get better. I am very pleased with the result and how the team has made our new partnership with Bentley work seamlessly from the start.”
The Pirelli World Challenge will continue its 25th anniversary season at the Toronto street circuit, July 18-20, as part of a shared weekend with IndyCar. This weekend’s PWC races can be seen Friday, July 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network. The races are also streamed live at www.world-challengetv.com.