1 Kristensen/Smith/Capello Bentley Speed 8 3m32.843s
2 Herbert/Brabham/Blundell Bentley Speed 8 3m35.098s
3 Salo/Biela/McCarthy Audi Sport UK R8 3m35.745s
4 Lammers/Wallace/Bosch Racing for Holland Dome-Judd 3m36.156s
5 Magnussen/Ara/Werner Audi Sport Japan R8 3m36.418s
6 Pirro/Lehto/Johansson Champion Racing Audi R8 3m36.857s
7 Matthews/Goossens/Tinseau Riley & Scott-Ford 3m37.476
8 Gommendy/Gabbiani/Ortiz Racing for Holland Dome-Judd 3m38.058s
9 Gounon/Cochet/Gregoire Courage Courage-Judd 3m40.400s
10 Beretta/Jeannette/Papis JML Team Panoz LMP-01 Evo 3m40.766s

Team Bentley claims proviosnal pole

Team Bentley Press Release, 11th June 2003: Team Bentley's two Speed 8 prototypes set the fastest times at today's first qualifying for the 2003 Le Mans 24-hours, setting a provisional pole time some 4.2sec faster than their nearest rival.

The Number 8 car set a time of 3min 35.2sec in the hands of David Brabham and quickest of all was the Number 7 car driven by Tom Kristensen that completed a lap in just 3min 32.8 sec, some 2.2sec quicker than Bentley's quickest time last year despite the Speed 8 having to use a considerably smaller engine restrictor.

"It was a good lap," said Tom, "not perfect, but I can't complain. I wasn't really held up by the traffic which makes a change round here, and we timed it right in terms of track temperature and visibility. Most of all though, the car felt really good and very fast. If we can continue to improve the set up between now and the race, we should be in good shape."

David commented, "it was all going very well until a car moved over on me going through the kink before Mulsanne. At that speed it was quite an interesting moment and it blew any chance of getting a decent lap. What's more important is we're both on the front row which is as much as we could hope for."

Derek Bell, five times winner of Le Mans and Bentley Motors consultant said, "I'm reassured by the margin between the Bentleys and the rest. What's important now is that all the drivers get a decent amount of time at the wheel to prepare themselves and their cars for the weekend ahead."

Bentley Boys set pace in first qualifying sessions

Autosport, 11th June 2003:

Session 2:

The works Bentley team continued to demonstrate its outright speed advantage in the second qualifying session for the Le Mans 24 Hours, but this time it was Tom Kristensen who led the way, his stunning lap of 3m32.843s over 2.3s faster than David Brabham could manage in the sister machine.

The second of tonight's (Wednesday) sessions started at 10pm local time, with the sun just setting and the air rapidly cooling. It was in these ideal conditions that the Dane set his blistering lap, benefiting from a lack of traffic and Michelin qualifying tyres on his way to the provisional pole.

Frank Biela put the Audi Sport UK entry into the best of the rest position behind the Bentley duo, ensuring a liberal splash of British racing green atop the timesheets. The German's best lap was 4.2s slower than the pole time, reinforcing his comments that Audi cannot beat the British team on outright pace.

Another customer R8, this one belonging to the Champion team, was in fourth position. The Racing for Holland Dome continued to look strong, with driver-owner Jan Lammers hustling the car to fifth, ahead of the Team Goh Audi Sport Japan R8.

Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying session 2, LMP 900/GTP:

1 Kristensen/Capello/Smith Bentley 3m32.843s
2 Brabham/Herbert/Blundell Bentley 3m35.222s
3 Biela/Salo/McCarthy Audi 3m37.076s
4 Pirro/Lehto/Johansson Audi 3m37.316s
5 Lammers/Bosch/Wallace Dome 3m37.350s
6 Ara/Magnussen/Werner Audi 3m37.691s
7 Ortiz/Gabbiani/Gommendy Dome 3m38.908s
8 Beretta/Jeannette/Papis Panoz 3m40.766s
9 Boullion/Lagorce/Sarrazin Courage 3m40.839s
10 Kondo/Katayama/Fukuda Dome 3m41.608s

Session 1:

The two works Bentleys showed their speed early in qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours, outpacing the opposition by 2.4s in the first session. Mark Blundell was the fastest of the Bentley Boys and claimed provisional pole for himself and team-mates Johnny Herbert and David Brabham.

The first session of qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours took place under muggy, overcast conditions. But the pitlane buzzed with excitement as preparation turned into action. Most of the drivers could be seen suited and booted, ready to take their turns as the teams searched for mutually acceptable set-up solutions.

The two-hour session ended with the number eight Bentley finishing 0.25s ahead of the number seven sister car of Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Guy Smith.

“It was not too bad,” said Herbert, “but what we really need is to get the car a bit more driveable, so we can finish the weekend.”

Kristensen said: “I would have liked to be quickest, but with one set of qualifiers between us, well, I will try again at ten o'clock.”

Sibling rivalry has begun at Bentley already as Blundell, who put in the quickest time, explained:

“The difference between seven and eight is one, and that's the only number we're interested in.”

Le Mans, first qualifying (top 10):

1 Brabham/Herbert/Blundell Bentley 3m35.321s
2 Kristensen/Capello/Smith Bentley 3m35.572s
3 Ara/Magnussen/Werner Audi 3m37.739s
4 Lammers/Bosch/Wallace Dome 3m38.923s
5 Pirro/Lehto/Johansson Audi 3m39.430s
6 Boullion/Lagorce/Sarrazin Courage 3m40.839s
7 Kondo/Katayama/Fukuda Dome 3m41.608s
8 Biela/Salo/McCarthy Audi 3m42.398s
9 Beretta/Jeannette/Papis Panoz 3m42.467s
10 Helary/Ayari/Minassian Courage 3m43.151s

Preview

Bentley Boys complete their preparation for Le Mans

Team Bentley Press Release, 5th June 2003: Team Bentley has this week put the finishing touches to its preparations for the Le Mans 24 hours race.

In a two day test at Snetterton, a brand new Bentley Speed 8 Le Mans prototype was rolled out by British Bentley Boys Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham. The new car, chassis 004/5, ran faultlessly straight out of the truck while chassis 004/3 was also on hand to complete its last laps prior to the race.

Bentley Boys Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello, and Guy Smith were also in attendance to practice pit stops while the team concentrated on component changing in race conditions. The time taken to fully service the car is now approximately 45 seconds.

Brian Gush, Bentley's Motorsport Director said:

'It's been a good test with no problems other than the weather. We have completed our programme on time and go to Le Mans with more testing and preparation under our belts than in any previous year. The new car ran perfectly throughout and we made great progress in cutting down time spent during both routine and unscheduled pit stops.'

The two Bentley Speed 8 prototypes will be on view at Le Mans during all of next week and can be seen in action prior to the race during first and second qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Pre-qualifying

Bentleys 1st & 3rd at Le Mans Test Weekend

Team Bentley Press Release, 4th May 2003: Team Bentley has successfully completed the first phase of its campaign to win Le Mans on the 80th anniversary of its first race in the 24-hour classic.

After eight hours of testing the number 7 Speed 8 Le Mans GT Prototype topped the time sheets with Tom Kristensen lapping in 3min 34.8sec, over 3.5sec ahead of the fastest of the hitherto unbeatable Audi R8s.

The number 8 car ended the day third fastest with a time of 3min 38.9 sec, Johnny Herbert's attempt to set a representative time for the car being thwarted by the perennial problem of slow traffic.

Johnny Herbert: "The car has great potential and I’m delighted with the way the car is performing. The times we have recorded are extremely positive, but there was really too much traffic to run quickly. It’s great working for Team Bentley and on the evidence gathered today I think we have good reason to be optimistic for the race itself."

These excellent times were achieved despite a far from trouble-free run for the two Bentleys, with minor problems dogging the team throughout the day. Dindo Capello, in the No 7 Speed 8, was forced to pull over at the side of the Mulsanne straight after a rear suspension component failed, while No 8's most hair-raising incident was a puncture for Mark Blundell in the 5th gear corner at Indianapolis. Mark did brilliantly to save the car and get it to the pits in one piece.

"I am absolutely delighted to end up fastest by such a margin," commented Bentley's motorsport director, Brian Gush, "particularly as we have not had the easiest of days.

"We lost a lot of time making set-up changes for car 8, while car 7 was stranded for an hour before lunch. Under the circumstances I'd say we could hardly have hoped for more, save perhaps a traffic-free run for Johnny at the end of the day. Had he had a clear lap, I've no doubt we'd have been in the top two spots. As it is, car 8 is only half a second behind the fastest of the three Audis."

John Wickham, team director, commented: "It's very rewarding to come away from today with first and third places. It's given the team the boost they deserve after what turned out to be a very hard day's work. There is a lot more to think about and several issues to resolve before the race, but while we had numerous niggles we encountered no major problems. It just goes to show once more that this track continues to spring surprises even on the best-prepared teams."

Team Bentley at Le Mans Test Weekend

Team Bentley Press Release, 1st May 2003: Team Bentley returns to Le Mans this weekend to start the final phase of its three year campaign to win the famed 24-hour race once more, some 73 years after its last historic victory. Buoyed by the pace-setting speed shown by its two Speed 8 prototypes at the Sebring 12-hours race, the team believes all the elements required for success are now falling into place.

This Sunday will mark the first occasion that the all-new Speed 8s have run at Le Mans, and the day-long test will be spent not trying to break the lap record, but matching the set-up to the circuit, proving the performance of the new Michelin tyres and evaluating the fuel consumption of their 4-litre, direct injection, twin-turbo V8 motors.

It will also allow the two teams of drivers to acclimatise themselves once more to the car and circuit. Car number 7 will be crewed by Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo 'Dindo' Capello and Guy Smith. Car 8 will be driven by Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham. With nearly 250 Grand Prix starts and six Le Mans wins between them, this is one of the quickest and most experienced squads ever to take the start at Le Mans.

The car they will drive, the 2003 Bentley Speed 8, has taken a massive performance leap over the already highly competitive 2002 model. Despite being designed to exploit the long straights of Le Mans to the full, on the shorter, more twisting Sebring circuit not only did the Bentleys claim the front two places on the grid (before being sent to the back for a minor technical irregularity), one claimed the fastest lap, and the other the fastest single stint. Both cars ran faultlessly, the only unscheduled stop being to replace broken bodywork caused by a spinning slower car.

Such is the car-breaking nature of the Sebring track, it is has long been believed that any car that can survive 12-hours on its horrendously bumpy surface should last at least 24 anywhere else. But just to make sure, the next day one of the Speed 8s embarked on another 12-hour marathon at the track. The run was completed at race pace and without trouble.

John Wickham, team manager said: "We've not had an ideal winter testing programme - the car did not run until late January and we've been unlucky with the weather, so we were delighted with the way the cars performed at Sebring, a circuit to which they should be unsuited. One of the cars had run for less than two hours continuously before it went to America and the other had not turned a wheel, but both ran like clockwork throughout.

"We will be going fast this weekend because that's the only way to understand the car, but we have a packed schedule as we need to run the cars on a range of different tyres, with different set ups and fuel loads. We'll leave finding an ultimate lap-time for qualifying."

Brian Gush, Director Motorsport said: "Because of the tight corners and bumps at Sebring, we had to run a high-downforce package on the car which is not what it was designed for. Also because we had done so little testing, we had to be extremely conservative with our fuel and tyre strategies. Now we have over 24 hours trouble-free running under our belts, we will be in a much better position to exploit fully the considerable potential of the new car."

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