Team Bentley rests on Le Mans laurels

Team Bentley will not defend its title in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2004, it has been confirmed this morning by Bentley Motors, the VW Group company in Crewe, UK. "I'm not saying we're leaving motorsport for good," said chairman and CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen. "Le Mans is part of our rich heritage and is very important to us, and we will certainly continue to review our position."

Oct 17, 2003, 9:50 AM

"Le Mans has also helped us to revive the unique spirit of Bentley and it has created a new motorsport heritage for the marque. But when we announced our return in November 2000, we always said this would be a three-year programme. In the past three Le Mans, we have been more successful than we could have dreamed, culminating in first and second places for the Bentley Speed 8 at this most famous of races this year. This has provided an excellent boost for our image and a successful communications platform for the introduction of the Continental GT, which has been launched to great acclaim.

"Being pragmatic, all our efforts need to be concentrated on the next phase of our regeneration, and our priority is delivering a new range of Bentleys to our rapidly expanding customer base."