Max attack
A big design criterion was we really didn’t want any turbo lag on this thing because there are so many first gear hairpin exits
Bentley may have cancelled its factory GT3 programme, but the Continental continues to race in private hands and is still available for sale. However, the factory turned its attention to an entirely new challenge for its latest version, a Time Attack on the Pikes Peak hillclimb using a fuel that produces up to 85 per cent less greenhouse gas than regular fuel.
The base car is run by Luke Clayton, a long-time Bentley customer, but the factory used his hillclimb experience, and car, to create its GT3 Pikes Peak. Using experienced team, Roger Clarke, and engine partner M Sport, Bentley pulled together some incredible expertise in order to make the attempt a reality. They needed it. With just 16 weeks from greenlight from the board to the event, time was in short supply.
The basic car is pretty much unchanged from the GT3 car that has won internationally, not least the Bathurst 12 hours in 2020. The chassis remains the same, as does the suspension, although settings have changed dramatically for the totally different demands of the Pikes Peak track. Far from the smooth asphalt that adorns most permanent circuits, with a combination of fast flowing corners and long straights, Pikes Peak has more first gear corners, and the average speed needed for Bentley to claim the Time Attack 1 record was just over 78mph.
Camber compensator
‘It’s the same chassis in terms
