The racing world will see another legend hang the helmet this weekend as long time Bentley ace Guy Smith will step down from his racing activities with M-SPORT Bentley to focus on other projects off track, though still related to motorsport.
The final race of the British driver will be the Silverstone round of the Blancpain GT Series, to be held this Sunday, as Smith will race in his home round with the new iteration of the Bentley Continental GT3, which was recently homologated and started racing during the Blancpain Endurance season opener at Monza, quite a perfect combination for a final race. He has deep connections with the new Continental GT3 as he was part in the development of the new car, and will continue to do so as a test and development driver.
Smith was an instrumental part of the lineup that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003 in the Bentley EXP Speed 8 LMP900, and although focused in the Blancpain GT Series, Smith had a busy schedule with M-SPORT Bentley wherever they were with the Continental GT3, like the Bathurst 12 Hour, 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Pirelli World Challenge and Sepang 12 Hours.
The main reasons behind Smith’s decision are to focus in his own business projects as well in Bentley’s customer team support, acting also as a brand ambassador for the British manufacturer. Bringing younger talent into the main squad was also a reason, which is why Jordan Pepper is jumping in as his replacement at M-SPORT Bentley, coming from some experience in the first generation of the Continental GT3 with the ABT squad.
Pepper joins Steven Kane and Jules Gounon in the No. 7 M-SPORT Bentley from Paul Ricard onwards.
PHOTO: M-SPORT
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