Kristensen on the Bentley Speed 8
“WE TALK ABOUT iconic Le Mans cars from the 1960s and ’70s, but the Bentley is the most elegant,” states Tom Kristensen. “There are aggressive and beautiful cars, but the Bentley Speed 8 had it all in 2003.”
Okay, so he’s biased. After all, it was he – with team-mates Guy Smith and Dindo Capello – who made history in this car when they became the first ‘Bentley Boys’ to win Le Mans since 1930. The stat says much about the marque’s thin sporting record since its first glorious decade in the 1920s, but as we mark Bentley’s centenary, it’s a legacy that still deserves the planned celebrations at Silverstone Classic next week.
Kristensen only ended up in British Racing Green because Audi’s works team withdrew for 2003, having dominated Le Mans for three years. He and Capello were sent out on loan. So did he expect to win? “We didn’t know we had the best car,” he insists, pointing towards the Sebring 12 Hours as evidence. At the tough Florida classic in March, a Le Mans barometer, Bentley was beaten by a pair of Joest-run Audi R8s.
“We knew we needed to improve,” says Tom. “The car initially was too stiff, the aero quite aggressive and it wasn’t easy to drive on the limit. The coupé had an aero advantage, but we had narrower tyres than Audi and a bigger engine. We were struggling to be consistent through a stint, let alone two or three.
It was very hot in the car – 50deg at Sebring.”
Still, by the spring test day at Le Mans, the Bentley was easily fastest – and at the race itself, Kristensen comfortably took pole position, by 2.3sec. “Apart from ride-height concerns – we changed it on the grid – we had a more or less perfect race,” recalls Tom, “whereas our team-mates had to change the battery.” By the flag, Kristensen, Smith and Capello were two laps clear of Mark Blundell, Johnny Herbert and David Brabham in the sister car, and five ahead of the closest Audi.
Objective achieved, the Speed 8 never returned to Le Mans. Kristensen and Capello went back to Audi and further Le Mans glory, while Smith enjoyed success as part of Bentley’s next project: a Continental GT3 racer. But without class representation at Le Mans, that campaign has never gained the kudos it deserves.
Hypercar rules are on the horizon to kick off a whole new era at Le Mans. But whether Bentley has the wherewithal or stomach to return remains to be seen.
❝ Apart from ride-height concerns, we had a perfect race ❞