Race report
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Spa-Francorchamps
Meyrick helps Bentley ease back into 24-hour racing
Brand's first return to twice-around-the-clock competition since Le Mans win in 2003.
Edited: Sep 4, 2014, 4:34 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Andy Meyrick drove a series of impeccable stints to help ensure a solid finish for the Bentley Continental GT3 in Bentley's first return to 24-hour racing since winning Le Mans in 2003. Andy, Guy Smith and Steven Kane had a difficult race but managed to overcome bad luck to cross the line ninth in the class and 13th overall as the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium drew to a close.
With the #7 Continental GT3 starting sixth on the grid, it was Andy's teammate Guy Smith who began the race. High track temperatures caused tricky handling early on, and Andy started his first stint in P16. When the first of many safety car periods started on lap 39, Andy had climbed two places to P14, but at that point bad luck struck for the first time. A piece of debris from the crash that brought out the safety car damaged a brake line on the Bentley, and Andy had to pit to have it replaced. The mechanics worked furiously but the car lost three laps to the leaders, and emerged from the stop in P50.
The fight back began immediately. After stints from Steven and Guy, including a red-flag interruption of an hour, Andy started his second stint in the car in P36, and in the space of an hour climbed six places to P30. His third stint was a two-hour long double stint and saw the same level of skill and commitment, first moving another six places up the order from P22 to P16 in the first hour and then taking P15 before pitting and handing the car to Steven. Andy's pace was rewarded with a championship point for sitting P9 in class at the 12-hour mark.
Second half not same as the first
Te second half of the race saw more mixed fortunes. The Continental GT3 was one of the quickest cars on the track, and the trio of drivers continued to make great progress as the car's record of reliability was maintained. After reaching P11, two cars ahead of Steven Kane collided and the resulting debris hit and damaged the front splitter of the #7 Continental GT3. The ensuing understeer was dramatically blunting the car's performance, and so repairing the damage was vital. The pit stop to fix the issue took six minutes, dropping the car back to P13. Andy took the wheel and moved the car back up to P11 during his stint, only for the team's good work to be undone by a slow puncture during Steve's penultimate stint that meant that P13 would been their final position.
Andy, however, was pleased with the result:
"I think that we've done well. This is a new team, racing a new car, against long-established competitors, and for Bentley to enter what's probably the toughest 24 hour race in the world after 11 years away and finish with both cars in the top 20 is fantastic. It's true that we were hoping for a better result, but none of the issues we had were our fault -- racing over such a long distance involves a large element of lottery, and we've been unlucky this weekend. There were so many crashes during the race and it was the debris from those that caused all of our problems. After adjusting our tyre pressures early on, the car was mega, and we were all able to push hard to make a solid comeback. I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to run a 24-hour race -- for me, they're the pinnacle of motor racing."
Andy Meyrick Racing
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article No. 1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 victorious at Spa
Next article Nico Verdonck in the top 10 at the 24 Hours of Spa
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Steven Kane
Bentley to enter third car in Nurburgring 24 Hours
Endurance
Endurance
24 Hours of Nürburgring
Bentley to enter third car in Nurburgring 24 Hours
Buhk and Baumann eager to defend two-point lead around Brands Hatch rollercoaster
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint
Brands Hatch
Buhk and Baumann eager to defend two-point lead around Brands Hatch rollercoaster
Bentley confirms Bathurst livery, drivers
Endurance
Endurance
Bentley confirms Bathurst livery, drivers
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
4 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
4 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe