Bentley boys ready

We don’t normally cover race cars that will never grace dealer forecourts, but any excuse will do when it comes to bringing you more shots of Bentley’s lip-smacking Continental GT3.

Bentley has announced three British drivers will steer its official return to racing for the first time in a decade on December 13 at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The Gulf 12 Hours will be the first “test race” for the big two-door Continental racer, which will be piloted by Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Andy Meyrick.

The Middle East event will be the Crewe-based company's first race since its victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2003 with the Speed 8 prototype, which returned Bentley to the top step of the Le Mans podium for first time in over 70 years.

Smith, who was part of the winning Le Mans team 10 years ago – will partner Kane and Meyrick in two six-hour races at Yas Marina, with a two-hour break between the daylight and night-time races

The single Bentley will face stiff competition from host of other GT3-spec entries, including Ferrari 458 Italias, Audi R8s, Porsche 911 997 GT3 Rs, Lamborghini Gallardos, Mercedes SLS AMGs and McLaren MP4-12Cs.

“After completing development and endurance testing on a variety of race tracks around Europe since we unveiled the car at Goodwood in July, we’re confident that the Continental GT3 is prepared for its first test race,” said Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush.

“While the development work never stops, we feel ready to take on the competition for the first time in Abu Dhabi. I’m delighted with our driver selection, and in Guy, Steven and Andy we have world-class talent. All at Team M-Sport Bentley are thrilled to be racing next month.”