Bentley Motorsport has signed a deal with ABT Sportsline, which will see the world-renowned race team run the luxury sportscar manufacturer’s ADAC GT Masters and Nürburgring 24 Hours campaigns with a pair of Continental GT3s.
The German team, which has multiple DTM championship titles as well as numerous GT and Formula E race wins to its name, is highly regarded as one of Europe’s leading race preparation outfits and will benefit from Bentley works team support in 2016.
“We are pleased to welcome ABT Sportsline into the Bentley fold,” commented Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “Like Bentley, it has a very long and rich heritage in motorsport and we both strive to achieve success at the highest level.”
ADAC GT Masters is Germany’s national GT championship and is highly regarded as one of the most competitive in the world. The ABT Sportsline team will be run jointly with C.Abt Racing, which has many successful years of experience in racing in the series including taking the overall ADAC GT Masters titles in 2013 and 2014.
The team will also field two Bentley works team supported Continental GT3s in the world-famous Nürburgring 24 Hours with the aim of taking the outright victory for the British manufacturer.
With seven race starts, several podiums and a class victory to their name, ABT Sportsline’s CEO Hans-Jürgen Abt is confident they are the right team for the job. “We believe we have the experience and credentials to deliver the results for Bentley Motorsport in Germany that will have an impact globally,” he said.
“We have a very long-standing and successful relationship with the Volkswagen Group brands and we’re pleased to have been able to extend this to Bentley for 2016. It is a luxury manufacturer that has proven the Continental GT3 on track and we are looking forward to working closely with them and developing our relationship.”
The ABT Sportsline Continental GT3s will first race at VLN1 at the Nürburgring on 2 April followed by the opening round of the GT Masters on 16/17 April at Oschersleben.
