The effort only started back in mid-2013, but it feels like the M-Sport Bentley squad have been in GT3 racing since the beginning. It’s a testament to the commitment, results and presence of the team that it has had such an impact in such a short space of time, and nobody can vouch for that with more confidence than Guy Smith.
Smith, who is in his second stint as a ‘Bentley Boy’ let’s not forget, has been involved with the Continental GT3 programme since its inception, but looks just as fresh, eager and ready now, as he did when he tackle the car’s debut campaign. 2016 looks like it could be a very successful and busy year for the Beverly native and the M-Sport squad, whose aspirations are to win the Blancpain Endurance Series title after coming so close the last two years.
Smith spoke to DSC during the Autosport International Racing Car Show this week, about a wide variety of subjects, everything from his new teammate, to his first experience at Bathurst:
Let’s look straight ahead at this year, what are your full plans with Bentley?
“At the moment the plan is the Blancpain Endurance Series again, but a lot of the programme is still undecided really in terms of what we are doing and how it is going to work. Certainly the Blancpain Endurance is a definite.
“Obviously though, I’m still really excited to start a new season. Finishing second both years has been good but a little bit frustrating, particularly last year, and I’m sure it’s the same for everybody, you look back in hindsight at what could have been. Everyone has a similar story.
“One thing we did though was prove that we were consistent, and that the car is reliable and fast. This year is possibly going to be more challenging again, with new cars coming in. There’s a lot of unknowns but people like Mercedes will come out swinging with well developed cars. That’s what we want, we love the racing and the excitement new cars bring.
“We’re in year three of the car now, but we still believe we can be competitive.”
Looking at the altered driver lineup you guys have in the #7 for Blancpain this year, obviously Vincent Abril could be a big change as he’s stepped up. He’s grown so much, and so quickly it seems. What’s your experience of him been?
“Yeah, all good. I had met him a few times throughout last year when he was with HTP, we have done some training together, and I really feel like it’s my job to integrate him into the team. One thing about car #7 is that we’ve had a very strong bond amongst the drivers, and that’s a real strength.
“Bringing Vincent in, I feel as the elder statesman it’s my job to make him feel a part of it and take pressure off. He’s a champion, he’s done it in Sprint, he can do it in the Endurance Series too. The main thing is that he lacks is experience, but that will come with time.
“I have every confidence in him.”
The season starts with a trip to Bathurst though, you must be looking forward to that?
“It’s going to be mega. Last year was the first time I had ever been there. It was a race that I had always wanted to do, on a circuit I had always wanted to drive and last year was the first chance for me to do that.
“It really didn’t disappoint, I mean, the place itself, the circuit and the race was everything I had expected and more.
It’s quite a challenging circuit, to put it lightly!
“Oh yeah! I did the first couple of hours of the race, and it was pitch black, and you don’t really test in the dark so it was a new thing, and then I was thinking about the kangaroos, as there’s a risk of them jumping on the track. It’s wild!
“But what a great race, I was watching the highlights of last year recently just to refresh my memory and yeah, last year was a great race. We finished fourth after battling for the lead in the last couple of laps of the race. The finish was mental!
“There’s unfinished business there.”
What’s your thoughts going into this year’s race then, now that you have been there before?
“Well we start from a slightly better place as we have a setup that we know works which we can start with. As drivers we have all driven the track now too, so we know what to expect. It’ll hopefully give us more chances to optimise the car in practice rather than get ourselves up to speed.
“But it’s one of those races which anything can happen, it’s a typical endurance race, just more crazy. You have to be in it to win it, it’s all about the last hour.”
Obviously you couldn’t make any major changes to the car in the off season, but have you made any small refinements that’ll help you guys take the extra step this time round?
“It’s all about small refinements and working more and more on the setup. There’s just a few little tweaks here and there, we’ve got a car which isn’t the fastest over a lap but I still think it’s strong, and more reliable.
“We’re still not happy with how the car is in the wet, it’s our Achilles heel, but we’ll see what we can do. It is much improved though. We need to be better in that aspect if we want to win at Spa it seems.”
Are you guys going back to the Nurburgring?
“It’s on the books. Last year was frustrating but it’s all part of the learning curve. You learn a lot about your car there. But I thoroughly enjoyed doing it from a driver’s point of view and I’m speaking on behalf of all of us. It’s one of those places, it’s got everything, it’s the ultimate circuit. So I want to go back.
“From a manufacturers point of view, look at the Germans, for them it’s a big deal, so for us to go there and do well would be fantastic. It’s taken very seriously, and increasingly so.
“It’s going to be interesting seeing how the circuit is with no speed limits this year. I think all the changes seem to be positive. I just want to do a couple of VLN rounds and the N24 again to see how it is for myself.”
Either way you’ll be at Spa, that’ll be almost as testing won’t it?
“Oh yes. It’s been an another Achillies heel, Spa. We’ve had issues, finished poorly. We probably would have won the championship if we had scored some more points. It’s a race we need to do better in, because you can work hard at every other round but if you have a bad Spa, that can hamper your championship.”
The competition could be interesting by that point in the season too, as the new cars will have more miles under their belts. What’s your impression of the new GT3 cars at this stage though?
“Well the Mercedes looks particularly Germanic, well thought out, good layout, looks simple. I think it’ll be really good. The BMW I’ve not seen in the flesh, but I’m sure it’ll be good, I’ve heard they’ve had a few problems with it during the development though, especially with reliability. But they’ll be ok.
“Then there’s the Audi, which is blinding, and I mean, we saw that car in the wet at Sepang and it was just ridiculous. Whereas in the rain at the N24 they were struggling. Strangely I have heard from a few people who have driven the car that it’s not that good. But then you see it flying at up front…
“Porsche will also be back in 2017 with a proper works effort I think. It’ll be an all-out attack from all angles I imagine.”
Does that excite you?
“It’s great to be a part of a series with a manufacturer that’s taking it seriously, it’s perfect. I think with GT3, it’s growing because of the manufacturers, they’re realising that GTE is great, but it’s not where the sales are, that’s GT3.
“You see with the ACO that they’re even trying to get a piece of the pie with the Le Mans Cup, so fair play to Stefan Ratel to get it this far. Now we have to keep it going but not let it get too crazy.
“I think the BoP also continues to get better. But everyone plays the game, look at Spa, look at Paul Ricard, everyone is bitching and moaning, but we all do it. I mean, if you look at Bathurst last year, it was like the Nissan had a different map at the end because of its straight-line speed, it was ridiculous! But really, it ebbs and flows, everyone complains, even though you do feel hosed by it sometimes.
“At Spa, we suffered because of it particularly, we were three seconds off the pace and that rolled over to Bathurst. And there the only reason we were in with a shout is because the safety car kept coming out and keeping us bunched up.”
It’s all come and gone so quickly, I mean, thinking back to last year’s Bathurst, it seemed like yesterday! Tell me about the Bentley programme, and it’s future, because you’ve been with M-Sport since the start and it’s flown by?
“I think Bentley being back in racing again has proved to be important, and this programme has been really good for Bentley. A lot of customers come to the races, people recognise the car, it’s a true GT car too. It’s very relevant.
“The plan is to stay in GT racing.”
Stephen Kilbey
