Bentley to miss GT opener
Despite some anticipation, the KMB Motorsport Bentley will not race this weekend’s GT World Challenge Australia opener at Phillip Island.
Even though the #38 Continental GT3 was named on the entry list, unfortunately the team could not find a co-driver to partner young gun Valentino Astuti or enough sponsor dollars to go racing this weekend.
As a result, the GT World Challenge Australia field has been reduced to 17 cars as attention now turns to ensuring the Bentley can make a celebrated comeback for the first time since 2022 at the second round at Sydney Motorsport Park in May.
Astuti described the chances of racing this weekend as “50-50” as recently as Tuesday given how late things came together.
KMB Motorsport only received the Bentley last Monday, just 24 hours before Astuti was on track driving it at the standalone test day.
Despite the appearance, there were still a numerous amount of hurdles to clear to go racing and sadly they just fell short.
Although the Bentley will be absent, there is strong hope that the chances of racing at SMP are much higher with more time up their sleeves.
The Bentley became something of a fan favourite after winning the 2021 Bathurst 12 Hour and some fans were looking forward to the British beast to return to an Australian track after almost three years away.
Astuti is a young talent to watching having won the 2022 Australian Formula Ford title, plus gained experience in GT World Challenge and Super3.
He hopes to one day build a GT international career with manufacturer support.
Last year racing an Aston Martin Vantage with Liam Dunn was Astuti’s first taste of the world of GT and he believes the experience has set him up well to take strides forward in the more competitive Bentley, which he hopes is also a hit with the fans.
“Last year being in the Aston was a great experience and introduction to the category and now jumping into the Bentley was awesome because it is an outright car,” he said.
“I am with the same people who I worked with racing the Aston last year which was an iconic car and being a V12 it sounded amazing and everyone loved it.
“With the Bentley I know it is also a standout car that makes a statement as well and hopefully it will be an exciting car for everyone to see.”
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