Bentley

Bentley's racing program began almost from the company's inception. Its first major international event was the 1922 Indianapolis 500, where a modified road car driven by Douglas Hawkes completed the full 500 miles and finished 13th. The team then raced in the RAC Tourist Trophy.

Le Mans became the focus of Bentley's ambitions. The company achieved its first Le Mans victory in 1924 with the 3-litre car. A key figure in the racing era was Woolf Barnato, who rescued the financially struggling company in 1926 with a major personal investment and became one of its most successful drivers. Working alongside Barnato was Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin and a wider group of privately wealthy enthusiasts — the Bentley Boys — who included aviators, journalists, and sportsmen united by a shared love of Bentley cars.

The Speed Six, introduced in 1928, proved to be the most dominant racing Bentley of all. It achieved a 1-2-3-4 finish at the 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans, followed by a 1-2 result in 1930. Bentley's Le Mans wins during this period were secured in 1924 (3-litre), 1927, 1928 (4½-litre), 1929 (Speed Six), and 1930 (Speed Six). Bentley withdrew from motor racing after the 1930 Le Mans, stating they had "learned enough about speed and reliability."

The 4½-litre Blower Bentley, developed by Birkin from 1929, was the outlier: supercharged and dramatically fast but ultimately unreliable due to its stressed engine components. None of the Blower Bentleys ever won a race, a vindication of W. O. Bentley's own opposition to the project.

The Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression curtailed demand for expensive Bentley cars. By July 1931 the company could not meet mortgage payments and a receiver was appointed. Napier made moves to acquire Bentley, but a sealed bid from British Central Equitable Trust — later revealed to be a front for Rolls-Royce — prevailed at £125,000. Rolls-Royce took control and transferred production to its Crewe factory. Bentley himself was unhappy in his role and departed when his contract expired in 1935, joining Lagonda.

After Volkswagen Group acquired Bentley in 1998, the company returned to Le Mans with a factory-backed program that echoed the glories of the 1920s. Running under the Speed 8 prototype program, Bentley entered the LMP900 class at Le Mans. The effort culminated in an outright victory at the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans, delivering the marque's sixth overall win at the circuit and first since 1930 — a gap of 73 years between Le Mans victories. An earlier victory had been secured in 2001, bringing the total to seven Le Mans wins across the brand's history.

After the prototype program concluded, Bentley's racing activities shifted to GT competition. A Bentley Continental GT3 entered by the M-Sport factory team won the Silverstone round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series — Bentley's first official entry in a British race since the 1930 RAC Tourist Trophy. The Continental GT3 has continued as the basis for Bentley's customer racing program in subsequent years across various GT championships globally.

Bentley's motorsport legacy is anchored at Le Mans. Its seven overall victories there — spanning 1924 to 2003 — place it among the most successful manufacturers in the race's century-long history. The Bentley Boys of the late 1920s became enduring figures of British motorsport mythology, and the 2003 win demonstrated that the brand's return under Volkswagen Group ownership was grounded in genuine competition ambition rather than heritage nostalgia alone.