Racing
The Derby Bentley was not intended to be used as a racing car, unlike the earlier, pre-Rolls-Royce, cars built by W.O. Bentley. However, some examples were used for competition at an international level, including:
- A 3½-Litre (later 4¼-Litre) raced by E.R. Hall in the RAC Tourist Trophy (TT) in Ulster in 1934, 1935 and 1936. It was the first competition car built at Rolls-Royce since the car built for Charles Rolls which he had driven to win the 1906 TT, and it was also their last.
- Hall also raced the 4¼-Litre car at Le Mans in 1950, becoming the first man to drive solo for the entire distance of the race.
- A 4¼-Litre with a streamlined-body by Pourtout of Paris for Greek racing driver A.M. Embiricos set a record of 115.05 mph (185.16 km/h) at Brooklands.
- The Embiricos car also raced at Le Mans in 1949, 1950 and 1951 becoming the first car ever to have finished that event three years in succession.
Read more about this topic: Bentley 3.5 Litre
Famous quotes containing the word racing:
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)