Kingsbury Racing Shop lived up to the heritage of its name with a stellar outing at Le Mans during the Classic. It was in Kingsbury, North London, that the works racing Bentleys were prepared in the 1920s and ‘30s when the team dominated the great race.
More than a century on, three vintage Bentleys were dispatched from the Engine Fitting Shop, Building 99, to the Circuit de la Sarthe with youth threading throughout the trio: Mathias Sielecki shared UU44 with his father Carlos, Lewis Fox was aboard Kingsbury Racing's XR 7117 with guest driver Tom Wood, and Ewen Getley was joined by his daughters Anna and Louisa in PF 9454.
The Sieleckis ended the weekend with the fastest racing lap of any Bentley, 2.5 seconds quicker than the next, on the way to 10th place overall and first in class in the opening race. The ‘Blower’ was rebuilt in three months in the lead up and completed against the tightest of deadlines, but its pace proved the mettle of Kingsbury’s work.
Lewis and Tom charged through to 21st in race one from 39th on the grid, and claimed eighth in race two, and top Bentley, when the weather had turned.
Anna and Louisa were the best 3 Litre and third in class by the flag in both races, beating a host of newer machinery.
