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-
Andy
shows speed
and
precision in
treacherous
race
-
Strong
recovery
drive after
teammate
forced
off-track
-
Skills and
experience
built for
the future
Bentley
Boy Andy
Meyrick
has
successfully
completed
one of
the most
gruelling
endurance
races in
the
world,
the ADAC
Zurich
24 Hour
Race at
the
world's
longest
and
hardest
racetrack,
the
Nürburgring
Nordschleife.
Making
his
debut in
the
race,
Andy and
his
Bentley
Motorsport
team had
hoped
for a
top ten
finish
with
their
fast and
reliable
Continental
GT3 -
but luck
wasn't
on his
side.
After
teammate
Guy
Smith
had
moved in
to the
top ten
on track
having
started
P20,
towards
the end
of Guy's
double
stint he
was hit
from
behind
by a
competitor
who
misjudged
their
braking,
sending
Guy in
to the
barriers.
It took
nearly
five
hours to
recover
the car
and
repair
the
destroyed
front
left
suspension,
dropping
the team
from
competitive
contention.
However,
all was
not
lost,
and the
team
took the
opportunity
to gain
experience,
data and
knowledge
for the
future.
Andy's
second
teammate,
Irishman
Steven
Kane,
returned
the car
to the
track
with 17
hours
still to
run, and
Andy
took
over for
a double
stint at
01:30.
Andy
drove a
flawless
stint
through
the
night,
completing
18 laps
of the
25 km
circuit,
and
continued
his
precise,
fast
progress
in
daytime
stints
on
Sunday.
The
efforts
of Andy,
Steven
and Guy
resulted
in a
gain of
72
places
before
the
chequered
flag
fell,
with the
British
Racing
Green
Bentley
eventually
finishing
P74.
Speaking
after
the
race,
Andy
said:
"This
wasn’t
the
result
we were
hoping
for, but
there
are
actually
loads of
positives
to take
out of
this
weekend.
We’ve
developed
a great
setup,
we had
no
reliability
issues
at all,
and all
three of
us now
have
proper
experience
of
racing
here in
the
dark.
That
gives me
confidence
that
with a
little
more
luck, we
can
really
take the
race to
the
established
competition
here.”
Andy's
next
race is
this
coming
weekend,
where he
returns
to the
home of
British
Motorsport
-
Silverstone
- for
the
second
round of
the
Blancpain
Endurance
Series.
Having
won the
race
last
year,
Andy is
hoping
for a
good
weekend:
"Silverstone
last
year was
the
scene of
our
first
victory
with the
Bentley,
and we
scored
second-in-class
in Monza
a few
weeks
ago, so
I'm
hoping
we can
continue
our form
in front
of all
the home
fans."
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