Bentley Team Absolute eager to take on St. Petersburg street course

Dallas, Texas – After a strong showing in the Pirelli World Challenge season opener at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last weekend, Bentley Team Absolute is already en route to the next round of the championship in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 11 – 13, is the first of two temporary street circuits on the World Challenge calendar. The 1.8-mile course is located on the shoreline of Tampa Bay and uses portions of the Albert Whitted Airport in addition to the surrounding streets.

Making its U.S. debut just a week ago, Bentley Team Absolute comes into St. Petersburg riding a wave of confidence after demonstrating the strong pace of its 4.0L twin-turbo V8–powered Bentley Continental GT3s at COTA. The team came away with two top-10 performances, while setting lap times in line with the podium finishers.

Drivers Andrew Palmer and Adderly Fong will be behind the wheel of the No. 87 and No. 88 Bentley Continental GT3s once again. In his previous visit to the St. Petersburg circuit in 2014, Palmer became the youngest Pirelli World Challenge GT race winner at the age of 19. Although Fong has yet to see the venue, his previous success at temporary tracks like Macau (China), have him looking forward to his first stateside street race. Both Palmer and Fong are optimistic about the Bentley’s performance on the tight and narrow course.

Andrew Palmer (Usa) #87 Bentley Continental GT3

“I really like St. Pete. It’s one of my favorite tracks. It’s a nice flowing and fun circuit. We saw the pace of the Bentley at Macau last year, so I would expect it to still be pretty good on street circuits this year. I have experience being on the podium there, so hopefully we’ll have the chance to spray some champagne.”

Adderly Fong (Hk) #88 Bentley Continental GT3

“I like the feeling of racing on street circuits. It’s bumpy and the car gets thrown around. Every time you approach a corner it’s a little different each lap, so your performance is very much reaction-based and it gives the driver more excitement. My favorite track is Macau, which is also a street circuit.

“In Asia, where we have smaller tracks with low-speed corners, the Bentley has been very competitive. Twisty tracks really suit this car, especially in terms of braking and aero.”

Bentley Team Absolute