No, Bentley isn’t returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023

Bentley has a strong link with the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race, having won the event outright six times, and there are fresh claims the British manufacturer could return to the event in the outright category as part of the 2023 LMDh regulations.

The site Dailysportscar.com reported on May 21 that Bentley is evaluating a return to the iconic French endurance race in 2024 to align with the 100th anniversary of its first victory at the circuit.

Thing is, on May 11 Bentley’s CEO Adrian Hallmark said it was unlikely the company could be competing in the topflight LMDh or LMH categories any time soon.

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When asked directly by MOTOR if Bentley could make a return to Le Mans soon the response was an emphatic no, due to the brand's commitment to going fully electric by the end of the decade.

“What do we think of Le Mans for the future? If we went anywhere to race, it should be Le Mans in my view,” he said, before adding the vital caveat.

“But if we are consistent with our strategy, and we have said that by 2030 we will be fully electric, then going combustion engine racing – even with the level of hybridisation that is proposed in the new standards – is not in keeping with what we are trying to achieve.

“Could we do it? Yes. Will we do it? No.”

That answer alone doesn’t leave much wiggle-room for the hypothetical LMDh program, but Hallmark went on to explain what it would take to get Bentley racing in an official capacity again.

“Our mission would be to be at the vanguard of full electric endurance racing,” he added. “And I don’t mean scale models, I mean full sized Bentleys. Unfortunately, the time scale for that and the technology available – even with switchable batteries – is not immediate.

“Certainly, for the future we would consider racing again, as a way of further projecting the brand and developing technology. But right now, it is not in our list of things to do, I have to be honest.”

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According to Dailysportscar’s unnamed industry sources, Bentley’s preferred plan is to field a single car to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, before a full assault on the entire 2024 season to align with the centenary of Bentley’s first win at the event.

The Dailysportscar article claims the potential Bentley LMDh program would be partly in conjunction with fellow Volkswagen Group siblings Audi and Porsche – which are both fully committed to returning to Le Mans under the new rulebook in 2024 and 2023 respectively.

A shared program isn’t completely foreign for Bentley, having competed at Le Mans at the turn of the century with a car based on a chassis designed by Audi.

Bentley competed at Le Mans with the Speed 8 prototype for three years in the early 2000s – famously taking a 1-2 victory in 2003.

The Speed 8 was based on Audi’s incredibly successful R8 racer, which is the most successful vehicle in Le Mans history.

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In fact, Hallmark was a pivotal player in orchestrating the brand’s winning return to the La Sarthe circuit.

“I was the protagonist, and partner in crime with Brian Grush [who retired from Bentley in 2019] to get us to Le Mans the last time in 2001-03, because I saw it as a massive global opportunity to take it from the shadows of another great brand and put it back where it belonged as a vibrant and potent performance-orientated brand that delivers exquisite refinement and luxury,” he explained.

“Le Mans was a great way of rekindling those stories and proving the technical capability of the company.”

Don’t misinterpret Hallmark’s comments as dismissive of Bentley’s strong historical link with Le Mans.

When the topic of Bentley returning to Le Mans was first broached during the interview, Hallmark paid homage to the brand’s origins which were built on the back of victories in the 24 Hour endurance race.

“In the first 11 years of the company it went from a guy with an idea to build a prototype, to probably the most celebrated and story-rich luxury brand in the world,” he said.

“I know Rolls-Royce was all about excellence, but Bentley, in terms of the spirit of its achievements, was an astonishing brand after just 11 years. Five of those years, it won Le Mans.

“Le Mans is in the DNA of Bentley, and actually, Bentley is in the DNA of Le Mans – hence the naming of streets and the constant adoration we get from the ACO. It is a very fond and positive relationship.”

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Bentley’s sole official full-time motorsport program in recent years was with the Continental GT3.

Built by M-Sport (the same team responsible for Ford’s Fiesta WRC car) the Continental GT3 competed in endurance classics such as the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours and Bathurst 12 hour – which it won in 2020.

However, the same year the factory team won at Mount Panorama the official program was suspended.

Dailysportscar reports that Bentley had previously evaluated joining the IMSA DPi category (which will evolve into LMDh), going as far as building a test car using a modified Ginetta LMP3 chassis and twin-turbo V8 from the Continental GT3. However, the website claims the program was cancelled because of the fallout from Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate scandal.

Currently, both Audi and Porsche are committed to the LMDh rules, along with Acura in North America.

LMDh cars will compete alongside the LMH ‘Hypercar’ regulations that Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari, and Glickenhaus have all aligned themselves with.

LMH and LMDh cars will compete alongside each other for outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans starting in 2023.

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