Michael Bentwood
Encyclopedia
Michael Bentwood is a British auto racing
driver. After starting racing in Karting, he entered the 1994 Formula First Winter Series, finishing the season in tenth. In 1995 he finished fifth in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series. He then spent four years between 1997-2000 in the British Formula 3 Class A Championship where he finished the highest placed British driver in the year 2000; winning the Raymond Mays Trophy and the BRDC Spencer Charrington Trophy. This was followed in 2001 with a drive in the Euro Formula 3000 Series where he finished the season in twelfth place with a handful of top six finishes.
He first drove in the BTCC in 2003, racing in a BMW
320I for Edenbridge Racing. He finished the season third in class with a number of wins, in what was the championships final year of the production class. With only one class in 2004, he continued racing in the BTCC in a four year old Vauxhall Astra
Coupe for VX Racing Junior with Techspeed. In the Independents Championship he placed seventh, and thirteenth in the overall standings with a couple of wins in the Independents and a number of podiums in the main championship.
In 2005 he raced in the British GT Championship in a Nissan 350Z
for RJN Motorsport. That year also drove in the Britcar 24 Hour race at ilverstone Circuit] in a Lotus Elise
Sport. He dove in selected rounds in 2006, in a Barwell Motorsport ran Aston Martin
DBRS9, as well as some rounds in the FIA GT3 Championship. He finished twelfth in the 2007 season, which included one race win. He stayed with an Aston Martin DBRS9 in 2008 for the 22GT Racing Team with a pole position at Thruxton and a number of podium finishes sharing the car with Tom Alexander, Adrian Wilmot and Andy Jenkinson. In the same year, he also worked with Prodrive developing the latest Traction Control software for their GT3 customer cars and drove at Classic Le Mans with Tom Alexander in a 1959 DB4 GT.
In 2009 he drove for RPM Motorsport in a Ford GT in selected races sharing with Philip Walker. For 2010 he returned to the Aston Martin DBRS9 with Barwell Motorsport sharing the car with Paul Whight. They finished joint seventeenth in the championship with a couple of third places but did not complete the whole championship. He also drove at the Merdeka millennium 12-hour race at the Sepang F1 circuit again in an Aston Martin DBRS9 with drivers Frank Yu and Alain Li. They finished in fifth place and Michael was the highest placed British driver in the highest placed British car.
He has rarely completed a whole season but has been a regular front runner finishing on the podium in most categories including Formula 3, Touring cars and GT racing.
www.michaelbentwood.com
Official BTCC 2004 standings
BTCC Pages profile
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
driver. After starting racing in Karting, he entered the 1994 Formula First Winter Series, finishing the season in tenth. In 1995 he finished fifth in the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Series. He then spent four years between 1997-2000 in the British Formula 3 Class A Championship where he finished the highest placed British driver in the year 2000; winning the Raymond Mays Trophy and the BRDC Spencer Charrington Trophy. This was followed in 2001 with a drive in the Euro Formula 3000 Series where he finished the season in twelfth place with a handful of top six finishes.
He first drove in the BTCC in 2003, racing in a BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
320I for Edenbridge Racing. He finished the season third in class with a number of wins, in what was the championships final year of the production class. With only one class in 2004, he continued racing in the BTCC in a four year old Vauxhall Astra
Vauxhall Astra
Astra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...
Coupe for VX Racing Junior with Techspeed. In the Independents Championship he placed seventh, and thirteenth in the overall standings with a couple of wins in the Independents and a number of podiums in the main championship.
In 2005 he raced in the British GT Championship in a Nissan 350Z
Nissan 350Z
The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut...
for RJN Motorsport. That year also drove in the Britcar 24 Hour race at ilverstone Circuit] in a Lotus Elise
Lotus Elise
The 1996 Lotus Elise weighed . Because of its relatively low weight, it was able to accelerate 0- in 5.8 seconds despite its relatively low power output of...
Sport. He dove in selected rounds in 2006, in a Barwell Motorsport ran Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
DBRS9, as well as some rounds in the FIA GT3 Championship. He finished twelfth in the 2007 season, which included one race win. He stayed with an Aston Martin DBRS9 in 2008 for the 22GT Racing Team with a pole position at Thruxton and a number of podium finishes sharing the car with Tom Alexander, Adrian Wilmot and Andy Jenkinson. In the same year, he also worked with Prodrive developing the latest Traction Control software for their GT3 customer cars and drove at Classic Le Mans with Tom Alexander in a 1959 DB4 GT.
In 2009 he drove for RPM Motorsport in a Ford GT in selected races sharing with Philip Walker. For 2010 he returned to the Aston Martin DBRS9 with Barwell Motorsport sharing the car with Paul Whight. They finished joint seventeenth in the championship with a couple of third places but did not complete the whole championship. He also drove at the Merdeka millennium 12-hour race at the Sepang F1 circuit again in an Aston Martin DBRS9 with drivers Frank Yu and Alain Li. They finished in fifth place and Michael was the highest placed British driver in the highest placed British car.
He has rarely completed a whole season but has been a regular front runner finishing on the podium in most categories including Formula 3, Touring cars and GT racing.
External links
www.ontrackdriving.co.ukwww.michaelbentwood.com
Official BTCC 2004 standings
BTCC Pages profile