Former LeMans winner Bentley Speed 8 makes a return at Le Mans centenary

As part of the centenary parade at this year’s 24 hours of Le Mans, the winner of the 2003 edition and Bentley’s most famous race car of the modern era, the Speed 8, returned to the famous racetrack. It was piloted by Guy Smith, the same driver who took the chequered flag twenty years ago and completed two laps of the circuit. The Speed 8 004/5 had recently undergone a complete rebuild to return it to the new standards as it was before its most famous victory. The car was displayed at the Le Mans museum for the entirety of the centenary event. This year’s Le Mans Classic also saw the return of a Works Bentley for the first time since the victory in 2003. A pair of Blower Continuation Series cars took part in the Grid 1 race – one owned by the factory and the other a customer car.