Andrew Frankel

I rejoiced at Bentley’s victory in the Bathurst 12 Hours in February. It was, by some margin, the most significant victory of the modern era for the manufacturer. Indeed, Bentley has not won a bigger prize since it lifted the winner’s trophy at Le Mans in 2003.

But I was also pleased for someone who wasn’t there: Bentley’s now-retired director of motor sport, Brian Gush. Brian was instrumental in persuading the Volkswagen board that Bentley needed to go to Le Mans at the start of this century, and he masterminded the GT3 programme that got Bentley racing again after a 10-year hiatus. It seems a little unfair that this Bathurst victory, at the fifth time of asking, and which he did so much to secure, took place at the first Bathurst he did not attend.