After three hours of racing in sunny and warm conditions at the famous Italian circuit, the two Team M-Sport Continental GT3s finished in a strong 7^th and 8^th in Monza, Italy.

While the race was already a challenge in its own right, the real hard work started after qualifying session on Saturday, after Steven Kane carried too much speed in to the Ascari chicane and hit the wall - nose first - on his final lap just before the end of the session. 

Fortunately, a combination of the strong Continental GT body and the skill of the mechanics from M-Sport Bentley meant an overnight rebuild of the car was possible, and by 10:00am, Sunday morning, the car was race ready.

Antoine Leclerc started the race for Car 8 and passed two cars on the opening lap. By the time he entered the pits to hand the car to Jerome D'Ambrosio, he had progressed to 8^th place.

Eventually dropping down to 12^th, Jerome charged to land in 6^th place on lap 64, before handing over to Duncan Tappy - who after his 32-lap stint - secured a strong and challenging 7^th place to the dance of the chequered flags.

Car 7 started at 4^th, with opening driver Andy Meyrick, who overtook two Ferrari 458s off the line to land the 2^nd position after the opening lap. He then held off the same two Ferraris for 15 laps, despite repeated contact from one, before eventually needing to manage his rear tyres and ceding the place.

When two cars ahead of him touched on lap 28 and dropped oil, Andy lost time but managed to stay on the track. He pitted from 7^th place on lap 32, when Guy Smith took over. Traffic in the pit lane and a failed wheel nut meant a slow stop, and Guy resumed in 15^th.

Over his 34-lap stint, Guy traded five places to bring the car in on lap 66 in 10^th - to hand over to Steven Kane. The brisk Steven made up one place over his 30-lap stint to finish 8^th, just behind the sister Continental GT3.

With an encouraging result from their first race, M-Sport Bentley is looking forward to the next race at the internationally renowned Silverstone circuit over the weekend of 24^th May.