Former Audi factory driver Oliver Jarvis will join Guy Smith, Steven Kane, Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet and Vince Abril at Bentley Motorsport for the upcoming season, piloting on of their Continental GT3‘s.
The Audi refugee was left without a drive for 2017 after the German marque announced it would be ending its World Endurance Championship programme. Jarvis spent nine years as a factory driver, originally in DTM and then in recent years on their LMP1 team.
Jarvis will join fellow Brits Smith and Kane in the #7 Continental GT3 for the Blancpain Endurance Series while Abril move to the #8 car with Soucek and Soulet.
The first race of the season will come at the beginning of February when the team take on the Bathurst 12 Hours which will see a third Bentley join the two works cars from customer team Heretic Motorsport.
“We’re delighted to welcome Oliver to the Bentley Motorsport team,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “He is a quick, confident and well-rounded driver who is easy to work with, which means he will fit-in well immediately. He has a wealth of experience in various machinery and I think he will bring a lot to the team, now and in the future. We’re looking forward to welcoming him at our season-opener in Australia.”
“After nine years with Audi, its time for a new start and a new challenge,” commented Jarvis. “I had a few offers on the table but this was the right choice and I couldn’t be happier to be joining Bentley as a Works driver. Having followed closely what they have achieved on-track in GT racing since returning to motorsport, I can’t wait to put the overalls on for the first time and become one of the “Bentley Boys”.
“The brand’s heritage in motorsport is certainly not lost on me and the 2003 Le Mans-winning car is still one of my favourite race cars of all-time,” he continued. “After speaking to Brian Gush and hearing about their motorsport ambitions I knew that Bentley would be a great fit for me. To be able to start this new and exciting chapter in my life at Bathurst 12 Hour will also be something very special, as it’s a race I’ve been looking forward to tackling for several years.”
