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M-Sport Racing commit to British GT

M-Sport Racing will contest the Avon Tyres British GT series with a Bentley Continental GT3 in 2014 as Steven Kane and Humaid Al Masaood share the driving duties.

Having announced its long-awaited return to racing, Bentley Motors selected M-Sport as its technical partner in the design and development of the new Continental GT3, and M-Sport will showcase the racer at the British series this year.

For more than 20 years, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship has formed an intrinsic part of the United Kingdom's motorsport scene. Growing in size and stature, the series has gained world-wide recognition in recent years. Attracting a whole host of renowned manufacturers, M-Sport's participation will see Bentley Motors added to the prestigious list.

The M-Sport team has already amassed good knowledge of the championship - selecting the series to prepare for its transition to racing in 2013. The team's success was swift, and despite their relative inexperience, the squad secured a pole position and two podium finishes from the four rounds they contested.

Helping steer M-Sport Racing towards success, Kane is equipped with an abundance of recent GT3 experience and proved invaluable in the development of the Continental GT3. The Northern-Irishman is a highly adaptable racer having achieved success across an array of various classes and series.

Kane joined Team M-Sport Bentley for the Abu Dhabi Gulf 12 Hours in December of last year - aiding the Continental GT3 to an impressive 4th place debut - and is the perfect helmsman to bring future success to the M-Sport team.

Joining Kane behind the wheel of M-Sport's latest challenger, Al Masaood began his racing career in the 2008/9 UAE Radical Championship. Following a successful debut, he claimed third place in the championship before turning his hand to other series in the Middle East.

Europe soon beckoned and the Emirati secured some very respectable results as part of the FIA GT4 Championship, including a fifth place finish at Paul Ricard. Joining the M-Sport Racing Team, Al Masaood's experience can only help the fledgling team flourish.

M-Sport Racing's first race will be at Oulton Park on 19 - 21 April 2014 where the team will be looking to secure a strong result on their debut with the new Continental GT3.

Steven Kane said:
"I'm really proud to have been selected by M-Sport to represent them in the British GT this year. The team has such a great history in motorsport and I've been following their progress since I was a young boy so I feel really honoured to be here. After being selected as a factory M-Sport Bentley driver for the Blancpain Endurance series, I was keen for more outings with the M-Sport squad. I've worked closely with the team on the development of the Continental GT3 over the past few months, and I can honestly say that it's one of the best GT cars I have ever driven! The British GT is going to be very competitive this year with so many great teams and drivers, but Humaid [Al Masaood] and I are really looking forward to getting started. It will be very tough, but with such a great team and car behind us I'm confident that we will be close to the front."

M-Sport Racing Team Manager, Matthew Wilson, said:
"Coming back to the championship where it all started - with a finished product just one year on - brings the team a real sense of accomplishment. So much time and effort has gone into this project and it is great to see that hard work paying dividends. Hopefully we can continue our strong showing from last year's series and showcase the Continental GT3 as a real contender in its class. As the season progresses, it would be great to be in a position to challenge for victories, but we also need to remember that this will be our first full season on the circuit. Anything can happen, but the whole team is really looking forward to the challenges ahead."

M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
"We could not be happier with how the transition to racing has gone. We started this new venture in 2013, so to see an M-Sport team line-up for the start of the 2014 British GT series is a fantastic achievement and a great prospect for the future of M-Sport Racing."