The Bentley Boys, The Quest for Speed and Adventure
- Bentley's first victory was at Brooklands in Surrey in 1921
- The best amateur drivers of the day queued up to drive Works Bentleys
- Bentley cars won Le Mans five times
- Woolf Barnato bet his Speed Six could reach London from Cannes before the famous Blue Train could arrive at Calais - and won
- Bentley took the chequered flag at Le Mans in 1927 despite sustaining serious crash damage
- Barnato won Le Mans three years in a row: 1928, 1929 and 1930
- Supercharged Bentleys never won at Le Mans but are among the most desirable cars ever made
In November 1918, the guns were silenced on the Western Front. For some it was a time for peace and reflection; for others it soon became a period of tedium after the risks and adventures of war. Tim Birkin, later famous for his exploits with supercharged Bentleys, spoke for many when he said in 1932 that civilian life "afforded none of the excitements of the career I was leaving. Each day would seem more vapid and tedious than the last. An explanation of this emotion, that preferred a state of unrest to one of rest, is difficult after fourteen years, especially to a generation whose memories of war are vague. There were many who found the first period of sedentary business, into which they were forced, intolerably empty."
This drive for excitement and adventure found an outlet in motor racing. And here, too, the Great War created a legacy: an engineering legacy. Immense progress had been made in materials and engineering processes. The air war had stretched the ingenuity of designers and manufacturers to the limits. All of this was available to post-war motor car engineers, and few made better use of it than W O Bentley.
W O's design philosophy was underpinned by a deceptively simple formula: "We were going to make a fast car, a good car, the best in its class." This idea lay behind all the cars produced by Bentley Motors, an idea whose value was proved in motor racing. W O's motor racing goals were equally straightforward. It was far and away the cheapest and most effective way of proving and subsequently testing his designs, an it was the most effective way of advertising the cars.
A great car - and the Works racing 3-litres, 41/2-litres, Speed Sixes and the Birkin Blowers are undoubtedly great cars - is only a foundation for success. In addition you need an efficient racing organisation, to build and prepare the cars. You need good pit management and discipline. And then you need some great drivers. Bentley Motors excelled at the first of these, and they attracted the best drivers of the time: the "Bentley Boys".
Bentley's first victory was at Brooklands, a sprint race won by works driver Frank Clement. Brilliant with carburettors and engines, Clement managed the first racing shop, preparing the 3-litres that finished second, fourth and fifth in the 1922 Tourist Trophy (driven by Clement, W O and Hawkes respectively) and 13th in the Indianapolis "500" (driven by Hawkes).
The first true "Bentley Boy", though, was John Duff. Determined and immensely tough, Duff drove his Bentley for two successive days at Brooklands for twenty-four hours in total to set a new record at 86.79mph in 1922. He drove at Le Mans in 1923 and 1924, partnered by Frank Clement in both years. Fourth in 1923, delayed by a punctured petrol tank, they won in 1924. This success, coupled with Brooklands appearances, started the Bentley legend.
The second great "Bentley Boy" was Dr Dudley Benjafield, a noted Harley street physician. "Benjy" bought a spartan and very fast 3-litre racing car developed by Clement, and raced it at Brooklands. A founder of the British Racing Drivers Club, Benjy drove a Bentley at Le Mans every year between 1925 and 1930.
Benjy, partnered by the well-known "Autocar" correspondent Sammy Davis, drove their 3-litre to an epic victory at Le Mans in 1927. As dusk fell, five hours into the race at around 9pm, all three Bentleys were involved in an accident at White House corner. Two cars were out of the race. Sammy Davis managed to extricate his 3-litre, known as "Old No.7", and limped back to the pits with a buckled wheel, a smashed headlamp and damage to the offside wing. Worse, though, was the pushed-back front axle, upsetting the brake compensation. Davis and Benjafield drove on through the night, relying on a policeman's torch strapped to the windscreen pillar. As noon came round the second-placed Bentley was gaining on the leading car, a French Aries. Noticing a knock in the Aries' engine, the Bentley pit hung out the "Faster" sign. Rising to the challenge, "Old No.7", Davis and Benjafield pulled out the stops, to win the race at an average of
61.35 mph. This on a circuit with a 15mph hairpin at Pontlieue, a surface so bad that headlamps, radiators and petrol tanks needed wire mesh stoneguards, in a car carrying ballast equivalent to the weight of two passengers and all the spares needed during the race.
Afterwards a celebratory dinner was held at the Savoy, attended by "Old No.7" herself. A pattern was thus established; arduous racing followed by lavish parties and celebrations. Some of the most famous of these were thrown by Barnato, notably the famous "Grand Prix de Danse" after his 1929 Le Mans victory. The circle of the "Bentley Boys" grew. With the 41/2-litre in full production, three cars were entered for Le Mans in 1928. Clement and Benjy were joined by veteran French driver Jean Chassagne, Woolf Barnato, Tim Birkin and Bernard Rubin.
Prodigiously wealthy, Barnato was chairman of Bentley Motors from 1926 to 1931, remaining closely involved with the company until his untimely death in 1948. Barnato was fast and reliable, fully prepared to take his place in the team under W O's instructions. He nursed his sick 41/2-litre to win at Le Mans in 1928, after its chassis frame cracked. On the very last lap of the race the top water hose pulled out, Barnato timing it perfectly to cross the line just after 4pm. Before 4pm, and it would have meant another 10 mile lap - in a car with no water in the radiator. Barnato won again at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930, driving "Old Number One" Speed Six Bentley in both years.
By contrast, the restless and flamboyant Birkin could never resist the opportunity to play to the gallery. Birkin took motor racing entirely seriously, devoting all his time, money and energy to developing the blower Bentley. Amherst Villiers designed the supercharger, fitted to a strengthened 41/2-litre engine. With power increased from 124bhp to over 165bhp, allowing for the power absorbed by the supercharger itself, the blower Bentleys were as charismatic as Birkin himself. Utterly fearless, Birkin raced at Brooklands, Le Mans, Belfast, Ulster and Pau, finishing well up the field whenever his car could take the pace. By any standards Birkin was an exceptional driver, winning Le Mans twice and finishing second in the French GP at Pau in a stripped blower Bentley, running against full Grand Prix cars. In the single-seater blower Bentley he raised the Brooklands lap record to 135.33mph in 1930 and to 137.96mph in 1932. He died in 1933.
Bernard Rubin was another gentleman sportsman. His money derived from the Australian pearl industry. He lent Birkin his 41/2-litre for supercharging experiments in 1928/29, but retired from racing after rolling his blower in the 1929 TT. Pinned under the car, Rubin and his mechanic were lucky to escape with cuts and bruises.
1929 was Bentley's most successful season, the new Speed Six "Old Number One" proving fast and reliable. The "Bentley Boys" were equally active. The Barnato/Birkin Speed Six led three 41/2-litres to a 1-2-3-4 victory at Le Mans. The second-placed 41/2-litre was driven by Glen Kidston and Jack Dunfee. Kidston was perhaps the boldest of the "Bentley Boys", a former submariner in the Great War. He finished second in the Irish GP in "Old Number One", and crashed in the TT after an epic slide at Bradshaw's Brae, walking away from a ditched car with all its wheels off the ground. He shared the winning Speed Six with Barnato at Le Mans in 1930.
Jack Dunfee was the older of the Dunfee brothers, both tall and good-looking but rather less wealthy than the others.
W O notes laconically that "they had to work for a living". Clive Dunfee was tragically killed at Brooklands in the 1932 500 Miles race. Then there was a host of others: George Duller, a successful jockey, Leslie Callingham, associated with Shell, Humphrey Cook, Dick Watney, later MD at Lagonda, and Baron d'Erlanger.
The "Bentley Boys" captured the spirit of the times, partying as hard as they worked. Larger than life, their restless and often reckless love of speed and adventure complemented the big green Bentleys from Cricklewood perfectly.
