Team Bentley after twelve hours

Le Mans, 15th June 2003,04.00am... As the Le Mans 24-hour race reaches half-distance, Bentley's two Speed 8 prototypes have continued to dominate the race. The number 7 car still leads with Tom Kristensen setting the fastest lap of the race (3min 36.1sec) in pitch darkness. The number 8 Bentley is holding a strong second place, over a lap clear of the nearest competitor.

Tom Kristensen: "The car is going fantastically well, the set-up is good and on the soft compound tyres we can use at night I managed to put in some fast lap times. Those tyres would have lasted three stints too, but I felt a slight vibration so we changed them after two, just to be safe."

David Brabham: "The car is running like a train, the engine gearbox and brakes are all great. We're having to push hard to keep a good distance from the Audis and try to close the gap on our team-mate, but the car feels strong and the tyres are lasting well. The only problem, as ever at Le Mans, is the traffic and driving one of the fastest cars in the race just means you come across it even more than usual."

John Wickham, team director: "We have run the cars flat out from the start and twelve hours later they're both still giving it everything. We are still right on our schedule but with only half the race gone and one Audi still close behind, we can't afford to make any mistakes or let up for a second."