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Off duty, he soon abandoned the push-bike in favour of motor cycling
and with his brother took to racing. In their first event, the
London to Edinburgh Trial, they won a gold medal. W.O. raced at the
Isle of Man TT event and Brooklands race track, near London.
The internal combustion engine made sweeter music to his ears than
steam trains and in 1912 Bentley’s family found funds enough to buy
a small company importing French DFP sports cars. It was on a visit
to the DFP factory in 1913 that W.O. noticed an aluminium
paperweight – and had the inspired idea of using the lightweight
metal instead of cast iron to make engine pistons. The first such
Bentley pistons went into service in aero engines for the Sopwith
Camel, in service during the Great War.
After it, Bentley revived his motor car interests and in London set
about development of a racing engine – Experimental Bentley No 1. “I
wanted to make a fast car, a good car: the best in its class...”
And he did. In the ’20s, with the 3-litre, 85bhp engine providing
speeds of 80mph and more, Bentley Motors set numerous speed and
endurance records, competed successfully at Indianapolis, the Isle
of Man and Brooklands and became inexorably linked with the history
of the famous 24-hour Le Mans. In the hands of the legendary Bentley
Boys, Bentley has achieved Le Mans victories in 1924, 1927, 1928,
1929 and 1930 – taking the first four places in 1929.
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