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Ross Bentley

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Ross Bentley
Bentley with DirtFish Rally School in July 2011
NationalityCanadian
Born (1956-11-04) November 4, 1956 (age 67)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Rolex Sports Car Series
Years active2000–2005, 2008–2010
TeamsPrototype Technology Group, Doran Racing, TRV Motorsport, Miracle Motorsports, Park Place Racing, Team Seattle, Essex Racing, The Racers Group, Farnbacher Loles Racing, Bullet Racing
Starts20
Wins1
Poles2
Best finish7th in 2003
Previous series
1999, 2002
1998–1999
American Le Mans Series
United States Road Racing Championship
Championship titles
1998United States Road Racing Championship GT3
Champ Car career
25 races run over 6 years
Years active19901995
Team(s)Spirit of Vancouver, Dale Coyne Racing
Best finish30th (1992)
First race1990 Molson Indy Vancouver (Vancouver)
Last race1994 Slick 50 200 (Loudon)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 0 0

Ross Bentley (born November 4, 1956) is a Canadian performance coach, racing driver, author, and speaker. His performance coaching spans executive/business coaching to sports (athletes and teams in a variety of sports, with a specialty in motorsports).

Racing career

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Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bentley grew up in a racing household (father was a race mechanic, brother a mechanic and driver) and began driving himself at the age of four. He won 11 amateur racing championships during his early career.[1]

In 1990, he debuted in CART with Spirit of Vancouver, a program that was formed to provide a car for a Vancouverite at the inaugural Molson Indy Vancouver.[2] Bentley returned to the race the following year with Spirit of Vancouver; the effort received support such as pit crew and car from Dale Coyne Racing.[3][4]

Bentley increased his CART schedule in 1992 with Coyne to include additional races outside of Vancouver, and would run seven races.[5] That year's Vancouver event saw four Canadian drivers including Bentley, who finished 14th while managing a back injury.[6][7] He continued racing for Coyne in 1993. During the buildup to the Indianapolis 500, Bentley was hospitalized and suffered burns on his hands and neck in a practice crash that caused a fuel regulator to split and pour methanol fuel into the cockpit.[8] Bentley continued driving for Coyne in 1994, when the team brought on Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton as a co-owner, but Payton Coyne Racing struggled with performance due to outdated equipment.[9]

A lack of sponsorship forced him out of IndyCar in 1995, prompting him to compete in sports car racing. He competed in the World Sportscar Championship before returning to CART and Payton Coyne at Vancouver, but he failed to make the race after setting the slowest time in qualifying.[10][11]

He continued his professional career in endurance racing. Bentley won the 1998 United States Road Racing Championship in the GT3 class and the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona in the SRPII Class.

Off the track

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Bentley worked as a driving instructor at his Performance Advanced Driving School and a columnist for racing clubs in the 1980s.[1]

He currently owns a consulting business, Bentley Performance Systems, which focuses on improving the performance of individuals, teams and organizations through coaching, workshops and the development of custom-designed programs.

In 1998, Bentley published the first in a series of racing technique and strategy books called Speed Secrets. To date, he has nine books published under the Speed Secrets banner, including Inner Speed Secrets with Ronn Langford and The Complete Driver with Bruce Cleland. He also co-wrote with Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving.

In 2017, Bentley released a new title, Performance Pilot (written with professional aviator Phil Wilkes) detailing aviation-specific procedures, techniques, and strategies to help pilots improve their flying performance.

Bentley currently lives with his wife and daughter in Issaquah, Washington, US.[citation needed]

American open–wheel racing results

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(key)

PPG Indycar Series

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1990 Spirit of Vancouver PHX
LBH
INDY
MIL
DET
POR
CLE
MEA
TOR
MCH
DEN
VAN
18
MDO
ROA
NAZ
LAG
40th 0 [12]
1991 Dale Coyne Racing SRF
LBH
PHX
INDY
MIL
DET
POR
CLE
MEA
TOR
MCH
DEN
VAN
13
MDO
ROA
NAZ
LAG
34th 0 [13]
1992 Dale Coyne Racing SRF
11
PHX
LBH
INDY
DET
20
POR
17
MIL
NHA
TOR
14
MCH
23
CLE
18
ROA
DNQ
VAN
14
MDO
NAZ
LAG
30th 2 [5]
1993 Dale Coyne Racing SRF
17
PHX
12
LBH
15
INDY
DNQ
MIL
14
DET
DNQ
POR
15
CLE
16
TOR
25
MCH
16
NHA
ROA
17
VAN
17
MDO
DNQ
NAZ
22
LAG
DNQ
32nd 1 [14]
1994 Payton Coyne Racing SRF PHX
LBH
INDY
DNQ
MIL
DNQ
DET
DNQ
POR
22
CLE
29
TOR
19
MCH
19
MDO
DNQ
NHA
22
VAN
DNQ
ROA
DNS
NAZ
DNQ
LAG
DNQ
46th 0 [15]
1995 Payton Coyne Racing MIA
SRF
PHX
LBH
NAZ
INDY
MIL
DET
POR
ROA
TOR
CLE
MCH
MDO
NHA
VAN
DNQ
LAG
NC - [16]
Source:[17]

Bibliography

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  • Performance Pilot: Skills, techniques, and strategies to maximize your flying performance, Ross Bentley and Phil Wilkes (2017)
  • The Lost Art of High-Performance Driving, Ross Bentley (2017)
  • Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Racer's Bible, Ross Bentley (2011)
  • Speed Secrets 7: Winning Autocross Techniques, Ross Bentley (2009)
  • Speed Secrets 6: The Perfect Driver, Ross Bentley (2007)
  • Speed Secrets 5: The Complete Driver, Ross Bentley and Bruce Cleland (2006)
  • Speed Secrets 4: Engineering the Driver, Ross Bentley (2005)
  • Speed Secrets 3: More Professional Driving Techniques, Ross Bentley (2003)
  • Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving, Bob Bondurant and Ross Bentley (2002)
  • Speed Secrets 2: Inner Speed Secrets: Strategies to Maximize Your Racing Performance, Ross Bentley and Ronn Langford (2000)
  • Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques, Ross Bentley (1998)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Big O Shows Its Spirit!". The Richmond Review. July 10, 1991. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Harrison, Don (August 29, 1990). "Bentley finally has ride in the big time". The Province. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Beamish, Mike (August 28, 1991). "Bentley's backers buy local driver a ride". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Harrison, Don (August 28, 1991). "Bentley driving towards promising Indy future". The Province. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Ross Bentley – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  6. ^ MacIntyre, Iain (August 27, 1992). "Four Canadians entered". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Luba, Frank (July 20, 1991). "Another Toronto win for Michael Andretti". The Province. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Hamilton, Ian (May 20, 1993). "Bentley ready to take a whirl at Indy". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Beamish, Mike (August 30, 1995). "NFL great Payton knows what it takes to win races". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Harrison, Don (August 30, 1995). "Bentley back on Indy track". The Province. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Kerr, Grant (September 3, 1995). "Villeneuve picks up his IndyCar pace". Calgary Herald. The Canadian Press. Retrieved June 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Ross Bentley – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  13. ^ "Ross Bentley – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ross Bentley – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "Ross Bentley – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  16. ^ "Ross Bentley – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "Ross Bentley". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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