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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 68)
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 active1990–1995
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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