Articles

Maybe it's the word 'boys' that makes the phrase ring. We know they were men, but somehow it's the image of schoolboy larks which cements the legend of the Bentley Boys. It's rooted in the time, too: the 1920s, when men with inherited wealth didn't have to work, paid racing drivers were rare and the amateur ideal was still admired. Who were these grown-up boys? There was no strict qualification: if you were asked to drive for the works you were part-way there, but it was as much an informal social club as a team. We know them now as party-goers; yet they were regular winners. How did these contrasting elements co-exist? Most of the Boys were Bentley owners already racing their own cars. They loved the off-duty pranks, but they respected team discipline: as WO Bentley said, if they had not, they would lose their place to one of the numerous contenders for it.    Continued...