| Ross Bentley | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality: | Canadian | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 4 November 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Vancouver, British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Series: | Rolex Sports Car Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years Active: | 2000–2005, 2008–2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams: | Prototype Technology Group, Doran Racing, TRV Motorsport, Miracle Motorsports, Park Place Racing, Team Seattle, Essex Racing, The Racers Group, Farnbacher Loles Racing, Bullet Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starts: | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins: | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Poles: | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Finish: | 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year: | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prev Series: | American Le Mans Series United States Road Racing Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prev Series Years: | 1999, 2002 1998–1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Titles: | United States Road Racing Championship GT3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title Years: | 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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).
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.
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.[1] 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.[2] [3]
Bentley increased his CART schedule in 1992 with Coyne to include additional races outside of Vancouver, and would run seven races.[4] That year's Vancouver event saw four Canadian drivers including Bentley, who finished 14th while managing a back injury.[5] [6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] [10]
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.
Bentley worked as a driving instructor at his Performance Advanced Driving School and a columnist for racing clubs in the 1980s.[11]
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.
(key)
(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 | |||
| 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] | |