When Bentley unveiled the Continental GT3 concept at the Paris Motor Show this past fall, no one was quite sure how serious the British automaker was about its racing prospects. Was this just a show car, or would Bentley actually race the thing? Well a number of developments over the past few months indicate that Crewe is indeed quite serious about getting back into motorsports. The latest development has Bentley teaming up with M-Sport to prepare the Continental for racing.

Never heard of M-Sport? Then you're probably not a rally fan. The British outfit has run Ford's rally team for the decade and a half in the World Rally Championship, winning two world titles in the process. In that respect, M-Sport is a bit like Prodrive, which has handled factory-supported racing teams for Subaru, Ford, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Now that Ford has withdrawn its factory support from the WRC, M-Sport has been left looking for a new project, and has apparently found it in Bentley. The Flying B marque has also brought in some experienced racers to prepare for its new foray into sportscar racing, which will kick off towards the end of the 2013 season.