News

Rob Bell was back in racing action over the weekend, joining Optimum Motorsport for round 2 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup; the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Rob and his Bronze Cup teammates, Mark Radcliffe, Ollie Milroy and Fran Rueda, overcame some of the most challenging conditions ever seen at the event during the early hours of the morning, bringing home the #27 McLaren P6 in class, and P21 overall.

The event got underway with the traditional ‘track-to-town’ parade, with the team presenting the two Bronze Cup entries, with the #27 McLaren 720S GT3 alongside the sister #5. Following this, track action commenced, and the team worked through the programme and setup ahead of qualifying. This saw Rob run in the fourth and final session and, as the final session concluded, his pace was underlined as he was running inside the top-10 of the overall field of more than 60 cars. On combined times, the driver quartet would line up P7 in class, P41 overall.

Rob took the start in bright and warm conditions, and made up overall positions in the opening laps to climb firmly into the top-40. With a caution just before the hour mark, a strategy call saw the team pit with an opportunity to save his driving time for later in the race. Further full course yellow periods followed over the next few hours, but the team continued to run cleanly before rain started to lightly fall just before the three-hour mark.

As the sun set and the race descended into darkness with more rain, further incidents brought out additional cautions and Safety Car interventions. With the weather worsening, Rob and his teammates were using all their skill and experience to stay on the track, even at slower Safety Car speeds. Unfortunate timings for a pitstop during one of the various race interruptions also dropped the #27 down the order, but the team continued to battle through the night.

After some of the most difficult conditions ever seen at the 24 Hours of Spa event, the race returned to green flag running in the early hours of the morning, and the #27 was just outside the top-10 in class. Over the following hours and with a car showing great pace, the four drivers steadily worked their way back into contention, sticking to their race plan and completing clean and fault-free stints.

Into the closing hours, and with the return of daylight, the pace and progress continued. With the sister car running well just behind, the pair kept fighting all the way to the flag. At the line, and with 24 hours completed, Rob and the team brought the #27 home P6 in class, and impressively without a single unscheduled pitstop or track limit penalty against the team, highlighting the quality of the efforts of each of the drivers and crew involved in the effort.

“The 24 Hours of Spa is one of the toughest, but most rewarding events to be involved in as a driver, and this year was one of the most challenging I’ve ever competed in. The conditions overnight were a huge challenge. Preparation is critical to having any hope of a result, and we had the absolute best team around us for that. The whole Optimum Motorsport crew delivered at every step, we had a fantastic package throughout the race, and the team put us in a position to be able to bring the car home. To finish, not have a single black mark against us for track limits for any of the drivers, and no unscheduled stops across 24 hours of hard racing is a huge credit to everyone’s efforts.”