Robert Bell (racing driver)

Last updated

Rob Bell
RobBell.png
Bell on the podium at Donington Park
NationalityFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  British
Born (1979-04-30) 30 April 1979 (age 44)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
British GT Championship career
Debut season 2018
Current team Balfe Motorsport
Racing licence FIA Platinum Driver.png FIA Platinum
Car number22
Starts12
Wins1
Poles2
Best finish3rd in 2019
Previous series
2017 International GT Open
Championship titles
2001
2002
2007
2008
Formula Renault UK (Winter)
Formula Renault UK (Winter)
Le Mans Series (GT2 class)
Le Mans Series (GT2 class)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years 20072011, 2013, 2015
TeamsTeam LNT
Virgo Motorsport
JMW Motorsport
Best finish23rd (2007, 2009)
Class wins0

Robert "Rob" Bell (born 30 April 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British professional racing driver. [1] He has competed in such series as the FIA GT Championship, the British GT Championship and Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, and is best known as the winner of the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Series with Shane van Gisbergen and Côme Ledogar. He has also won the Winter Series of Formula Renault UK in both 2001 and 2002.

Contents

Bell was the Le Mans Series GT2 class champion for Virgo Motorsport in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and vice-champion for JMW in 2009 and 2011. In 2009 he also finished 7th at the FIA GT Championship GT2 class for CRS Racing, collecting a 2nd place at the 24 Hours of Spa. Since 2012, Bell has competed at the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro Cup class with a McLaren MP4-12C for Gulf Racing UK.

Bell also finished 2nd in the GT class at the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona as a Paul Miller Racing driver. He returned to the team for the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, resulting 5th in the GT class.

Bell competed in the 2019 British GT alongside Shaun Balfe in a McLaren 720S GT3. [2] He finished third in the GT3 standings after winning at the final round at Donington Park.

Bell at the wheel of a McLaren 720S GT3 in the lead of the race at Donington Park. Balfe Motorsport McLaren 720S.jpg
Bell at the wheel of a McLaren 720S GT3 in the lead of the race at Donington Park.

His brother Matt also races Internationally in GT3 and LM prototypes.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2007 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Team LNT Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lawrence Tomlinson
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Dean
Panoz Esperante GT-LMGT230822nd5th
2008 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Virgo Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Mullen
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
Ferrari F430 GT2GT2289DNFDNF
2009 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg JMW Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Andrew Kirkaldy
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
Ferrari F430 GT2GT232023rd4th
2010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg JMW Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
Flag of the United States.svg Bryce Miller
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 GT271DNFDNF
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg JMW Motorsport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Sugden
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Xavier Maassen
Ferrari 458 Italia GTCGTE
Pro
29024th9th
2013 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Aston Martin Racing Flag of France.svg Frédéric Makowiecki
Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Senna
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 GTE
Pro
248DNFDNF
2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Aston Martin Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Turner
Flag of Germany.svg Stefan Mücke
Aston Martin Vantage GTE GTE
Pro
110DNFDNF
2016 Flag of Singapore.svg Clearwater Racing Flag of Japan.svg Keita Sawa
Flag of Malaysia.svg Weng Sun Mok
Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 GTE
Am
32930th4th
2017 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg TF Sport Flag of Turkey.svg Salih Yoluc
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Euan Hankey
Aston Martin Vantage GTE GTE
Am
32935th7th

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

YearEntrantClassCarEngine12345678RankPoints
2013 Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Pro Aston Martin Vantage GTE Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA
2
LMS
Ret
SÃO
Ret
COA FUJ SHA BHR 24th19
2015 Aston Martin Racing LMGTE Pro Aston Martin Vantage GTE Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 SIL SPA
5
LMS
Ret
NÜR COA FUJ SHA BHR 24th10

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

YearTeamClassMakeEngine1234567891011RankPoints
2014 SRT Motorsports GTLM SRT Viper GTS-R Dodge 8.0L V10 DAY
6
SEB
2
LBH
LGA
WGL
MOS
IMS
ELK
VIR
COT
PET
6
20th85

Complete FIA GT Series results

YearTeamCarClass123456789101112Pos.Points
2013 Hexis Racing McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Pro NOG
QR
NOG
CR
ZOL
QR
ZOL
CR
ZAN
QR
ZAN
CR
SVK
QR
SVK
CR
NAV
QR
NAV
CR
BAK
QR

3
BAK
CR

3
NC0‡

 — Guest driver – Not eligible for points.

Complete British GT Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeamCarClass123456789PosPoints
2018 Balfe Motorsport McLaren 650S GT3 GT3 OUL
1

8
OUL
2

12
ROC
1

Ret
SNE
1

SNE
2

SIL
1

8
SPA
1

Ret
BRH
1

DON
1

17th10
2019 Balfe Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 GT3 OUL
1

WD
OUL
2

WD
SNE
1

31
SNE
2

3
SIL
1

11
DON
1

2
SPA
1

4
BRH
1

2
DON
1

1
3rd126
2020 Balfe Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 GT3 OUL
1

OUL
2

DON
1

DON
2

BRH
1

DON
1

SNE
1

SNE
2

SIL
1

Ret
NC†0†
2022 Fox Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 GT3 OUL
1

OUL
2

SIL
1

DON
1

9
SNE
1

SNE
2

SPA
1

BRH
1

DON
1

29th3
2023 Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 GT3 OUL
1

7
OUL
2

10
SIL
1

3
DON
1

8
SNE
1

3
SNE
2

11
ALG
1

2
BRH
1

7
DON
1

8th*86.5*

† Not eligible for points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearTeamClassCarEngine1234Pos.Points
2023 Garage 59GT McLaren 720S GT3 McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8 DUB
1

12
DUB
2

5
ABU
1

11
ABU
2

10
13th11

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Balfe</span> British racing car driver from Grantham

Shaun Balfe is a British racing car driver from Grantham who won the 2004 Spanish GT Championship. In 2006 he raced a Saleen S7R for Balfe Motorsport in the FIA GT Championship He currently races in the British GT Championship in a McLaren 720S GT3 with Rob Bell in 2019. He finished third in the GT3 championship that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Kane</span> British racing driver (born 1980)

Steven Colin Kane is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stéphane Ortelli</span> Monegasque racing driver

Stéphane Ortelli is a Monégasque professional racing driver with three world championship titles. He has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1998 with Allan McNish and Laurent Aïello and the Spa 24 Hours in 2003 with Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb. He's also won the GT1 Class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005 with David Brabham and Darren Turner. Currently, he is an Emil Frey Racing driver competing and developing the Jaguar and Lexus GT racing cars in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the VLN series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filipe Albuquerque</span> Portuguese professional racing driver

Filipe Miguel Delgadinho Albuquerque is a Portuguese professional racing driver, currently driving an Acura ARX-06 in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Wayne Taylor Racing, and an Oreca 07 in the FIA World Endurance Championship for United Autosports. He has claimed a LMP2 class title at the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, an LMP2 class win at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, and overall wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Adam</span> British racing driver (born 1984)

Jonathan Robert "Jonny" Adam is a British racing driver and a factory driver for Aston Martin Racing. He was the champion of the SEAT Cupra Championship in two of its six seasons – winning in 2007 and in 2008. He also won the 2005 Elf Renault Clio Cup. He competed in the British Touring Car Championship in 2009 and currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, British GT Championship, winning the 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 championships. He also won the LMGTE Pro class at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Tappy</span> English racing driver

Duncan Tappy is a professional racing driver from the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Goodwin</span> British racing driver (born 1967)

Stephen Christopher Goodwin is a British auto racing driver. Currently he works as Expert High Performance Test Driver for Aston Martin. Additionally he manages the racing career of Bruno Senna and continues to race in International GT Endurance events. He was also TV commentator on F1 for ESPN Star Sports for nearly ten years and occasionally still appears on EPS&M and other networks such as ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirko Bortolotti</span> Italian racing driver

Mirko Bortolotti is an Italian racing driver from Trento. He has won the Italian Formula 3 Championship in 2008, the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2011, the Eurocup Megane Trophy in 2013 and the Blancpain GT Series Endurance and Overall Championship in 2017. He competed as a factory driver for Lamborghini between 2016 and 2019, before moving to Audi for 2020 and rejoining Lamborghini in 2021. He competed in the 2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with GRT Grasser Racing Team, a factory-backed Lamborghini team based in Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maro Engel</span> German racing driver (born 1985)

Maro Engel is a German professional racing driver based in Monaco. He is a Mercedes-AMG factory driver since 2008 & brand ambassador since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Stevens</span> British racing driver (born 1991)

William Jonathan Richard Stevens is a British racing driver, who formerly competed in Formula One, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championships. In Formula One, he made his debut at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Caterham F1, replacing Marcus Ericsson for the double points race. During the 2015 season he competed with the Manor Marussia F1 Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxime Martin</span> Belgian racing driver

Maxime Martin is a Belgian professional racing driver and son of four-time Spa 24 Hours winner Jean-Michel Martin. He currently is a BMW factory driver mainly competing in the GT World Challenge Europe driving for Team WRT. Martin had previously been a BMW factory driver between 2013 and 2017, racing full-time in the American Le Mans Series for BMW Team RLL in 2013, as well as acting as BMW's DTM test and reserve driver. In late 2013 at BMW Motorsport's yearly review, Martin was confirmed as a full-time BMW DTM driver for the 2014 season. In 2018 Martin joined Aston Martin Racing for which he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship between 2018 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Catsburg</span> Dutch racing driver

Nicky Catsburg is a Dutch professional racing driver, currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. He was also a factory driver for BMW from 2011 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Fontana</span> Swiss racing driver

Alex Fontana is a Swiss racing driver currently racing as a professional driver in the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe for Car Collection Motorsport. He is a freelance driver with an open contract able to race for different teams and different manufacturers at the same time. When he is not racing, he works as a coach and driving instructor in Europe, America, and China, while commentating the Formula 1 Grands Prix for Swiss television with RSI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Fumanelli</span> Italian racing driver

David Cleto Fumanelli is an Italian racing driver and racing coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grégoire Demoustier</span> French racing driver

Grégoire Demoustier is a French racing driver, who competes in the World Touring Car Championship for Sébastien Loeb Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Watson (racing driver)</span> British racing driver (born 1995)

Andrew Robert Watson is a British racing driver from Northern Ireland currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship with CarStore Power Maxed Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Barnicoat</span> British racing driver

Ben George Barnicoat is a British racing driver. He is a Lexus Racing USA factory racing driver, making his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut in 2022. He returns for a second season with Lexus and Vasser Sullivan Racing, and kicked off the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship with a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Mies</span> German racing driver

Christopher Mies is a professional German racing driver, and Ford Performance factory driver. He was a Audi Sport factory driver for a long time from 2009 to 2023, competed in GT3 series such as ADAC GT Masters, GT World Challenge Europe, Intercontinental GT Challenge, and Australian GT Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Campbell (racing driver)</span> Australian race car driver

Matt Campbell is an Australian racing car driver, specialising in sports car racing. He is a Porsche factory driver, having formerly been a junior then young professional. He is one of three factory drivers whose driver categorisation is platinum alongside Sven Müller and Mathieu Jaminet. Campbell is the reigning champion of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD Pro class and is now a full-time driver of the #7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Campbell won the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driving for McElrea Racing. Campbell moved to Germany in 2017 and was third in the 2017 Porsche Supercup. Campbell is currently driving for Dempsey-Proton Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMGTE Am class driving a Porsche 911 RSR. He has taken three victories including at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. Campbell also won the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2019 and 2024, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Earl Bamber Motorsport and Manthey Racing respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian Buhk</span> German racing driver

Maximilian Buhk is a retired German racing driver.

References

  1. "Driver Biography – Rob Bell". Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. "Balfe Motorsport To Race 720S GT3 in British GT". Dailysportscar. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
Champion

2016
With: Côme Ledogar
and Shane van Gisbergen
Succeeded by