Tim Bell Makes Lime Rock Park Debut with Office Depot BMW

Tim Bell Makes Lime Rock Park Debut with Office Depot BMW

Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
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(317) 908-2975-Mobile

Lakeville, Conn. (28 May 2011) – As Tim Bell marked the half-way point of his rookie GRAND-AM season in the Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park, he delivered yet another strong performance at the controls of the No. 14 Office Depot BMW 128i in his first visit to the Northwest Connecticut track.

At the drop of the green flag, Bell quickly maneuvered through the twists and turns of the busy 1.5-mile circuit and made a charge forward in the ST calss-only race. The California racer picked up five positions during the first lap to run 18th and continued to move his way through the field to run as high as 11th before turning the No. 14 Office Depot machine over to co-driver BJ Zacharias.

Bell was forced to pit under green flag conditions when the rear bumper began to drag after a competitor hit the No. 14 from behind. Despite a great driver change and quick work by the Doran Racing crew to make repairs, Zacharias would re-enter the race in 24th position. In a race that saw several late cautions, Zacharias steadily climbed back up through the field to take the checkered flag in the 15th position.

“The car was great in the beginning and it was fun to move forward in those opening laps,” said Bell of the stint. “But then the tires started to go off a bit, we struggled with understeer. We also had some power down issues later in the run and weren’t as strong on the straights, so to end up 15th is not bad considering the problems we were dealing with. The Doran guys really improved the car since yesterday and even without the perfect car we were able to hang in there for a solid finish.”

The result marks the fourth consecutive top-15 finish for the Doran Racing duo.

Bell returns to on-track action in just four days as GRAND-AM stages The Continental Tire 150 and Round 6 of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge championship at Watkins Glen. Bell will participate in a promoter test day on Wednesday, June 1 followed by official practice and qualifying on Thursday. The Continental Tire 150 is set to begin on Friday at 6:00 PM local time.

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

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