Tim Bell right at home with top ten finish

Tim Bell right at home with top ten finish

First time as closer nets top ten finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Monterey, Calif. (9 July 2011) – GRAND-AM rookie runner Tim Bell produced another strong performance at the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda in his GRAND-AM debut at his home track of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to finish eighth along with Doran Racing co-driver BJ Zacharias.

Bell, whose usual duty is to qualify and start each race in the No. 14 Office Depot BMW 128i, added to his scope of experience as the California racer had the opportunity to close the 2.5-hour event and cross the finish line eighth in front of many family and friends in attendance.

Zacharias opened the race from 18th on the ST class grid and advanced three positions to run 15th before the team brought the No. 14 to pit road during the race’s second caution period. For the first time this year, Bell was on the opposite end of the driver change and quickly strapped in to run the second half of the race. The No. 14 BMW returned to the track in 21st place but Bell quickly made a charge forward to improve some 13 positions throughout his stint. Despite a last-lap incident that saw a bit of contact from another competitor, Bell held his position and brought Doran Racing its second top-10 result of the year.

“It was a pretty good race and I really enjoyed getting to cross the finish line on my home track,” said Bell, who will now cheer on his brother Matt in the Daytona Prototype. “The car was good, but we still struggle with the straight line speed and I had to work hard on my braking to make up for that. Driving with that group of drivers was different–it was a lot cleaner racing, but those guys also really know how to block! All in all, it was a great day for me and I’m very happy with how the weekend went.”

Following two disappointing results in the two previous rounds of GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition, Bell had hoped to turn the team’s luck around at his home track and the Doran Racing group did just that. The eighth place result marks the best finish for Bell and Zacharias since the pair stood on the podium at Barber Motorsports Park after finishing second.

Bell next travels to New Jersey Motorsports Park July 22-23 for the B+ Foundation Heroes 200 and Round 9 of the championship.

The Continental Tire Sports Car Festival Powered by Mazda will be shown on SPEED July 17 at 1:00 PM (ET).

-30-

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.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup