Le Mans Series GT2 title-winner Rob Bell will make his debut in the Sebring Twelve Hours this weekend as the new American Le Mans Series season gets underway with the 56th running of the famous race.
Bell, who took the LMS title last season driving a Virgo Motorsport
Ferrari 430, will run in a similar car for Tafel Racing which will be taking part in its first race since switching from Porsche over the winter.
Bell will join Dirk Muller and Dominik Farnbacher in the #71 Ferrari and admitted he was looking forward to the challenge.
The biggest challenge will be to keep going until the end, keeping concentration up and staying out of trouble, he said. It's the first time that the 2008 car will have done a twelve hour race and this track is phenomenally bumpy and tricky, so it's not a foregone conclusion that we'll make it to the end. Having said this, I know that there's been a lot of work done by over the winter and I'm confident for the weekend.
As it's my first ALMS race it's all a bit unknown for me. I think there'll be plenty of familiar faces from Europe, and it'll be the cream of the crop racing out there. The difference will be in the depth of quality drivers and talent, which will make for a highly competitive race.
I know the track having driven it when I was doing single seater racing. That makes it a bit easier for me as I can concentrate on the car, handling and speed rather than learning the corners. I'll still need to refresh myself of where all the main bumps are though!
I'm really looking forward to getting out there and soaking up the atmosphere, the 12 hours of Sebring is a fantastic event, with great support from the crowd. It's something I've always wanted to do in my career and I'm pleased I've finally got the opportunity to do it.
