Monday, 10th September 2007

Eighth place alongside Sugden for Bell on Adria bow.

Rob Bell secured an eighth place finish on his debut with Scuderia Ecosse after being called into the Scottish team to partner Tim Sugden for the latest round of the FIA GT Championship.

Bell making his debut at the Adria track but the limited practice sessions gave him precious little preparation time for the two hour evening race. Brake problems in the first session compromised the team's running and following repairs after this practice, the second session highlighted further issues which needed to be addressed. Prior to qualifying, Bell had only run twelve laps at the wheel of the Ferrari 430, so with Sugden having had previous experience of Adria, he qualified the car – posting the seventh quickest time.

Sugden then started the race and maintained position through the opening stint before handing over to Bell – who climbed to fourth before giving the car back to his team-mate for the run to the flag.

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Struggling with excessive tyre wear, compounded by an exhaust problem which caused a loss of power, the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari slipped down the order, finishing eighth in class at the chequered flag.

“We had a lot to contend with in Adria,” Bell reflected. “From the outset we had a number of issues which challenged us. The team worked hard to try and resolve these within the limited amount of time available, but the car handling was difficult and our race pace wasn't as strong as we would have liked it to be.

“For me, I learnt a new track, which is always helpful for a possible return at some point. It was also useful to have seat time in a car I know well just before my next race, the Silverstone round of the Le Mans Series, which is this coming weekend.

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