Three-time
Daytona 24 Hours winner Derek Bell will be back in harness for this year's running of the event after a brief trial run in the RVO Motorsports' Riley-Pontiac convinced him to return.
Bell turned a handful of laps in the #12 car at Daytona on Saturday and Sunday, his first outing in a DP car, and, despite some initial hiccups, went well enough for the 66-year old to contemplate racing at the end of the month.
“I'm used to driving pretty good cars, and it's a treat to drive a Daytona Prototype,” Bell said, “Roger [Schramm] told me I should come out some time and drive it, and this weekend was the opportunity for me to do it.
“I didn't know the car at all well, and I was very frustrated because of the gearbox. It was a sequential, and I hadn't driven that since I drove a
Ferrari 333 back in 1990-something. I couldn't get the car to go down to fourth, to third, to second, to first, so I brought the car in and had them explain it. They did, but I felt like an old woman out there!
"Thankfully, it did get a lot happier out there, and I had a good time doing it. The car is a delight to drive, and I know Justin and Roger were very happy with it last season.”
The #12 machine will be campaigned through the full Rolex Series season by Schramm and Justin Bell, Derek's son, who confirmed on Sunday that they will also be joined at the Rolex 24 by Estonian Tonis Kasemets. The team's fourth driver has yet to be officially announced, but Bell Sr is expected to aim for a fourth Rolex crown.
“I'll state the very obvious - Derek Bell is a legend, and one of the most successful drivers in the entire history of the sport,” Schramm said, “For our team, it is an honour and a privilege for him to consider racing with us.”
![Derek and Justin Bell could form half of the RVO Motorsports line-up at the 2008 Rolex 24 [pic credit: Grand-Am]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/401778.jpg)
