Sportscar stalwart Rob Bell is retiring from racing to take up a administration function inside McLaren Automotive’s motorsport arm.
The winner of two Le Mans Sequence class titles and the Blancpain GT Sequence Endurance Cup will change into sporting director as a part of a administration reshuffle during which McLaren Method E boss Ian James will assume duty for the highway automotive firm’s GT and one-make racing actions.
Bell, 45, is hanging up his helmet after 13 seasons as a McLaren manufacturing unit driver throughout which era he gained the Blancpain title in 2016 driving a 650S GT3 fielded by the manufacturing unit Storage 59 squad.
“I’m stepping down as a McLaren manufacturing unit driver and positively retiring from skilled racing, although I’m not ruling out the odd one-off,” Bell instructed Motorsport.com.
“I’m actually pleased with my resolution: I’ve had some good occasions, loved it so much and had some respectable success, so I’ve ticked a variety of bins.
“I at all times mentioned to myself that 45 can be age to cease, as long as I had one thing else to do. The celebs have aligned at McLaren to permit it to occur the best way I needed.”
Bell has revealed that “the race observe will primarily be my workplace” and that certainly one of his key roles will probably be liaising with McLaren’s clients within the GT3 and GT4 classes in addition to the one-make Trophy sequence, which is increasing into North America subsequent 12 months.
“It’s a huge step-change for me and I do know that there’s a lot of onerous work forward,” he mentioned.
“I’m wanting ahead to working with Ian and receiving his steering. I’ve bought to know him over the previous three or 4 months and I’ve been actually impressed.”
Bell cited the 2016 Blancpain title, gained in partnership with Shane van Gisbergen and Come Ledogar, as essentially the most vital achievement of his profession.
“That was my greatest success as a result of the sequence was so aggressive,” he defined. “However when it comes to reminiscences the fondest ones are most likely from my time driving for Jim McWhirter.”
Bell. Ledogar and Van Gisbergen celebrating a win at Monza in 2016
Photograph by: McLaren
Bell described racing McWhirter’s Ferrari 430 GTC for Virgo Motorsport after which the JMW group established by the automotive proprietor as a “actual purple patch”.
He took back-to-back LMS GT2 titles within the automotive with Virgo in 2007 and ’08, successful six of 11 races throughout the 2 years and solely ending off the rostrum on the automotive’s solo retirement in two seasons.
There have been an extra two wins beneath the JMW Motorsport banner in ’09 when he and Ferrari manufacturing unit driver Gianmaria Bruni missed out on the LMS title by a single level.
He switched to sportscars in 2005 after his single-seater profession got here to an finish following a fifth-place end with David Worth Racing within the earlier 12 months’s Method Renault V6 sequence.
Bell turned McLaren’s second manufacturing unit driver for 2012 – he was signed a number of days after Alvaro Parente – and likewise twice raced a manufacturing unit Aston Martin in GTE Professional on the Le Mans 24 Hours.
James will mix his function as boss of motorsport at McLaren Automotive together with his managing directorship of the McLaren Electrical Racing FE squad. He takes over the duties from Mick McDonagh, who’s retiring from McLaren.
Malcolm Gerrish, who led improvement of the present Evo model of the McLaren 720S GT3 racer, has been promoted from chief engineer to technical operations director.
Ian James, Group Principal, NEOM McLaren Method E Group
Photograph by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Photos
