Confidence high after successful Spanish test

Martyn Bell will head into his second season in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with his confidence ‘higher than ever’ following a successful test session in Spain.

The Barrow-upon-Humber racer spent time at both Albacete and Valencia in his Team AllAboutProperty.com BMW 320i along with new driver coach Kelvin Burt in preparation for the opening rounds of the season this coming weekend at Brands Hatch.

The run at Albacete marked the first time Kelvin had spent time at the wheel of the car, with the former Ford and Volvo works driver helping the team to work on the set-up of the BMW ahead of the new season.

“This was my first test with Martyn, at a track I had not previously driven on, in a car I had not driven before,” he said, “so we had an interesting day with a lot to do.

“I was happy with the progress we made, but there is still a lot to do to realise the full potential of the car. It was difficult with the conditions, as it was very windy and was blowing sand onto the track which altered the cars behaviour and made it difficult to be categoric with the changes we made. When I get in the car again, we will see what more we can extract from it.”

The team then headed to Valencia, and although running there was delayed by the late arrival of a new gearbox for the car, Martyn said the sessions would prove to be vitally important for the season ahead.

“The test in Spain could well have changed our season,” he explains. “It may seem to have cost us a lot of money now, but by the middle of the year we will see how it has been money well spent. Kelvin has really helped us to dial the car in and we now have a good car to work with, I’m very pleased that we have him onboard.

“Without his input, the climb would have been hard, but Kelvin has made it easier. We know there is still plenty of work to do, but he has really helped us to dial the car in and we now have something to work with. We have a better handling car that isn’t out of shape like it was last season – hopefully the tail-happy E46 is now a thing of the past!”

With his pre-season testing programme now complete, Bell heads into the opening rounds of the season confident of making a strong start to his second year in the BTCC.

Having picked up a points scoring finish in the season opener twelve months ago on his debut in the series, Martyn said he was hopeful of once again fighting for a place in the top ten, albeit on merit rather than benefiting from the misfortune of others.

“I’m full of confidence for the season ahead, more confident than I’ve ever been and I think we are further on with our preparations than many of the others,” he said. “We know that the circuit doesn’t really suit the BMW but we feel that that could change this weekend. There will be 26 cars going into Paddock Hill Bend and anything could happen, it’ll certainly be good for the spectators.

“I want to go racing this weekend and my aim is to secure three solid finishes – hopefully inside the top ten. I feel that that is something we can now achieve with the car.”