Tim Bell Looks Forward to Road America Debut

Online, June 22, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Following a three-week break in GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition after two busy back-to-back race weekends at Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen International, Doran Racing driver Tim Bell will add another historic track to his race resume as he travels to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin this weekend for Round 7 of the championship.

A rookie racer in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Bell has the added challenge of competing against racers with far more experience at the various tracks on the 10-race schedule. Bell has had to absorb the nuances of each different track to quickly get up to speed against his more experienced competitors. Despite this, Bell has shown his potential against the seasoned drivers, already scoring four top-15 finishes in six races with the No. 14 Office Depot BMW 128i - including a second place finish at Barber Motorsports Park.

As Bell visits Road America, the playing field may be a bit more level for Bell as the race marks the first time GRAND-AM has visited the track since 2001 and many of Bell's fellow competitors will also be making their first visit to the road course. With the element of track experience removed, Bell will look to use this to his advantage as hopes to rebound from a disappointing finish at Watkins Glen when mechanical issues ended his race early.

"I'm really looking forward to Road America," said Bell. "It's cool that we get to race there and I'm hopefully going to pick up on it quickly. We've had some ups and downs with the car this season and hopefully all of that is behind us now. Unfortunately, we don't have all the straight-line speed that the turbo cars do so this track isn't likely to suit us as well as places like Barber or hopefully New Jersey. But you never know how a race will play out, and I'm just looking forward to getting up there and experiencing the track."

Bell and co-driver BJ Zacharias will take to the 4-mile circuit on Wednesday, June 22 for a promoter test day followed by official practice on Thursday. Friday will see a final practice followed by a 15-minute qualifying session in the morning, with the 2.5-hour race set to begin at 6:15 PM local time.

The race will broadcast on SPEED July 3 at 1:00 PM (ET).

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