Catch up with Champion Matt Bell
Before he starts the European Le Mans Series
Matt Bell joined British outfit Nielsen Racing with Rodrigo Sales and fellow Brit Ben Hanley in the LMP2 for 2022 with the aim of racing in both the Asian Le Mans Series and the European Le Mans Series. The trio made a great start to their 2022 campaign – winning the Asian Le Mans Series title last month and, with it, an invitation to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June!
Matt Bell is now preparing for the European Le Mans Series and they caught up with him to discuss he thoughts on the season ahead.
Q: Congratulations on your success in the Asian Le Mans Series, it’s an amazing result for you, Ben, Rodrigo and the Nielsen Racing team. What will you take from that series into the 2022 ELMS?
Matt Bell: “It was great to win the championship overall. It’s the third time I’ve done Asian Le Mans, it’s a great series to be a part of and something I’ve wanted to win for a long time; so very happy to have achieved it!
“It’s perfect prep for European Le Mans, having the same race format allows the drivers and team to transfer everything we learned to Europe, the ACO does a great job on that front.”
Q: Tell us about your new teammates Rodrigo Sales and Ben Hanley. How have you gelled as a team?
MB: “I first raced with Rodrigo in last year’s Asian Le Mans Series in LMP3 with Nielsen. He was new to prototypes at that point and did a great job. We managed two podiums that season and we would’ve had a win if it wasn’t for a badly timed FCY!
“I really enjoy racing with Rodrigo, he’s very driven and hungry for success in whatever class he’s racing which resonates with me!
“I believe the Asian Le Mans commentators mentioned Ben is the driver with the most LMP2 wins across all ACO and IMSA series, that pretty much sums him up! Very fast and experienced, a real asset to the team and I think we’re lucky to have him with us this season.”
Q: This is Nielsen Racing’s first full season in LMP2, when you look at the quality on the class entry, what is the realistic goal for this year?
MB: “The Nielsen guys aren’t messing around. They’re three-time champions of ACO series already and have merged their championship winning personnel with some very successful and experienced people at LMP2 level. We are motivated to win and that’s that. Sven has pulled a great program together. We respect the size of the task at hand and the level of competition in ELMS, but we believe we have a winning package and we can’t wait to test ourselves against the competition.”
Q: You are also racing for Nielsen in the MLMC. You’ve done back-to-back ELMS-MLMC events before. How do you prepare yourself for such a full-on race weekend? Especially now that you will be jumping from an LMP2 into an LMP3 car?
MB: “I’ve done MLMC every year since LMP3 was introduced, so I’m happy to be back in that series too, we have strong ambitions there as well, Nielsen are the defending champions after all!
“The ACO make the events work well for participating in both series so I’m grateful to them for that. There are quite a few guys that do both series now, including my other Nielsen teammates so I’m certainly not alone!
“Jumping into both cars on the same weekends will be a challenge for sure but it’s something I’m looking forward to, I’m not the first to do it and won’t be the last I don’t think!”
Q: Looking ahead to the ELMS season, which is your favourite track and why?
MB: “On the ELMS calendar, Spa of course!! It’s one of best racing circuits on the planet, and even better with a bit more downforce in a LMP2! But Le Mans is the pinnacle of our sport and it’s a track that blows your mind…. So many high-speed sections that test everything you have as a driver. That’s what I’m most excited about with Nielsen in 2022.”
