2022 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Drivers Champion Matt Bell is back for another season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup alongside last year’s teammate from last season John Melsom for 2021 championship winning team Nielsen Racing.
The 2022 season was a step learning for the British duo, with two top 10 finishes in the seven races series.However, with an unchanged line up in the same car, Matt Bell is looking forward to stepping up a gear in 2023.
“2022 was very much a learning season for John, it was his first time at all of the European circuits as well as his first full season driving in LMP3, so quite a lot to get on top of,” Bell said.“Despite all that, there were several strong performances, especially at Paul Ricard and Monza, so I’m looking forward to building on that with John into this season.
“Nielsen Racing gave us a very quick car all year too, so if everything comes together, I think we can be very competitive this year.”
As the professional driver in the line-up, Matt Bell is keen to give as much track time to his teammate and is very much behind the MLMC ethos of maximising the seat time for bronze level drivers.
“John is still relatively new to racing, last year was his first full season in a championship having done a part season of Super Trofeo the year before in the USA,” he said.
“It was clear from the start he has good speed and the ability to be very quick in the bronze field, so as we went through the year our focus was mainly on race craft, learning the circuits, generally learning prototype racing etc. I was really impressed with his progress, and we will aim to keep that going this year.
“I think the MLMC provides a great platform for guys like John to come into the sport, particularly if they have ambitions of competing at Le Mans one day,” Bell concluded.
The 33-year-old driver from Newcastle-upon-Tyne continued his assessment of the positives of the Michelin Le Mans Cup.“I think the MLMC has really grown over the last few years from a support race on the ELMS weekend to a serious competition in its own right,” Bell said. “The surge in popularity we’ve seen in the series is testament to that, with a capacity grid the last 2 years.
“It’s a great way to begin your journey to Le Mans and get to grips with the top tier of endurance racing. It's the only series in the world that offers the chance to race at Le Mans every year too on the support bill of the 24 Hours, and gaining experience at that track is extremely valuable.”
Bell’s 2023 season got off to a good start with a P4 finish in the LMP3 class at Daytona and third overall in the LMP3 standings in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series. “It has been a strong start to the year, but to be honest I think our performances warranted so much more than the results we achieved.
“Without doubt we could have fought for the win at Daytona and achieved a team AWA 1-2 on the podium if it wasn’t for an issue my teammate had in the night, and Nielsen Racing provided us with a championship winning program once again in Asian Le Mans, thwarted by a starter motor failure from the lead in race 1 at Dubai. I think it’s a testament to the ambition of the team when everyone was disappointed to “only” win 1 race on such a competitive grid!”
So, with a strong start to the season, how does Matt Bell see his Michelin Le Mans Cup campaign with John Melsom and Nielsen Racing shaping up?
“For sure the goal is to win the championship. We haven’t seen the driver line-up entry list yet so it’s hard to figure out who will be our chief competitors, the level is so high in the series now that almost every team can produce a car that can win, so it’ll very much come down to the line-up combinations that materialise. But I think no matter who comes up, we are definitely contenders.”
Round 1 of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup will take place in Barcelona on Saturday 22 April.
