Rob Bell has called time on his career as a professional racing driver after assuming the role of McLaren Motorsport’s Sporting Director.
While the new position does leave room for Bell to race sporadically, his time will now be predominantly spent working with McLaren’s GT3 and GT4 customers as well as being actively involved with management and development of the manufacturer’s factory and young drivers.
He will also continue in his ambassadorial role with the single-make McLaren Trophy series.
Bell moves into his new role following an impressive racing career that spanned factory stints with SRT Viper, Aston Martin and – for the past 12 years – McLaren. His CV spread across the last 20 years includes 338 races, 36 wins and 95 podiums, as well as appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Spa, Daytona 24 Hours, Bathurst 12 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans.
Championship accolades include the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Series crown plus titles in the Asian and European Le Mans Series.
“I am hugely proud of all that I have achieved over the past 20-plus years, and I owe a huge amount of thanks to a wide range of people,” he said. “My family, teams, manufacturers, championships, team-mates, media, fans and countless others who have supported and worked with me on the journey. I will be forever grateful to them all.
“This next step is a completely new challenge for me, albeit with a brand that I have worked closely with, that I know inside out, and have raced for, for over a decade.
“I am delighted to continue my journey with McLaren, building on what we have achieved together. I am really looking forward to continuing the work to strengthen our Customer Racing programme off track.
“Our products and teams continue to fight at the sharp end of grids across the world, and the results do the talking, so I am really looking forward to using the experience and the networks I have built over these past years to strengthen our relationships, enhance our driver pool, and provide the best support and experience to our customers - whether they are competing at grassroots levels or in the World Endurance Championship.”
Bell’s British GT record includes two outright wins – both at the wheel of McLarens – and a GT4 victory with his brother Matt. He also finished third overall with Shaun Balfe in 2019.