BTCC: Podium spot

May 9 2007 By The Evening Chronicle

Newcastle's Rob Bell celebrated his best result of the season so far on Sunday, finishing runner-up in the second round of the Le Mans series in Valencia.

But Sunderland driver Warren Hughes did not fare so well, retiring one hour into the race when lying sixth.

Although Bell and his team-mate Allan Simonsen, racing in the GT2 class, dropped to sixth place in the early stages, the team moved into a podium finish by around the halfway mark and, despite being chased hard, managed to finish the course in second place.

Bell (pictured) said of his achievements: "It's a great result for us. It's not been an easy weekend as we've struggled to find the right set-up."

Bell returns to the UK to prepare for his next sports car outing in the the most gruelling event of them all - the Le Mans 24 hours race on June 3.

The early exit for Hughes, driving in the LMP2 category, was a tough blow as the first round at Monza three weeks ago also saw him retire with engine failure.