THERE’S a familiar face in new colours in the Supercars pitlane this weekend at the Bathurst 1000.
Andrew Bell has been around the game for decades, predominantly across two stints at Triple Eight, plus periods at Erebus Motorsport and most recently PremiAir Racing.
The veteran mechanic has now lobbed at the Blanchard Racing Team, which is enjoying a solid weekend at Mount Panorama where it has utterly dominated Super2 and will this afternoon have James Golding line up in the Top 10 Shootout.
Team boss Tim Blanchard confirmed Bell has come onboard in a full-time capacity.
“He has got a lot of experience. He is helping us mainly behind the scenes with our car prep back at the workshop and on our spares and subassembly,” Blanchard told V8 Sleuth.
Andrew Bell during his PremiAir Racing days. Pic: Supplied/Mark Horsburgh
“He has been with us a couple of weeks back at the workshop. This is the first event he has come to.
“He is just giving us a bit of a hand at the moment through to the end of the year and see where things go, but he’s been great since he has joined and is making a big difference.
“If he’s not at the track (going forward), he’ll be back at the workshop doing some projects for us.”
BRT unexpectedly lost a key chunk of experience mid-season when crew chief Dennis Huijser departed; he has rejoined Team 18 to be team manager for its Craig Lowndes-led wildcard effort.