New Arkas man prepares for debut.

Martyn Bell will kick-start his third season in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship this weekend as the popular privateer embarks on a new chapter in his motorsport career.

Bell, who has spent his entire four-wheeled career running in rear-wheel drive machinery, will make his first race outing in front-wheel drive at Brands Hatch as he debuts for the Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk team.

Bell had his first run with the Tech-Speed run outfit earlier this month with a shakedown at Snetterton, before completing more meaningful mileage during the annual BTCC media day at Rockingham and a day long group test at Brands Hatch, which was used to help him acclimatise to his new surroundings after two seasons running an ex-WTCC BMW 320i.

"Rockingham was a good start for us and we just went out on old tyres during the day to get mileage in the car," he said. "We were consistent during the day and it set us up well for the day at Brands.

"To be honest with you, it got a bit silly at Brands as everyone was going for a qualifying time so they could be top of the pile, but we focused on a race run instead because I need to learn the car and things like the weight distribution and where the braking points are; and it allowed us to get a consistent race pace sorted. I've also got to train by brain to remember that if the back end breaks away, I have to floor the throttle rather than lift off like I did in the BMW!

"Despite the fact I was feeling under the weather with flu, we did the race run around 18 seconds quicker than I did it in the BMW and given we only used one set of new tyres, I'm happy to already be running quicker then in the BMW."

Heading into his first weekend of competition with the Astra, Bell added that he remains realistic in his goals at the start of the 50th anniversary season for the BTCC and is aware of what needs to be done at the Kent circuit.

"I feel confident going into the first race with the car," he said. "It's a case now of wait and see how we go. We know who we have to beat on the grid, and our aim will be to beat them.

"The team is gelling really well with the guys from Tech-Speed and the whole set-up with the team is brilliant. Everything is coming together as well as we could have hoped."