Matt Bell’s ELMS Round 2 at Paul Ricard ends in disqualification after fuel drama

A strong drive from P9 to P1 ended in heartbreak for AES Renewables Director Matt Bell at Round 2 of the European Le Mans Series on Sunday 3 May 2026.

Sharing the Eurointernational Ligier #11 with Max Van Der Snel and Douwe Dedecker, Matt climbed seven places in the opening stint of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet before a fuel pressure warning, a stalled car, and a failed power steering system fault forced a DNF. A subsequent disqualification followed, caused by assistance given outside the working line of the pit lane.

What happened in the race?

Matt’s team-mate Max Van Der Snel qualified the Ligier #11 P9 in LMP3, with less than a second separating his time from pole. Matt, who always takes the start, was untroubled by the grid position. “I’m not too unfamiliar with starting near the back,” he said afterwards, “and I was confident I’d be able to make my way forward.”

He did. By the end of lap one, he was up to P4. A virtual safety car interrupted his climb to P3, but by the lap after the restart, he had passed Fabien Michal in the R-ace GP car for second, then made a clean move on Alex Bukhantsov, the LMP3 pole-sitter from Barcelona, around the outside of Turn 1.

From there, he built a lead of over 10 seconds.

Where did it go wrong?

Fuel. The early VSC had forced an earlier-than-planned pit stop, and a technical issue meant the team didn’t have a clear picture of how much fuel Matt had left. A fuel low pressure warning hit on the in-lap. The car began losing power. With around seven to nine seconds lost on the approach to pit lane, the car ran out of fuel completely and coasted in, blocking the pit entry.

“We were in a comfortable position but, unfortunately, due to a technical gremlin we were unaware how much fuel we had remaining. On my in-lap to the pits the car started losing power and we ultimately ran out of fuel and had to coast down the pit entry.”

Matt Bell

The mechanics, on instruction from the marshals, retrieved the car and pushed it into the pit box for refuelling. The Ligier #11 exited the pits in P9.

What ended the race?

After a short stint to wait for another VSC opportunity, Max Van Der Snel took over and was running around P6 when the power steering failed. The fault could not be repaired within race time, and the car was retired.

A subsequent disqualification followed. In retrieving the stalled car, the mechanics had given assistance outside the working line of the pit lane, the issue that triggered the DSQ.

What does it mean for the championship?

With four rounds remaining, Imola (5 July), Spa, Silverstone, and Portimão, there is still time. But back-to-back issues are starting to add up. A pitlane penalty in Barcelona cost a likely podium fight. Paul Ricard, on pace, was a race the Eurointernational crew were genuinely capable of winning.

“Ultimately, for endurance racing, you have to minimise mistakes, have a little bit of luck, and have reliability,” Matt said. “All we can do now is focus on ourselves, try to win the remaining rounds, and see where we end up.”

What’s next?

Round 3 is the 4 Hours of Imola on 5 July, a home race for the Novara-based Eurointernational team. “I’m very much looking forward to returning in a couple of months’ time,” Matt said.

Follow the season

Round 3: 4 Hours of Imola, Sunday 5 July 2026. Live timing and free qualifying coverage on the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel. Full race coverage on Discovery+.