BEDLINGTON sidecar star Phil Bell has revealed his eyes are firmly fixed on podiums this year as the countdown to the season begins.

Bell and his Bell Racing squad are gearing up to launch another assault on the Eastern Airways UK F1 Sidecar Championship this year after finishing seventh in 2010 after a troubled season.

This year the series will be bigger than ever after regaining full British championship status, with half of the rounds taking place as part of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship programme.

It means the season will roar into action at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the Easter weekend, something which Bell is delighted about.

He said: “The championship is becoming bigger and better each year and 2011 is going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people.

“Being part of the BSB programme for four rounds is brilliant. It feels like the championship has finally arrived and is going to get much more exposure and live TV this year.

“Now all I need to do is make sure than I am at the pointy end.”

Bell hopes he will be a strong challenger from the start this season as he again teams up with passenger Ash Hawes.

He added: “Everyone knows I have not had the best time with passengers.

“However, with Ash I have struck gold, which is why it is great he is joining me again for 2011.

“We work well together, so it could not be better.

“It means if we can get the outfit ready then we can just go straight out and pick up where we left off last year without having to get used to each other first.”

Bell’s 2010 campaign began with a frantic search for a suitable passenger, and even after he had secured Hawes things did not become much better.”

His LCR Suzuki machine was hit by a number of problems in the early rounds, and then he suffered a back injury at East Fortune with two rounds left to run.

Against doctors orders, Bell took to the track for the penultimate round, where he secured seventh spot.

He was on course to climb even higher in the final round of the season at Mallory Park.

However, after finishing the weekend’s first race in second place, disaster struck as part of the outfit fell away while he was giving passenger rides around the track in between races.

Bell said: “We have been working hard over the winter and now we just want to get out and race.

“I am aiming for top six, although top three would be perfect. I am looking at podiums and lots of them.”

:: THE Eastern Airways UK F1 Sidecar Championship kicks-off at Easter at Brands Hatch.