U.S. driver Bell embraces Saudi Arabian race
Townsend Bell has raced in the Indianapolis 500 and on top tracks across Europe, but the American driver is about to participate in unprecedented competition — in Saudi Arabia, in front of a male-only crowd, as the country prepares for the arrival of President Trump.
Bell will be among four Americans matched against four Saudis in the Race of Heroes, scheduled for Friday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
When he got a phone call from a sports agent two weeks ago gauging his interest in racing in Saudi Arabia, Bell said, he thought it was a joke.
“I kind of laughed initially,” he said, “and very quickly realized he was serious.” Very serious. Thursday, Bell, 42, spoke to USA TODAY Sports by phone during a layover in Dubai. He was scheduled to catch a flight to Riyadh and couldn’t help but wonder if Trump would attend the race, even though the White House has indicated Trump would arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
“Obviously it coincides with his visit,” Bell said. “I don’t think that’s by accident.”
Amro Madni, one of the race organizers, asked USA TODAY Sports to submit questions via email but did not respond to the email.
Pascal Menoret, author of Joy-
riding in Riyadh and a member of the Middle Eastern Studies program at Brandeis University, said he had no interest in talking about the car race. But he did address U.S.- Saudi relations and Trump’s impending visit to a capital city and country in which Menoret documented part of the car culture.
“The projected arm deals between the two countries and the amount of future violence they entail, in particular toward Saudi opponents and Yemeni civilians, seems to me to deserve the full attention of the U.S. public — not car races,” he wrote by email. “No ‘cultural bridge’ can hold when the U.S.- Saudi relationship is so fraught with economic exploitation and political and military violence.”
Bell declined to comment on the fact that, according to the race’s promotional poster, women will be prohibited from attending the race.
He acknowledged his wife might have been a little nervous about him traveling to the Middle East. But he sounded enthusiastic about the race, which he said would take place on a custombuilt track inside a soccer stadium.
“I’ve traveled the world to numerous places, and, frankly, there’s plenty of opportunity if you read the news to think that we shouldn’t be in parts of the United States,” Bell said. “But I generally try not to live my life in that manner, so I’m more excited to explore and learn a new culture and new country.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get this chance outside my racing life to do this. It’s a real treat to go on the adventure. Kind of eyes wide open and ready to see and to learn.”