Derek Bell (racin driver)

Derek Reginald Bell MBE (born 31 October 1941 in Pinner, Middlesex) is a umwhile racin driver frae Ingland wha wis extremely sonsie in sportscaur racing, winnin 5 times at Le Mans. He raced in Formula Ane for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees an Tecno teams. He haes been describit bi fellae racer Hans-Joachim Stuck as ane o the maist liked drivers o his generation.

He grew up on a ferm an helpit wi rinnin a caravan site near Pagham Harbour afore bein encouraged bi his stepfaither Bernard Hender tae tak up racin in 1964 wi Lotus Seven. He graduate tae Formula 3 in the follaein year in a Lotus 31 an in 1966 switched tae a Lotus 41 scorin his first victory at Goodwood. In 1967 he enjoyed seiven wins. He entered Formula 2 in a privateer Brabham BT23C fielded bi his stepfather's Kirk Farm Racing team an haed several promising performances, which caught Ferrari's ee an made his Grand Prix debut at Monza. In 1969 he raced at Silverstone wi Ferrari an an aa raced the fower-wheel-drive McLaren M9A in its anly race in the Breetish Grand Prix.

Bell wis ane o mony drivers tae tak pairt in the filmin o Le Mans (1970) starring Steve McQueen. Bell haed a lucky escape in the makkin o the film. The Ferrari 512 he wis drivin suddent caucht fire while gettin intae poseetion for a filmin ettle. He managed tae get oot the caur jist afore it wis engulfed in flames an suffered minor burns. The caur wis badly damaged but later rebuilt.

Bell wis a runner in the 1970 European Formula 2 Championship drivin a Mairch. In 1972 he got the drive in the Tecno F1 team, alang wi Nanni Galli. He later raced a feck o times for the Surtees team an biggit a strang reputation as a fine sports caur racer.

He won twa World Sportscar Championship titles in 1985-86, the 24 Hours o Daytona three times in 1986-87 an 1989 an Le Mans five times in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1986 an 1987, maistly teamed wi Jacky Ickx in ane o the Porsche 936 an Porsche 956/Porsche 962 models. Ickx/Bell is thir adays conseidert as ane o the maist famous pairings in motorsport heestory.

Bell wis awairdit the MBE in 1986 for services tae motorsport.

Bell wis hired as chairman for the failed Spectre R42 project atween 1996 tae its demise in 1997 an wis hired tae consult for the Bentley team in 2001, helpin them win Le Mans twa year later. He nou splits his time atween the Unitit States an Bognor Regis, an commentates on Formula Ane races which he haes duin for an drives in heestoric events, as weel as performin an ambassadorial role for Porsche. Bell is currently an operating pairtner o Bentley Naples in Naples, Florida.

His son, Justin Bell is a racer an aw. The twa raced thegither in the 1991 24 Hours o Daytona, an the 1992 24 Hours o Le Mans. Bell wis tae race in the 2008 Daytona 24 oors wi Justin, housomever the caur droppit oot o the race early an Derek didna get tae rin in the race.

Complete World Championship Formula One results[eedit | eedit soorce]

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Ingine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	WDC	Pts
1968	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 312/68	Ferrari V12	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA Ret	CAN	USA Ret	MEX				NC	0
1969	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M9A	Cosworth V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX					NC	0
1970	Tom Wheatcroft Racing	Brabham BT26A	Cosworth V8	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL Ret	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN					22nt	1
1970	Team Surtees	Surtees TS7	Cosworth V8												USA 6	MEX			22nt	1
1971	Team Surtees	Surtees TS9	Cosworth V8	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA					NC	0
1972	Martini Racing Team	Tecno PA123	Tecno Flat-12	ARG	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	FRA DNQ	GBR	GER Ret	AUT	ITA DNQ	CAN DNS	USA Ret				NC	0
1974	Bang & Olufsen Team Surtees	Surtees TS16	Cosworth V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR DNQ	GER 11					NC	0
1974	Team Surtees	Surtees TS16	Cosworth V8												AUT DNQ	ITA DNQ	CAN DNQ	USA	NC	0

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

Sportin poseetions
Precedit bi Henri Pescarolo Gérard Larrousse	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1975 with: Jacky Ickx	Succeedit bi Jacky Ickx Gijs van Lennep
Precedit bi Jean Rondeau Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1981 with: Jacky Ickx	Succeedit bi Jacky Ickx Derek Bell
Precedit bi Jacky Ickx Derek Bell	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1982 with: Jacky Ickx	Succeedit bi Vern Schuppan Al Holbert Hurley Haywood
Precedit bi Klaus Ludwig Paolo Barilla Louis Krages	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1986 with: Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert	Succeedit bi Derek Bell Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert
Precedit bi Derek Bell Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1987 with: Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert	Succeedit bi Jan Lammers Johnny Dumfries Andy Wallace
Precedit bi Stefan Bellof	World Sportscar Championship Champion 1985-1986, 1985: with Hans-Joachim Stuck	Succeedit bi Raul Boesel
Awairds
Precedit bi Jonathan Palmer	Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year 1984	Succeedit bi Nigel Mansell

Template:24 Hours of Le Mans winners Template:24 Hours of Daytona winners