24h Le Mans
It is Saturday 31 October 2020 and today Derek Bell is celebrating his 79th birthday. Here are nine things you might not know about the five-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.
Derek Bell is one of the five most successful drivers at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He has five wins to his name (1975, 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987), on a par with Emanuele Pirro (Grand Marshal at the 2020 race) and Frank Biela. On the Le Mans winners list, he is preceded only by Tom Kristensen (nine victories) and Jacky Ickx, who counts six victories and with whom Bell won three times.
The Ferrari 512 and the Porsche 917 were pitted against one another in the early 1970s. Derek Bell made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 1970 at the wheel of a Ferrari 512 S with Ferrari SEFAC and Swedish teammate Ronnie Peterson. Unfortunately they failed to make it to the chequered flag. The following year, Bell teamed up with Jo Siffert to drive a Porsche 917 LH for John Wyer Automotive Engineering, but again had to pull out without going the full distance. Nonetheless, Bell recalls that during the test session, the team recorded his car at a speed of 396 kph approaching Mulsanne Corner. “The car was so light that you could drive it for days without getting worn out,” he said.
The film “Le Mans” was shot over six months in Le Mans, starting in July 1970. More than 20 racing cars and 41 drivers were called up to recreate real race conditions. Among them, Derek Bell who had made his maiden Le Mans appearance that year. “I got to know Steve well. We lived in the same house during filming. He could have had a successful racing career if he’d started out earlier. And I don’t think we realised just how good he was at the time,” the British racer driver reveals.
In 1981, Derek Bell claimed his second 24 Hours of Le Mans win. A masterstroke with the Porsche 936, as he explains: “I hadn’t even sat in that car until we went out for first practice, but we got pole position, led every lap and won the race. That for me was the most memorable because it was a comeback of sorts and I’m so grateful to Porsche for giving me that opportunity.”
In 1983, Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx finished just 38 seconds behind the winners (Vern Schuppan, Hurley Haywood and Al Holbert in the #3 Porsche 956 for Rothmans Porsche). He remembers that race well: “We had a puncture very early on and it took a whole lap to fix. It took us a long while to climb back up the rankings but by 6 o’clock in the morning, we had a one-lap lead on the second-placed car. At the time, the quantity of petrol was limited, so we had moved up to first place without using any extra fuel. There were only two drivers per car back then too, and it was a gripping race with Jacky Ickx. He was tired, but I trusted him and he kept his faith in me. In the morning, I repaired the electronics when the car came to a halt at Mulsanne. I’m not the greatest mechanic but I know that the engine is at the rear, and got it going again,” smiles Bell. He continues: “We returned to the race behind the leading Porsche and were still on the same lap at 11 o’clock. Then we ran into braking issues. Race engineer Norbert Singer gave us two options: replace the discs, which would cost us four minutes, or carry on, being gentle on the brakes. I chose the second option, counting on the gearbox and engine… The cooling system suffered and over the radio, I was told that the water temperature was off the scale, that there was no water left to cool the engine… The worst race of my life!”
Between 1983 and 1987, Derek Bell took on Le Mans at the wheel of the Porsche 956C then the 962 for the Rothmans Porsche team, taking victory with Al Holbert and Hans-Joachim Stuck in 1986 and ’87. Racegoers have fond memories of the British cigarette firm’s livery and were delighted when, to mark the German marque’s 70th anniversary in 2018, Porsche reproduced the blue, white, red and gold colours on one of the four 911 RSRs entered in the LMGTE Pro class.
Derek Bell competed in the French endurance classic with son Justin in 1992 and 1995. In 1992, they shared the wheel of a Porsche 962C GTI for ADA Engineering. The third driver was Tiff Needell and they finished 12th overall. In 1995, father and son teamed up with Andy Wallace in a Mach One Racing McLaren F1 GTR. At the end of a rain-drenched race, they finished on the third step of the podium—on Father’s Day!
Like his friend Jacky Ickx, who worked as an advisor for Mazda in 1991, Derek Bell served as a consultant for Bentley when the British marque made its 24 Hours of Le Mans comeback in 2001. “In 2000, Bentley called me with an opportunity. I went to the factory and it was an amazing experience. I was bowled over by the team’s enthusiasm. I wanted to be part of their venture,” Bell explains. He undoubtedly gave them some great advice as the #8 Bentley EX Speed 8 driven by Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger and Eric Van De Poele finished third overall, behind two Audi R8s.
Derek Bell was made of a member of the FIA Endurance Hall of Fame when it was inaugurated last December. Apart from Bell, the 29 drivers thus honoured include Jacky Ickx, Stefan Bellof, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Martin Brundle, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Yanick Dalmas, Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Mark Webber. Derek Bell was also made a member of the British Empire in 1986 for his services to motorsport.
You will also enjoy: 24 Hours of Le Mans — Six things you need to know about Jacky Ickx.
Main photo (Louis Monnier/ACO): Derek Bell behind the wheel of the Porsche 917 LH from the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum at the 2019 Goodwood Festival Of Speed.
