Motoring with Paul Jolly: Derek Bell

Derek Bell MBE is the consummate British racer whose name may not at first be familiar to you but his record stands head and shoulders over every other race driver. Here are some statistics about this remarkable octogenarian who is fit and well and lives

Derek Bell MBE is the consummate British racer whose name may not at first be familiar to you but his record stands head and shoulders over every other race driver.

Here are some statistics about this remarkable octogenarian who is fit and well and lives between the USA and the UK.

Derek started winning races at age 23 in 1964. He had turned professional by 1967 with a Formula 2 drive in Enzo Ferrari’s team, and then in Formula 1 until 1974 with McLaren, Ferrari and Surtees.

He shot to fame in endurance racing, which is an altogether tougher game than a two-hour Grand Prix.

These are 24 hour events. He won Le Mans five times, the Daytona 24-Hour three times, and won two consecutive World Sports Car Championships.

There is not a category of motor racing that he has not competed in and remember, the 1960s and 1970s were the most dangerous of times. Jackie Stewart recalls that three or four driver fatalities per season was the norm.

I personally met several of the F1 drivers just prior to the 1969 Monza Grand Prix and within a year, four were dead including Bruce McLaren, Piers Courage and Jochen Rindt. Huge names.

So, was he lucky or just darned good? Well, the incredible number of race starts over an active 40-year career racing every weekend means he is simply one of the most-talented drivers of all time.

Even the best F1 drivers rarely compete at the top for more than ten years.

Consider this. He competed in every single Le Mans from 1970 through to 1996 and the top speed down the Mulsanne straight was recorded at 246mph in 1971. One wrong move at this speed will blast you into oblivion. Cars can literally take off at these speeds.

Derek’s fame is legendary in Porsche circles, having driven the works cars to victory at Le Mans throughout the 1980s making Porsche the team to beat.

Even at 81, he still retains his competitive streak so if you are up against him at the lights, don’t even think about it!