Derek
Bell

Derek Bell was born in Pinner on 31 October 1941. Encouraged by his stepfather, he began racing in 1964 in a Lotus Seven and won his first race at Goodwood that March. He moved up to Formula Three in 1965 and won seven races in 1967. In Formula Two he drove a Brabham run by his stepfather's Church Farm Racing team, and in 1970 he finished second in the European Formula Two Championship.

Bell made his Formula One debut for Ferrari at Monza in 1968. In 1969 he drove the four-wheel-drive McLaren M9A at Silverstone, the only race in which that car was used. In 1970 he raced for Brabham and Surtees, and at the United States Grand Prix he took sixth place in a Surtees TS7, his best result in the World Championship. He ended that season 22nd in the standings. He drove for Surtees again in 1971, for Tecno alongside Nanni Galli in 1972, and for Surtees once more in 1974, when he finished 11th at the German Grand Prix. In total he made 9 starts from 16 entries.

In sportscar racing Bell took numerous victories. He made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in 1970 in a works Ferrari 512, sharing with Ronnie Peterson. He won the race five times: in 1975 in the Gulf Mirage GR8 with Jacky Ickx, in 1981 in a Porsche 936, in 1982 in a Porsche 956, and in 1986 and 1987 in a Porsche 962 with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Al Holbert. He also won the World Sportscar Championship in 1985 and 1986 and the Daytona 24 Hours three times (1986, 1987 and 1989). At the Spa 1000 km he won in 1974, 1975 and 1984. His last start in the Le Mans 24 Hours came in 1996 in a McLaren F1 GTR.

His son Justin is also a racing driver, and the two raced together at Daytona in 1991 and at Le Mans in 1992. In 1995 they finished third at Le Mans in a McLaren F1 GTR. In 2001 Bell became a consultant on Bentley's Speed 8 programme, and two years later Bentley won at Le Mans. He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for services to motorsport.

Source: Wikipedia, “Derek Bell (racing driver)”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.