Derek Reginald Bell (born 31 October 1941) is a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. In

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

, he won the Le Mans 24 hours five times, the Daytona 24 three times and the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

twice. He also raced in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

for the

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

, Wheatcroft,

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

Surtees Surtees may refer to: People *Surti Muslims *Surtees (surname), an English surname Places *Surtees Bridge, a road bridge across the River Tees in Stockton-on-Tees Others *Surtees Racing Organisation, a British racing team and constructor *Surtee ...

and Tecno teams. He has been described by fellow racer Hans-Joachim Stuck as one of the most liked drivers of his generation.AUSringers.com – Hans-Joachim Stuck speaks to AUSringers
Retrieved 4 April 2009 Derek Bell 1970

Early career

Bell grew up on a farm and helped to run the Church Farm caravan site, complete with its own pub, near Pagham Harbour, boarding at The King's School, Worcester. He was encouraged by his stepfather Bernard Hender to take up racing with a

Lotus Seven The Lotus Seven is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Ch ...

in 1964. He won his first race in the Lotus at Goodwood in March of that year. He graduated to

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

in the following year racing a Lotus 31 and in 1966 switched to a Lotus 41 scoring his first victory, again at Goodwood. In 1967 he enjoyed seven wins. He entered

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

in a privateer Brabham BT23C fielded by his stepfather's Church Farm Racing team and after several promising performances, which caught

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...

's eye, made his

Grand Prix debut for Ferrari at Monza in 1968. He contested the 1969 Tasman Series in a 2.4 Dino and was second at Lakeside to Amon and Rindt at Warwick Farm. In 1969 he raced the four-wheel-drive McLaren M9A in its only ever race at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. Bell took part in the filming of ''

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

'' (1970) starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

, and he and his family lived with the McQueen family during the filming, the two becoming friends. Bell had a lucky escape during the making of the film. The Ferrari 512 he was driving suddenly caught fire whilst getting into position for a take. He managed to get out of the car just before it was engulfed in flames and suffered minor burns. Although the car was badly damaged, it was later rebuilt and is still racing at historic meets.https://twitter.com/MrDerekBell Twitter account https://twitter.com/MrDerekBell/status/379323628740808705/photo/1 Bell finished second in the 1970 European

Championship, driving a Brabham BT30 for Wheatcroft Racing. In 1972 he got a drive in the Tecno Formula One team, along with Nanni Galli. He later raced a number of times for the Surtees team, including a sixth place at the 1970 United States Grand Prix racing a

TS7, which was to be his highest finish in the Formula One World Championship. He had a few further drives for Surtees in 1974 and finished 11th in the 1974 German Grand Prix. Enjoying single seaters more than sports cars he accepted drives in F5000/Libre British Shellsport series and F5000 in 1976-7 the Penske PC7 March and also odd F5000 drives in the US and Australia. It was to be in sports car racing, which he came to via a drive in Jacques Swaters privately entered Ferrari 512M in the 1970 Spa 1000 km, leading to a Ferrari works drive at the 1970 Le Mans 24 hours, where he built a strong reputation as a world class and world championship winning racer.

Le Mans

Bell won the Le Mans 24 hours race five times, in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, 1986 and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, making him the most successful British driver in the race to date. He was teamed with the Belgian Jacky Ickx in 1975, racing the Gulf

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

GR8, again in 1981, racing a Porsche 936, and finally in 1982 racing a Rothmans

Porsche 956 The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. I ...

. Bell went on to win the 1986 and

Le Mans teamed with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Al Holbert racing a Rothmans

Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 is a sports prototype racing car designed and built by Porsche. Created to replace the Porsche 956, 962 was introduced at the end of 1984 and replaced the 956 in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA's IMSA GT Champio ...

1971 Le Mans Porsche 917LH Derek Bell Jo Siffert Hotel de France

His first Le Mans was in 1970 in a works-entered Ferrari 512, with co-driver Ronnie Peterson, his last in 1996 racing a McLaren F1 GTR. Bell achieved his highest ever speed at Le Mans at the 1971 Le Mans 24 hours April test day, reaching a calculated top speed of 246 mph on the

Mulsanne Straight The Mulsanne Straight (, "Straight Line of Les Hunaudières") is the name used in English for a formerly long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrup ...

in the JW Gulf

Porsche 917 The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from 4. ...

LH.

Sportscar racing

Bell also won the

title twice in 1985 and 1986 and the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

three times in 1986, 1987 and 1989. He won the 1973 Silverstone

RAC Tourist Trophy The RAC Tourist Trophy (sometimes called the International Tourist Trophy) is a motor racing award presented by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to the overall victor of a motor race in the United Kingdom. Established in 1905, it is the world's o ...

racing a BMW 3.0CSL with Harald Ertl. In 1984 he won the Nürburgring 1000km with Stefan Bellof, racing a

, with a notable fourth place in the 1974 Nürburgring 1000km racing a

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

GR7 with James Hunt on the longer 22.8 km circuit. His first victory in the Spa 1000km came in 1974 racing a

M6 with

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One between and . Nicknamed "the Bike", Hailwood was ...

, going onto win the 1975 and 1984 editions, with Henri Pescarolo, in 1975, in that season's dominant Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12 on the old 14 km track and with Stefan Bellof, in the equally dominant

of 1984, on the shorter circuit used by

. He is also one of two drivers to win the Spa 1000km on both the original and current circuits, the other being Jacky Ickx. Derek Bell with a number of the Porsche race cars

Derek Bell with a number of the Porsche race cars

Post-racing career

Bell was hired as chairman for the Spectre R42 super car project between 1996 and its demise in 1997. In 2001 he was hired to consult for the

Bentley Speed 8 The Bentley Speed 8 (developed from the Bentley EXP Speed 8) is a Grand Touring Prototype race car that was designed by Bentley. It has a strong resemblance to and shares some technology with the Audi R8C, which had raced only once before Audi ...

programme, helping

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

to win

two years later. He now splits his time between the United States and his home near

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, UK, with his wife Misti. He is an after dinner speaker and motorsport commentator, and also races in historic events, and is a global ambassador for

. Bell is also an operating partner of Bentley Naples in Naples, Florida. Derek Bell 2014 Group C race Le Mans

His eldest son Justin Bell is also a racer. The two raced together in the 1991

, and the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bell was to race in the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona with Justin, however the car dropped out of the race early and Derek did not get to run in the race. Aside from winning at Le Mans five times, he claims his proudest moment was coming third with his son

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

racing the

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

sponsored McLaren F1 GTR in the 1995 Le Mans on Fathers Day. Derek Bell at the Moscow Raceway

AA presentation of Honorary Life membership to Derek Bell

Bell is a patron for the charities Dementia Support, Hope for Tomorrow, Mission Motorsport and the Henry Surtees Foundation. He is also an Ambassador for the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. He is currently the president of the oldest pram race in the world. The Pagham Pram Race started in 1946 and is run annually at 11am on Boxing Day. Bell returned to Le Mans to race a

for the first time in 20 years in the Group C support race at Le Mans on 16 June 2012. He was presented with Honorary Life membership of the AA in recognition of his 50 years in motorsport, commemorated by a plaque presented by Lord March at the Moving Motorshow during the 2014

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hillclimb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, in late June or early July. Th ...

in the presence of Chris Jansen, CEO of the AA, and Edmund King, the president of the AA. Bell was the grand marshal at the 2014 Silverstone 6 Hours, 2010 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2021 24 hours of Le Mans.

Awards

* BRDC Gold Star: 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 *

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private Club (organization)#Country or sports club, social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, ne ...

Plaque d'Honneur: 1985 *Guild of Motoring Writers Driver of the Year: 1982 and 1985 *Bell was awarded the MBE in 1986 for services to motorsport. *Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of AmericaDerek Bell
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2012. *Inducted into the Le Mans 24 Hours Drivers Hall of Fame in 2013. * Inducted in to the Motor Sport Hall of Fame UK in 2016 * Presented with Honorary Life Membership of the AA in recognition of his 50 years in motorsport at the 2014

* was made citizen of honor of the city of

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

in 2017 *2017 Simeone Foundation Spirit of Competition Award

Racing record

Career summary

^† As Bell was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete Formula One Non-Championship results

( key)

Complete Tasman Series results

( key)

Complete European F5000 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Shellsport International Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete IMSA GT Results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Complete WRC results

References

External links

Derek Bell MBE – Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Derek 1941 births Living people People educated at King's School, Worcester English racing drivers English Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Surtees Formula One drivers Tecno Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers International Race of Champions drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Tasman Series drivers Brighton Speed Trials people People from Pinner Sportspeople from the London Borough of Harrow BRDC Gold Star winners Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Bognor Regis 24 Hours of Daytona drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Goodwood estate Bentley Japanese Sportscar Championship drivers Porsche Motorsports drivers Team Joest drivers Audi Sport drivers David Price Racing drivers 20th-century English sportsmen