Derek Bell (auto racer)

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Derek Bell
Nationality	English
Years	1968 - 1972, 1974
Team(s)	Ferrari, McLaren, Brabham, Surtees, Tecno
Races	16
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1968 Italian Grand Prix
First win
Last win
Last race	1974 Canadian Grand Prix

Derek Reginald Bell MBE (born October 31 1941 in Middlesex, England) is a former Formula One driver who raced for the Ferrari, McLaren, Brabham, Surtees and Tecno teams. Bell was very successful in sportscar racing, winning 5 times at Le Mans.

Justin Bell is his son and also a racer. The two raced together in the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans until the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans.

He started racing in 1964 with a Lotus Seven. He graduated to Formula 3 in the following year and in 1966 scored his first victory at Goodwood. In 1967 he enjoyed seven wins. He entered Formula 2 in a Brabham and had several promising performances, which caught Ferrari's eye and made his Grand Prix debut at Monza. In 1969 he raced at Silverstone with Ferrari and also raced the four-wheel-drive McLaren M9A in its only race in the British Grand Prix.

Bell was also a runner in the 1970 European Formula 2 Championship driving a March. In 1972 he got the drive in the Tecno F1 team, along with Nanni Galli. He did a number a races with the Surtees team again but also spent some time building a strong reputation as a fine sports car racer.

He won two World Sportscar Championship titles (1986-87), three in the 24 Hours of Daytona (1986-87 and 1989) and five victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

• 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans
• 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans
• 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans
• 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans
• 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans

mostly with Jacky Ickx on one of the Porsche 936 and Porsche 956/Porsche 962 models. Ickx/Bell is nowadays considered as one of the most famous pairings in motorsport history.

Bell was awarded the MBE in 1986 for services to motorsport.

Bell was hired to consult for the Bentley team in 2001, helping them to win Le Mans two years later. He now split his time in the United States and the United Kingdom and does commentary on Formula One races and drives in historic events, usually providing an ambassordorial duty for Porsche.

Complete Formula One results

(Note: Grand Prix in bold denotes points scoring race.)

Complete World Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	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					22nd	1
	Team Surtees	Surtees TS7													USA 6	MEX
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
	Team Surtees														AUT DNQ	ITA DNQ	CAN DNQ	USA

Title	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Before	Henri Pescarolo Gérard Larrousse
After	Jacky Ickx Gijs van Lennep
Years	1975 with: Jacky Ickx

Title	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Before	Jean Rondeau Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
After	Jacky Ickx Derek Bell|years= 1981 with: Jacky Ickx

Preceded by
Jacky Ickx
Derek Bell Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1982 with:
Jacky Ickx Succeeded by
Vern Schuppan
Al Holbert
Hurley Haywood

title= Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans|before= Klaus Ludwig
Paolo Barilla
Louis Krages|after= Derek Bell
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Al Holbert|years= 1986 with:
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Al Holbert}}

Title	Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans|before= Derek Bell Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert
After	Jan Lammers Johnny Dumfries Andy Wallace
Years	1987 with: Hans-Joachim Stuck Al Holbert

Before	Stefan Bellof
Title	World Sportscar Championship Champion
Years	1985-1986, 1985: with Hans-Joachim Stuck
After	Raul Boesel

Before	Jonathan Palmer
Title	Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year
After	Nigel Mansell|years=1984}}