The numbers registered on the timing screens appeared almost unreal, and Derek Bell moved closer to the Nurburgring pit lane wall. He considered that it might be wise to display the ‘HOLD’ sign to his spirited young colleague.
Porsche’s senior staff disagreed, and not long after, Stefan Bellof left the track in a dramatic accident, losing his lead at Pflanzgarten.
The occurrences of the 1983 Nurburgring 1000Km – both before and after the shunt – are crucial to the story of Stefan Bellof. His drive on the 12.94-mile Nordschleife at the start of just his third complete season of racing proved the skill that was noticeable from the moment he first drove a racing car. He also achieved record times – 6m11.13s in qualifying and 6m25.91s in the race – on the exact same track that any member of the public can pay to experience in their own vehicle.
But the incident from which he emerged unscathed – or quickly moved away from – also helps tell the story of Bellof.
He is remembered as a showy racer, usually close to his limits, and perhaps a driver who did not fully know those limits. Some might say a crasher. Fair or unfair, this reputation was cemented by his death at the Spa 1000Km behind the wheel of a privateer Brun Porsche in 1985 following what was clearly an unwise move to pass Jacky Ickx at Eau Rouge.
This was how Bellof and Bell’s Porsche ended up at the Nurburgring
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Bellof didn’t need to be pushing so hard on that day at the ‘Ring in 1983. He was aware that he was quicker than the others – he had earned pole by five seconds. It was a race that he and Bell were certain to win, even if a large part of the 45-second gap he had created during the first stint had disappeared, mainly because his co-driver had been struggling with fuel issues as he returned the factory 956 to the pits for Bellof to take over.
Bell recalls his surprise that Porsche did not tell Bellof to slow down.
“I approached Professor Helmuth Bott [Porsche’s chief of research and development] and suggested that it would be a good idea if he showed the ‘HOLD’ board,” he says. “He looked at me, smiled, and replied, ‘isn’t he amazing?’. It wasn’t the response I expected from a great mind like Bott.
“They focused again on their timing equipment, and Stefan crashed two laps later. All that was needed was to continue at our pace and victory would be ours. I sometimes feel that Porsche failed Stefan that day.”
Porsche engineer Norbert Singer has said that he thought Bellof crashed as a result of straying off-line over the Pflanzgarten bump. But that’s incorrect.
The actual reason involves the earlier mentioned flamboyance, a complete belief in his own talent, and the interested mind of a real racer who got excited by the feeling of speed.
Brundle reckons Bellof was the less wild one when they were Tyrrell team-mates
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Bellof had been instructed not to take Pflanzgarten flat, so he was compelled to try it…
Brian Lisles, who worked as Bellof’s engineer while he was with the Tyrrell Formula 1 team in 1984-85, revealed that Bellof confessed to him and some colleagues when driving them around the old ‘Ring.
“He told us he was getting faster and faster and that all the engineers had warned him not to go flat over that particular section,” Lisles remembers.
“Eventually, Stefan did exactly that and the car took off. He found it extremely amusing.”
Lisles is of the opinion that Bellof was not a driver who was always likely to have an accident.
“His driving style had a certain flair, which may have given that impression,” he says. “I don’t think he was a crasher.”
Martin Brundle, Bellof’s regular F1 team-mate, agrees with this.
“Wasn’t I the one who kept crashing Tyrrells?” he asks in reference to his accidents at Monaco and Dallas in 1984. “Stefan was a little wild, but not a crasher.”
Those at Porsche during his two seasons with the factory Rothmans Group C team, including his title victory in the 1984 World Endurance Championship, share this view.
Pictured here in 1983, Bellof won the 1984 World Sportscar title with Porsche
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Singer believes that Bellof’s reputation has been somewhat tainted by his accident at the Nurburgring.
“His accident at the ‘Ring was very noticeable and people assumed that he was crashing all the time,” he says.
“He didn’t crash often. He understood his limits, and that is why he was such a talented driver. But he wasn’t afraid to sometimes exceed them a little.”
No one who collaborated with Bellof would suggest that he was anything less than an extremely gifted driver.
Bertram Schafer, who owned a Formula 3 team for many years, gave Bellof the chance to participate in the second half of the 1981 German series behind the wheel of a Toyota-powered RT3 at the same time that he was racing in Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Super Vee with Walter Lechner Racing.
“I had known Stefan for a few years because his brother Georg had previously driven for my team,” Schafer explains. “I had watched him race a number of times, so we let him test a car and he was unbelievable.
