Wednesday 28th September 2011

Time For Tea? Bellof At The 'Ring

Yes, it's fast. Brilliantly so. So sup a cuppa while watching a magician at work...

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So... Dodge are crowing about their 7mins 12secs lap time, but for 'Ring heroics everything, frankly, pales into insignificance compared with the 6mins 11.13secs it took the late, great Stefan Bellof took to secure pole position in the 1985 Nurburgring 1000km race.

With an average speed of more than 125mph, he took his 956 to first on the grid by more than five seconds. To this day it remains the fastest time anybody has ever completed the 12.93-mile layout.

Even the Pagani Zonda R, with 50 per cent more shove, a quarter-century of technological progress and no technical regs to adhere to still can't match it. Herr Bellof we tip our caps to you...

 

[Sivraj]

Looks like very impressive stuff!
Can't say I'd heard of Stefan Bellof but he looked like a huge talent.
The video that followed this showed the accident that killed him but it doesn’t look that sever, was he trapped in the car while it was on fire?
Lots of respect to the guy

[Agoogy]

I saw the crash vid too...looking at the wreckage...wasn't the fire that did it....the car is a mess..terrible scene...total waste...

[The Jolly Todger]

Sivraj said:

Looks like very impressive stuff!
Can't say I'd heard of Stefan Bellof but he looked like a huge talent.
The video that followed this showed the accident that killed him but it doesn’t look that sever, was he trapped in the car while it was on fire?
Lots of respect to the guy

The on-board footage is from the car that Bellof clipped whilst lining up an overtake. It took them some 10 minutes to remove him from the wreckage.

[Agoogy]

The Jolly Todger said:

The on-board footage is from the car that Bellof clipped whilst lining up an overtake. It took them some 10 minutes to remove him from the wreckage.

According to the film he didn't clip it, he was braking as the car in fron turned in early...ie went to block...ie was to blame (!christ!)

[Dale19]

Does anyone have a link to the full video? It used to be on youtube but I cant appear to find it anymore, great bit of footage.

[PascalBuyens]

Don't think the Stefan Bellof record lap is on the web, but here's the one you're probably referring to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M11GOVfA50

(Derek Bell commenting his lap in the Porsche)

[British Beef]

Put Bellof in the Zonda R (track only thing), would he beat 6min 11 sec?

Or is there no substitute for an out and out race car (and some mighty big balls).

[TIGA84]

British Beef said:

Put Bellof in the Zonda R (track only thing), would he beat 6min 11 sec?

Or is there no substitute for an out and out race car (and some mighty big balls).

Ground effect 956 would still take it by some margin, regardless of weighty balls.

Whats the R lap, 6 4something? still a good 30 secs + away, which at that level round there may as well be 10 minutes.

It will be beaten, but its been nearly 30 years and hasn't yet.

There cant be many motorsport records that still stand 25 odd years later?

Actually, thats a good question, what else still stands from that era that hasn't been beaten in the same format?

[mrloudly]

Impressive, but nowhere near as impressive as 131 mph average around the TT course on a bike!!! That's just insane!

[Dale19]

PascalBuyens said:

Don't think the Stefan Bellof record lap is on the web, but here's the one you're probably referring to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M11GOVfA50

(Derek Bell commenting his lap in the Porsche)

I'm aware of that video, also very good, but the one I saw definately said it was Bellof's lap, it was quite a while ago when I saw it, someone should upload it as no doubt it would have a lot of interest.

[TIGA84]

mrloudly said:

Impressive, but nowhere near as impressive as 131 mph average around the TT course on a bike!!! That's just insane!

Possibly, certainly as scary, but easier to average that kind of speed I would imagine due to the longer flat out bits driving the average up.

[TIGA84]

Dale19 said:

I'm aware of that video, also very good, but the one I saw definately said it was Bellof's lap, it was quite a while ago when I saw it, someone should upload it as no doubt it would have a lot of interest.

Unfortunately its not. Bells' is the only one from that 956 brigade.

And its slower than Ickxs lap as he's got a bloody great camera in the car (by his own admission in it).

Stefan Rosers lap on the other hand is quite well known...................

[British Beef]

Has the circuit changed in 30 years?

By all accounts it is pretty bumpy in places now, back then was the surface much smoother? That would make 30 seconds worth of difference even in an identical car I would have thought.

Or does the ring get periodically re-surfaced?

[chevronb37]

Sorry to be a pedant but it's 1983 not 1985. There is a glaring clue in the narration when they describe Keke Rosberg as the reigning Formula One World Champion.

The In-Car 956 DVD which has a full lap from that year with Derek Bell is absolutely mega.

[Mr fox]

Very ipressive, especially when you relise it was done with other cars on the track, compared to companies hiring the whole track for themselves, and then setting out when its the optimum air/track temps.

[oxfordbiker]

Mr fox said:

Very ipressive, especially when you relise it was done with other cars on the track, compared to companies hiring the whole track for themselves, and then setting out when its the optimum air/track temps.

^^ Even the Pagani Zonda R, with 50 per cent more shove, a quarter-century of technological progress and no technical regs to adhere to OR OTHER CARS ON THE TRACK TO AVOID still can't match it.

[RudeDog]

Why hasn't this record been beaten? Do we not send cutting edge race cars around the 'Ring any more?

[Randy Winkman]

A nice reminder of Bellof. I'm glad he still holds the record because he never had the chance to achieve his potential - which was to be an F1 world champ, I think.

[hornet]

TIGA84 said:

There cant be many motorsport records that still stand 25 odd years later?

Actually, thats a good question, what else still stands from that era that hasn't been beaten in the same format?

Only ones I can think of are Sammy Miller's outright quarter and eighth mile records from the 80s. Granted, they were rocket dragsters which nobody has really tried to drive since then, but I think that itself speaks volumes about quite how mad they were! Man is a complete hero of mine yet is more or less forgotten these days. Saw him run at Santa Pod in 1986 and it was jaw dropping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SO3YeEAz-s&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ChA9HUicUk&fea...

[RB Will]

RudeDog said:

Why hasn't this record been beaten? Do we not send cutting edge race cars around the 'Ring any more?

That pretty much the reason for it. Nothing in the same league of Group C anyway only GT cars. I presume a modern F1 car would be an easy 5 min lap and probably something like an Audi R15