Stefan Bellof RIP
Discussion
ker!.If you look at the footage of the accident - not easy to look at as it quite nasty - its clear that it was a racing accident.
Truth be told, Stefan should probably have waited until the run out of Eau Rouge to make the pass. However Stefan was a racer so he attempted the move too soon.
How anyone can wish such things on Ickx is, frankly, beyond me.
Truth be told, Stefan should probably have waited until the run out of Eau Rouge to make the pass. However Stefan was a racer so he attempted the move too soon.
How anyone can wish such things on Ickx is, frankly, beyond me.
fatboy69 said:
How anyone can wish such things on Ickx is, frankly, beyond me.
Phatgixer is himself a keen racer & a jovial personality. A fan of Bellof clearly & the tragic ending no doubt influenced what was said in haste - others do it all the time in the world of F1, people who think Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso etc can do no wrong or only do wrong.Time to move on.
Mermaid said:
Phatgixer is himself a keen racer & a jovial personality. A fan of Bellof clearly & the tragic ending no doubt influenced what was said in haste - others do it all the time in the world of F1, people who think Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso etc can do no wrong or only do wrong.
Time to move on.
Gilles fans hate Pironi, Nigel Roebuck enjoys repeating the phone call anecdote he had with Gilles before that fateful GP meeting. Time to move on.
If were to point blame then it would be Bellof. Ickx had a reputation in a previous era but in Group C's he was mellowing whereas Bellof has previous:
In the final ever Nurburgring 1000 he literally flew and shunted at Pflangzgarten - the hump before the quick right hander - trying to extend his lead on Jochen Maas. In the same season he wasn't trusted to do the final stint of the Spa 1000 which was given to Derek Bell as Porsche wanted to allow Ickx win his home race.
In particular of that fatal accident Ickx was in the factory Porsche whereas Bellof was driving an inferior customer Porsche.
Autocourse reiterates the feeling of the F1 community: "Given Bellof's exuberant style, there was a reluctant acceptance of what had happened."
Bellof already had a reputation of over driving his cars regardless if it was the best of worst which is why I think he's over rated. Much is made of the 1984 Monaco GP turning Senna into a star but people forget that Senna went to score more points finishes that year because - and as he would later repeat at Lotus - was that he had a better understanding of being on the knife-edge of driving on the absolute limits and having to finish races whereas Bellof was a bit more immature.
Here's a good detailed profile worth reading regardless of what position you take on Bellof http://8w.forix.com/bellof.html
Closing the thread would be censorship.
phatgixer may be provocative but the incident is worth a debate but really its a racing incident
phatgixer may be provocative but the incident is worth a debate but really its a racing incident
phatgixer said:
Not ruined at all. Just posting a counterpoint to accepted wisdom that it was an innocent accident. Ickx was too good for that. He knew Bellof was there IMHO.
And Bellof was brave/dumb enough to overtake at Eau Rouge. He was never alongside enough to fully claim the corner and Ickx had the racing line.B
entropy said:
Gilles fans hate Pironi, Nigel Roebuck enjoys repeating the phone call anecdote he had with Gilles before that fateful GP meeting.
If were to point blame then it would be Bellof. Ickx had a reputation in a previous era but in Group C's he was mellowing whereas Bellof has previous:
In the final ever Nurburgring 1000 he literally flew and shunted at Pflangzgarten - the hump before the quick right hander - trying to extend his lead on Jochen Maas. In the same season he wasn't trusted to do the final stint of the Spa 1000 which was given to Derek Bell as Porsche wanted to allow Ickx win his home race.
In particular of that fatal accident Ickx was in the factory Porsche whereas Bellof was driving an inferior customer Porsche.
Autocourse reiterates the feeling of the F1 community: "Given Bellof's exuberant style, there was a reluctant acceptance of what had happened."
Bellof already had a reputation of over driving his cars regardless if it was the best of worst which is why I think he's over rated. Much is made of the 1984 Monaco GP turning Senna into a star but people forget that Senna went to score more points finishes that year because - and as he would later repeat at Lotus - was that he had a better understanding of being on the knife-edge of driving on the absolute limits and having to finish races whereas Bellof was a bit more immature.
Here's a good detailed profile worth reading regardless of what position you take on Bellof http://8w.forix.com/bellof.html
Thanks for posting the link good read If were to point blame then it would be Bellof. Ickx had a reputation in a previous era but in Group C's he was mellowing whereas Bellof has previous:
In the final ever Nurburgring 1000 he literally flew and shunted at Pflangzgarten - the hump before the quick right hander - trying to extend his lead on Jochen Maas. In the same season he wasn't trusted to do the final stint of the Spa 1000 which was given to Derek Bell as Porsche wanted to allow Ickx win his home race.
In particular of that fatal accident Ickx was in the factory Porsche whereas Bellof was driving an inferior customer Porsche.
Autocourse reiterates the feeling of the F1 community: "Given Bellof's exuberant style, there was a reluctant acceptance of what had happened."
Bellof already had a reputation of over driving his cars regardless if it was the best of worst which is why I think he's over rated. Much is made of the 1984 Monaco GP turning Senna into a star but people forget that Senna went to score more points finishes that year because - and as he would later repeat at Lotus - was that he had a better understanding of being on the knife-edge of driving on the absolute limits and having to finish races whereas Bellof was a bit more immature.
Here's a good detailed profile worth reading regardless of what position you take on Bellof http://8w.forix.com/bellof.html
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