Bellof Stefan

Early years

Having won the title in the German Formula Ford in 1980 in the middle of the season Bellof made his debut in the German Formula 3 and almost won the championship. In 1983, after returning BMW to motor racing, he got a place in European Formula 2 and won the first two races of the season.

Formula 1 and Sportcars

In the same season, Bellof joined the Porsche factory team in the World Sportcar Championship. His partner became Derek Bell . Speaking for most of the season in conjunction with Derek Bell, Bellof managed to show the best lap during the 1000-kilometer marathon on the Nürburgring and was in the lead until he turned his Porsche 956 onto the roof. The pole position shown by him (6: 11,13) until 2018 remained an unofficial fast circle for the old 20-kilometer Nurburgring. The official fast lap during the North Loop (6: 25.91) also belongs to Bellof.

In 1984, Bellof made his debut in Formula 1 as part of the Tyrrell team. A year earlier, Nelson Piquet became the first champion on a turbocharged car. And if in 1983, atmospheric engines still managed to win two Grand Prix, then in 1984 they are hopelessly outdated. And Tyrrell, who used Cosworth's atmospheric engines, looked like an obvious outsider in that championship. At the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, Bellof became the only pilot without a turbocharger who was able to qualify. And yet he started from the last - 20 places. In the race, which began in the pouring rain, after the first lap, he climbed to 11th place. On the second Brabham went around the Italian Corrado Fabi. In the seventh - Jacques Laffitte on Williams , on the 15th Manfred Winkelhock ( ATS ), on the 21st another Williams, Rosberg . At the 27th ahead of Ferrari , Rene Arnoux and came in third place. Now he lost 20.5 seconds to Senna and 37.5 seconds to Prost . On the 29th lap, the rain started with a new force, and race director Jacqui X decided to hang out red flags. At the time of stopping the race, Bellof lost to Senna for 13 seconds, and Prost - 21. He stood on the podium with a completely depressed look - if the race had not been stopped, the German would have been at least second, and could have fought for the victory.

But even greater disappointment awaited the German after the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix . After the race, violations of the technical regulations team were discovered, and its pilots were deprived of all points, and the results of the races were revised.

Success that year was waiting for him in the Sportkar Championship. He won the individual event and helped the Porsche get the title of the best factory team of 1984.

In 1985, Bellof continued his performance in Formula 1 for Tyrrell. However, the weak atmospheric engine with which the team was equipped, did not allow the German to show his talent in all its glory. Ford Cosworth lost a hundred and fifty horsepower to the turbo engines, and Bellof was able to hit points only in Portugal, where he became the 6th and at the Detroit Grand Prix, where he showed a brilliant 4th place. The points scored by him were the last for the legendary, but, alas, outdated Ford Cosworth DFV (Y).

In the middle of the season Tyrrel managed to get Renault turbo engines. The results improved, and, probably, the team could count on a certain progress with Bellof behind the wheel, but behind the wheel of the Tirrell-Renault, the German managed to perform only in three stages.

Bellow was spoken of as the future Formula One champion. German pilots did not win the Grand Prix since the days of Wolfgang von Trips , so in Germany Stefan became a real star and a new hope for the Germans. Hopefully this was not destined to justify - during the 1000-kilometer marathon at Spa Bellof fell into a terrible accident. His Porsche 956 collided with a Porsche 962 Jacqui X in a turn about O Rouge . Both cars caught fire. An hour later, news of Bellof’s death came from the medical center to Spa, although his accident left no chances for survival from the very beginning.

Three weeks earlier, another German sportscar driver and Formula 1 Manfred Winkelhok died driving a Porsche 962 . What happened prompted Porsche engineers to begin building safer models.

After the race in which Bellof was killed, and another Formula One driver Jonathan Palmer was seriously injured, the formula "stables" became very reluctant to let their pilots compete in other racing series. Some teams officially banned their pilots to perform anywhere else other than Formula 1, securing this item in their contracts.

According to the racer’s official website (him) , Bellof himself had an offer from the Ferrari team for the 1986 Formula One season .

In an interview with 911 & Porsche World, former partner of Bellof Derek Bell expressed the opinion that the German’s death was caused by a lack of racing discipline in his driving style, and the fault of the people around him, including the team’s staff, that they hadn’t allowed Belloff to tune up.

Some time ago, the Bellof family handed over his memorabilia to the local Hobbywelt und Sammler museum, where they are put on public display. Among the exhibits of cards, behind the wheel of which Stefan began his career, his overalls and helmets, as well as racing trophies. ^{[1] [2]} In Germany, there is a kartodrom named after Stefan Bellof - Motorsportarena Stefan Bellof .

• Stefan Bellof was the author of the best lap times in history on the North Loop of the Nurburgring . Record 6: 11,130 was made during the qualification before the race 1000 km Nürburgring in 1983 on the sport prototype Porsche 956 . ^[3] On June 29, 2018, after 35 years, Timo Bernhard broke the record for almost a minute to 5: 19,546. ^[4]

• - Tyrrell was deprived of all points in the 1984 World Championships, after the illegal ballast in fuel tanks was found at the team’s cars during the Detroit Grand Prix

1. ↑ Stefan-Bellof-Memorial Archived October 18, 2008.
2. ↑ Die Stefan Bellof Website / © by Thomas Guthmann (Unreferenced) (not available link) . The date of circulation is October 10, 2008. Archived January 19, 2008.
3. ↑ World Sports Racing Prototypes - World Championship 1983 Archived May 8, 2009.
4. ↑ 5.19,55! Porsche set a new absolute record Nordschleife (Neopr.) . Autosport.com.ru (June 29, 2018). Circulation date July 2, 2018. Archived July 2, 2018.

Steve Small. The Grand Prix Who's Who . - 2. - Guinness World Records Limited, 1996. - p. 57. - 464 p. - ISBN 0-85112-623-5 .

• Stefan Bellof (Rus.) On the site wildsoft.motorsport.com
• Formula 1 Encyclopedia
• Official site
• Motorsportarena Stefan Bellof official site
• Stefan-bellof-memorial
• Short clip of Bellof's Nürburgring qualifying record