at least his legacy lives at the old Nurburgring race track, his lap record set in official event, in a car that was within regulations set by FIA. Had he lived, no doubt he would have been racing for titles in F1 sooner or later.
@@M1ggins But was it really no fear, or was it a false sense of invicibility? No fear means you go into each race without holding back. A sense of invicibility means that you're convinced that you can do things that aren't considered possible. I saw the live footage of that race on Eurosport back that and it was clear Bellof was never going to pass Ickx unless Ickx would back off. (The images of that crash from the camera inside Ickx's Porsche during and after the crash are still very much alive in my mind) And Ickx had no reason to back off as he was on the racing line and therefore had the right of the corner. We'll never know what pushed Bellof to try and do that insane overtake attempt. He knew Ickx and he must have known that Ickx wouldn't back off.
@@tjroelsma I think that was the thing that set apart Senna doing it and Bellof doing it. Senna knew people would back out. With Bellof nobody was lifting.
Safety improvements in cars and tracks are why Verstappen is a multiple world champion and not another Bellof. Both had the same impudence and - for lack of a better word - immaturity. Verstappen lived long enough to learn when to compromise.
@@amacca2085 "Why shouldn’t they push limits" The point we're trying to make is that in the 60s Verstappen would be dead within less than a season if tried to drive the way he does now.
I'm glad Bellof is being talked about at least; for a long time, people would ask 'Stefan who?' because he did seem to have been forgotten about. I was 12, and just getting into sports cars when he died, so it's one that stays with me.
I feel like Rothmans Porsche deserves their own videos. Every driver that was on that team became legends who were already legends. Absolutely ridiculous.
Great video! I saw Stephan Bellof race in Canada in 1985. I was only 14 years old then and it was my first time at an F1 race. I saw all manner of legends race in that GP weekend - Prost, Senna, Lauda, Mansell, DeAngelis, Berger - but there was one car, a blue Tyrrell with a driver in a black, yellow and red helmet that I couldn't take my eyes off of. I was sitting at the famous hairpin and time and again Bellof would literally throw his car at the hairpin, entering the corner at seemingly unimaginable speed. He was simply incredible to watch. "What if" indeed.
A veteran GT3 racer once said to me the secret to endurance racing is going slightly less slowly than everyone else. Bellof's maximum attack everywhere style was going to land him a gigantic one sooner or later - neither car nor driver can sustain that for 1000km.
I'm a Senna fan. For several years, I've had his pic as my profile on all my socials. I'm a Mercedes fan, I've own one, and I'm tempted to have the pic of the W12 winning at Brazil 2021. But for many years, my desktop background was a picture of a 956 coming out off of Radillion. Because of Stefan. I believe that there's a clip of a quali lap from that Nürburgring race, can't remember whose car was recording, but he qualified 5th. Bellof passed him like he overtaken car was on a outlap. He definitely could be a Champion. His speed was just incomprehensible.
I agree 100%. Growing up, the Andretti's, Earnhardt, and Allison were our households idols. Most of my friends were huge American football fans or baseball fans, they all had at least heard of Mario or Dale and even Michael, but none knew Davey. For almost a season I secretly cheered for Davey. Being a GM family, I was afraid my dad would get mad I was cheering for a Ford driver. However, when it came out that Davey and Dale were buddies and hunted together, my dad even started cheering for the guy.
Nice video Aidan and a very respectful tribute to Stefan Bellof! He could have done so much in racing, and his fantastic results with Tyrell(Before they were taken away) showed that he had the potential to compete in Formula One. He could have done so much for motorsports. I found an article an interview with Martin Brundle from a few years ago where he shared a particularly sad story about the aftermath of Bellof’s accident years later that shares a connection with Ayrton Senna’s death. When he attended Bellof’s memorial service, he could clearly see that the fallen driver’s family and friends were completely destroyed by the loss. Their immense grief affected him so deeply that it led to him making a decision to never attend the funeral of another racing driver while he was still racing, not wanting his own family to process something similar to Stefan's family. That was why he did not attend Senna’s funeral, which is something he now deeply regrets today.
@@DOUBLEDTRAVEL and we might be seeing Bellof vs Schumacher. The idol vs the fan. Or possibly Bellof mentoring young Schumi, then a few years later Schumi gets into F1 and challenges Bellof for WDC.
@stephencurry8552 I've heard occasionally during races road cars would occasionally be seen on the track unaware a race was going on...not sure if I believe it
@@PaperBanjo64 I have never read or heard that. Perhaps in a road race in Meixco like the Pan-America...Even in the lax early days, some controls were in place.
That’s insane I was looking for a good bellof video yesterday or two days ago, lovely stuff man keep up the amazing work. Rest in peace Stefan Bellof, he would have been a champion.
As you say Bellof is one of the great “what if’s?” It is important to remember though, that nearly everyone on the grid in the 80’s had some form of provisional contract with Ferrari (Dumfries, Cheever, De Cesaris, Nannini, Capelli plus others.) so it wasn’t cast in stone that he was a shoe in at Marenello for 1986. And if he was, their car that year wasn’t the best by any stretch of the imagination. So what if he had gone? Would it have been right driver, wrong car? Would it have torpedoed his career? Would he have stayed at Tyrrell or would BMW found a way for him to be in a car powered by their engines? Not so great if it was the Arrows or the skateboard BMW but in the Benetton? With Berger as his teammate? That would have been something to see.
There's always the chance that if he had gone to Ferrari, he would have overdriven the underperforming car and had some sort of major accident. Obviously I can't say "he'd have been killed anyway", that's just stupid, but the _potential_ for a serious accident was probably greater there than in a more reliable and quick car. (Edit: meant to say you make great points and I agree!)
Bellofs fatal crash at Spa was perfectly foreshadowed by his crash at the Nürburgring. He knew that taking Pflanzgarten flat was impossible but tried to do it anyways. At Spa it was the same. When asked about it by a reporter before the race, Bellof himself claimed that it was impossible to pass around the outside of eau rouge but yet again it seems like he sent it anyways. Even without the fatal accident at Spa I don’t believe Bellof would have survived the 80‘s. Who knows, in a different universe Senna might have been saved by safety improvements brought about as a reaction to Bellof being killed during an F1 GP.
Not too mention on the same spot where bellof Anthony Hubert was killed by Juan Manuel Correa in a t bone wreck and 4 years later danlio vant Hoff died almost 1500 to 3000 ft from where bellof and Hubert died
there's many if's in F1. Bellof, Peterson, Cevert & Montoya to name a few TBF, Bellof looked like another quality driver. It's a shame what happened in Spa. But the fact that people speak about him 39 years later is a testimony to what he achieved in his short life.
what a fascinating story, thanks for sharing. Seeing how modern fans don't really get along and how toxic and obtuse they can get, I think we fail to realize sometimes how lucky we are to even witness greats such as LH44 and MV1 go to battle blow for blow (although it did get hairy in silverstone and monza etc) race after race. Credit to the regulators, engineers, marshals and medical crew. I look forward even more now to the rest of the season and beyond. How will Max manage his championship, can LH44 win a couple more (if not all remaining) races, will Piastri make a shock bid for the DC, can Norris get his act together and win a maiden title? And what about the likes of Checo, Russell, Charles and Sainz. Keep up the great work mate.
Your Mosport photo showed turn 3. Turn 2 is the downhill left hander. There was a reasonable amount of runoff, but it was downhill grass to a concrete wall protected by tire bundles. I have seen more than one GT car on top of that wall. The runoff was re-profiled during the Don Panoz years, and has now been paved. The racing surface is wider and more forgiving too.
As usual, you've made a fantastic video. All the details and nothing gratuitous; the silent ending was very respectful. Another reason why I appreciate your work. Cevert is definitely a good comparison in some ways, but I think he, in F1 at least, was more inclined to back off (relative to how he would have done when even younger), possibly because Jackie Stewart treated him like a younger brother and did everything he could to teach him. His accident, whilst equally horrific, came in a practice session (IIRC. Might have been qually. I know it wasn't in the race. It's also nearly 1:30am, so I'm not up for looking. If anyone knows, please feel free to correct me), so he had no reason to overdo it. His death ended Stewart's career on 99 races because he couldn't bring himself to race in what was supposed to be his finale. I was 21 when Bellof died. I wasn't into sports cars at the time (not sure it was even on TV! At most it would have been highlights on the following week's Grandstand or World of Sport on ITV). However, I knew him from F1 and the tragedy hit home, just as it did with every loss to the world of motorsports. Yet another dark day in the vast family of racing on however many wheels a sport has. As we tend to say regarding tragedies such as this, "What if?" But I don't recommend playing that game. I find it somewhat... Not distasteful, but pointless I guess. And thoroughly depressing. I'm not religious anymore, and I don't believe in any heaven or hell, not ever for my late parents, but (perhaps as a coping method) my mind refuses to be logical when it comes to those who spent their careers entertaining us, and losing their life in the bargain. I picture a large pub, filled with those lost both young and old, getting a pint in for the newest arrivals, ready to regale them with stories and jokes, and keeping the beer flowing. The saddest tables are for those like John and Henry Surtees. Henry's death is perhaps one of the most tragic given that had he been a tiny fraction faster or slower, we'd probably still have him, possibly in F1. Cheers to those who have gone before us, and thank you for the great memories you gave us before your time came. 🍻
In 1985 there was no runoff at turn 2 at MoSport. Turn 2 is an off camber down hill left hand corner whose apex is blind on entry. The uninitiated will require a pair of 'Depends' upon first experience.
For more group C content, I'd love to see you discuss the Lancia LC2 and their time in sportscars in general - during the heyday of the factory Porsches, they went full Lancia and would turn up their boost to levels the engine could never survive just to get one over in qualifying - there have to be some great stories to dig up there!
It was late 80s before I got into motor sport so never saw him in action. But his name cropped up a lot at the time. I remember being quite intrigued about his story. Him and Jim Clark were the 2 drivers from the past I was fascinated with and still am.
Perhaps that kind of spirit displayed by Stefan was what Enzo had saw in Nuvolari and Villeneuve. Bellof was to be his new daring driver, the one who takes it all for granted no matter what
Some guys only know how to go fast. They don't even need to be in the car, they just have this aura around them. But when they do get into the car, something changes even further. They turn into something beyond human and capable of actual magic on the circuit. It's almost spiritual or extraterrestrial even. Stefan was one of only a few drivers I feel this way about.
Story times about Porsche and endurance racing always give me goosebumps and chill. Partly because I'm a huge Porsche fan, partly because I'm also a fan of sportscar/endurance racing, and mostly because it was just so fascinating how Porsche always managed to pull that perfect trick of exploiting rules without even trying to bend it, developing cars in such way that even though their first year was patchy, by the time they entered year 2 they become a real threat, and how they went through meticulous details in picking who's behind the wheel and who will partner them. Also, the likes of Herrmann, Attwood, Bellof, Bell, Ickx, Holbert, Schuppan, Kristensen, McNish, Lieb, Tandy, Lotterer and the lot are endurance legends in their own respect. I guess it really is true when they say Porsche has no substitute.
Great video as usual. Stefan's story always reminds me of Henri Toivonen, they were almost the same age and if I recall correctly many contemporaries predicted a similar future for Henri ("future world champion"), only for him to tragically die. Thinking of it, that would be a nice topic for a video. 😅 Although you did one on Henri's crash that ended Group B that was also fabulous.
Bellof biggest talent was his fearlesness. Unfortunately, it was also his weaknesses in those cars.. i really think that, had he lived, he would be regarded as a legendary driver.
Great video as usual. This was educational on more than one level. Never knew that Winkelhock died in a crash (or if I did I had long forgotten) and I thought I followed motor sport! I always thought of Bellof as another one of the F1 endless stream of also rans who because he didn't have the right car was never going to get anywhere. Did not realise he did sports cars or that he was so quick, so thanks for that Adrian. Every day is a school day. Incidentally, any chance of a piece on Derek Bell at some point? Sports car legend, multiple Le Mans winner and a Brit to boot. When I was v young I used to go to Brands Hatch for the club meetings and remember him whizzing round in the saloon car races in a yellow Ford Escort that went like hell, but cannot seem to find any reference to it on the web. This would have been late 70's I am guessing. Many thanks.
Excellent video as always. FYI drive Mosport twice a year, the runoff at 2 was not like that in the 80s according to the old guys, also the track was narrower as well.
To be the fastest, you literally have to brush the outer limits of control. Making the corner or crashing with such a miniscule margin. It's what makes the greatest "the greatest!" for an ability to explore those very limits
In addition to sportscars, the Rothmans-Porsche partnership also participated in the Dakar Rally winning twice with an off-road variant of the 911 (the 953) in 1984 & 1986 (with the 959).
As an aside I think it's interesting that in 1985 the cars were still in fuel economy mode in group c but by 1989 they were finishing races with their fuel allocation not used up. The advancements in engine management systems were dramatic. By the end of the decade the car for running flat out for 24 hours and able to exceed the fuel economy standard of group c
As so often happens when drivers have passed away, they are often viewed in a higher regard compared to when they were alive. I remember at the time that Bellof was a one to watch, but given that Motorsport and especially F1 was much less commercialised in those days, there wasn't the hype that one might have expected. Some say he was signed by Ferrari in July 1985, others say he was going to sign or simply that Ferrari were 'interested' for 1986 season. He was under contract with Tyrrell and Ken would not have let him go easily had he lived, but it could have well been that the Old Man was after another Gilles, when in reality it was the last thing either of them needed. Bellof didn't live long enough to calm down, with the 956 simply dangerous and unforgiving, Bellof didn't show the car enough - if any - respect and went for a move at Spa that was simply never on and sadly paid the ultimate price.
Eau Rouge & Radillon have been straightened a lot over the past 30-40 years. The last major change a few years ago cut into the hillside, but before then much of the extra runoff space came from straightening the track. Back in the mid-80s Eau Rouge was still a distict left turn at the foot of the hill, in the 21st century it barely exists. Those once great corners are now barely more than an uphill right curve for the F1 cars, the bragging rights for taking it flat out have gone. (Can't remember for sure when the straightening began, the runoff was reportedly inproved after Bellof's crash. The track was certainly reprofiles after 1994, the 1994 Grand Prix being run with a chicane at Eau Rouge, and the left turn at the foot of the hill reduced. Then Eau Rouge & Radillon were periodically straigtened further over the past 30 years in 3-4?? steps, to the point where Eau Rouge as a corner arguably no longer exists. )
At Tyrell Stefan was ahead 5 - 3 in the qualifying competition with Martin Brundle, but he wasn't notably faster. Would probably have been similar to McRea in that you knew he could win a lot, but the fella just kept parking it in the wall too often.
Given the huge straight immediately afterwards with a nice, straight-forward overtaking opportunity at the end of it, I've never really understood why anyone would overtake going through eau rouge/raddillion....it's always seemed like more a "look at me" kind of thing than a smart decision, given how often it results in a big crash.
I still think he would have been the first german f1 champion if he had survived. Go watch some clips of his driving, its sensational. What a talent he was. Rest in peace, Stefan.
@@TinyBearTim Actually the Tyrrell 012 was never once flagged up for being underweight, it passed every single weight check it went through. It was eventually disqualified because the only rule break FISA could actually prove was the lead shot in the water tank, and even then that was purely down to the definition of what counted as secured ballast.
@@MrSniperfox29 it was found to be under weight they would top up the lead water to go back up how else do you think they were keeping up with the turbo cars
@@TinyBearTim Actually no, it was never found to be underweight at any point because the team could ONLY top up the water tank at pit stops. Filling the tank up post race had been declared illegal two years before after the water cooled brakes fiasco with Williams and Brabham. The Tyrrell passed every single weight check it went through, even after Monaco where they didn't get to do a pit stop because the race ended before it happened. You'll notice in the report of the disqualification the cars weight was never mentioned because they could never actually prove it was underweight
Turn 2 was a short run off into a concrete barrier with single stacked rubber tyres. In a lifetime of tragedies and terrifying memories, watching a Pert Plus Formula Atlantic almost killing my father (a marshal on the outside of turn 2 after apex) is right up there. Scary corner at the time, next to Eau Rouge/Radillion.
Watching the recent Belgian GP I remember Martin Brundle talking about Bellof and his crash and that he saw it happen from the old pits and he knew pretty much instantly when he saw it that his Tyrrell team mate was dead. And only 3 weeks after West Germany's "other" then F1 driver Manfred Winkelhock had died in a Porsche 962 at Mosport in Canada.
If you're looking for Group C stuff you could cover Mark Blundells ridiculous pole lap in the Nissan when his turbos got stuck and his cars power just kept increasing. Theres even in car footage of it. Blundell said he spent half the lap just trying not to crash. Its also the fastest anyone has gone down the Mulsanne since the chicanes
What must be remembered about Bellof's lap at Silverstone in 1983 was that the Porsche 956 was a full ground effects car. Formula One in 1983 was in its first year of flat bottom cars with ground effects banned which Ross Brawn estimated cost the F1 cars about 50% of their downforce in one hit. And on Silverstone's old, almost flat out layout, a ground effects Porsche 956 with qualifying tyres and the boost as high as Porsche engineers dared ... would have been F1 quick in the right hands. And in Bellof's it was the right hands that day.
The unrealized potential of Stefan Bellof is one of the biggest travesties in motorsports. The man had unreal potential to be one of the greats and challenge the likes of Senna, Prost, Mansell, and Schumacher for wins and possibly titles if he got the chance in F1 or become arguably Porsche's greatest sports car driver. Unfortunately, we will never know what his true potential was after he lost his life. Shame really. Especially since part of the reason why he's no longer here is because of a careless mistake he made when racing Jacky Ickx. Excellent video, Aidan.
Without all the massive run off areas recently added to many circuits, several of the current F1 drivers would have been hospitalised or worse. Could you see Max survive driving between the trees in the WRC 😬. It was a great place to spectate, the bus stop, went there in 1990 for the WEC.
I remember a German journalist saying Bellof would either be the world drivers champion or, die racing. The man had more raw talent in him that any driver in his day, and that includes Senna. What he didn't have was a sense of mortality or patience, the only reason he didn't leave a junkyard full of crashed race cars behind him was because he was a brilliant driver with supernatural car control. But he had a demon on his shoulder that even his talent and self belief couldn't overcome, he was either 100% on or he didn't see the point. If he had simple waited a couple of more seconds in Spa...
Roflwaffle did a video on Shingo Tachi, and his utterly dominant 1998 GT300 Championship winning season in the JGTC (Now Super GT) who tragically lost his life in a test session for his first GT500 campaign. It truly is a heartbreaking story and one of the biggest what ifs in Super GT/JGTC.
I think one of the differences between the 956 and 962 is, the newer car had the driver positioned further back whereas the older car had the driver's legs in front of the front axle, so obviously being way more dangerous.
5:30 gave me flashbacks to the movie Beerfest. “You want an HJ, it’ll be 10 bucks. A BJ, 20 bucks. Evija, 40 bucks.” “What’s an Evija?” “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”
McRae as an example again... Guess it isn't just me after all 😂😂 (we did talk about it in the comments if the JPM video). Bellof, to me, closes the top 3 of my "Greatest Drivers of All Time". 1st being Senna, second Toivonen.
I think you take an extremely simplistic view of Ickx' feelings with Jackie Stewart's safety campaign - he backed it 100%, what he didn't like was Jackie arguing with the race organisers while on the practice sessions or something like that. His view was either you call it off and give no concessions to the organisers months in advance but once you're at a circuit you've tacitly given the agreement that you'll race. I honestly believe that he is correct in his outlook because he's looking at it from a spectator's point of view that they've taken the time off to be there, and paid good money to watch the race only for a driver to decide that we're not driving would be hell. If we think Jenks' view on Jackie Stewart was bad, I think we must imagine ourselves as paying public at the time - I know I would rather the drivers agree not to race at a circuit months in advance than to come to a race not knowing if you're going to get one. Bellof is someone I really wished could have kept a cooler head and been just a little more methodical without losing an ounce of speed. I would agree with Bell and Mass that his reckless ill-discipline is what was his biggest downfall. That thing I read where on the day of the crash, a German TV announcer joked "What have potatoes and German racing drivers got in common? The best parts are under the earth: Stefan Bellof died today. And now, onto the football…’" Such a remark in our more sensitive times would call for that announcer to be fired from his job. I was going to say I can't imagine the same joke working if it were in Brazil but....well I can imagine Piquet having a chuckle. All this is off-topic...if he survived, apparently he was set to be the next Ferrari driver - him and Alboreto as the team - they even wanted him for 85 but a mixture of Ken being stubborn and Arnoux's contract being troublesome....the alternative timeline is in overdrive with this one. To think of a timeline of The Professor, The Mystic and Stefan "Balls to The Wall" Bellof would've been something special.
I know Stefan Bellof is one of those drivers you often mention in your What If's Aiden. Since you said your first F1 race was Imola when we lost Senna. So you likely don't remember this terrible thing. In the US, at that time, ESPN showed us Group C races in one hour digests on a show called SpeedWorld, usually about a week after the event. I still remember watching with horror as this crash was telecast. Seeing Icyx running to the scene from his in car camera. Quite a loss to our sport indeed. I echo what H.J. Stuck said, but I'd have been 11 minutes behind this young man.
(Tangent brought up in the video) I'd say that Colin McRae was incredible at what he wanted to do, which was win individual rallies. He didn't care if finishing second was a good points finish, if it was there, he would rather throw all the points away in a DNF than settle for 2nd.
I would say, Von Trips, Pryce and Bellof are real lost champions. This guys raced against al odds with a real perseverance. Bellof raced group C to finance his formula 1 seat, he earned every penny by hard work.
This was my favourite era of Sportscars and close to my favourite in F1 after the late 70s. The 956 porsche's were just the ducks guts to me. And Im generally not a great lover of things Porsche. I think Bellof was German for "Big Balls". 👍
You could take a look at Dave MacDonald, a sports car star in the making, and the 1964 Sears Allstate Special. A car that probably should never have been on the grid at Indianapolis. The story of the car itself is a right fustercluck.
Aidan, if you haven't done already, could you do a piece about when the Parmaggiano Reggiano brand of parmesan cheese ended up being on F1 trackside billboards during the mid-90's?
Bellof reminds me of Gilles Villeneuve. Ultra ultra quick and a great seat of the pants feel but the wrong temperament. I was in college when he was killed and I was gutted that we didn't get to see him, Senna and Prost go at it. If he could have curbed his enthusiasm a bit he might have given Ayrton a run..
With Stefan not suffering, we won't talk about a Michael Schumacher today that much. Stefan would have made his way on top, and he perhaps would have dominated the 90s F1.
Ah McRae.... absolutely unpopular opinion: a massive overrated driver, he had the talent yes, but had not a single brain cell in his head. And that way he won his ONLY title in 95... The problem is the myth have grown a lot since his days thanks to people that never watched rallying those days, or even wasnt born, I live the 90s rallying and we all knew what kind of driver he was, a crasher, a specialist in throwing to the trash can championships.
Ironically?, had he been in a 962, Bellof would've "walked away" from that crash. Everything that 956 did in that crash had been addressed in the 962, because IMSA demanded that Porsche do that if they wanted to race in the United States. From the nose being lengthened to move the drivers feet behind the front axle up to and including the removal/repositioning of the cross member on the roll cage that ultimately caused Bellof's fatal injuries. "Walked Away" is a relative statement, as I'm sure he would've had injuries.
Agreed. Stefan Bellof suffered an impact that was equal in ferocity to the well-known incident involving Johnny Herbert at Brands Hatch in an F3000 car in 1988. Johnny broke bones in both lower extremities and suffered a profound concussion, but was racing again just seven months later. Would Stefan, if he had survived Eau Rouge, have learned his lesson and tempered his astounding quest for speed? I somehow doubt it. He was the reigning Sports Car World Champion, was about to get his chance to drive in a podium-capable F1 car, and was always there to win "at almost any cost". His luck ran out earlier than expected, and the 956 greedily took his life.
Stefan truly seemed like a champion in the making, His tragic fate really cut an abrupt end to what could have been a Superstar.
at least his legacy lives at the old Nurburgring race track, his lap record set in official event, in a car that was within regulations set by FIA. Had he lived, no doubt he would have been racing for titles in F1 sooner or later.
TBH it was always going to happen, he had no fear.
@@M1ggins But was it really no fear, or was it a false sense of invicibility?
No fear means you go into each race without holding back.
A sense of invicibility means that you're convinced that you can do things that aren't considered possible.
I saw the live footage of that race on Eurosport back that and it was clear Bellof was never going to pass Ickx unless Ickx would back off. (The images of that crash from the camera inside Ickx's Porsche during and after the crash are still very much alive in my mind) And Ickx had no reason to back off as he was on the racing line and therefore had the right of the corner. We'll never know what pushed Bellof to try and do that insane overtake attempt. He knew Ickx and he must have known that Ickx wouldn't back off.
@@M1gginsit was simply a lack of safety. That crash happens today nobody bats an eye.
@@tjroelsma I think that was the thing that set apart Senna doing it and Bellof doing it. Senna knew people would back out. With Bellof nobody was lifting.
Safety improvements in cars and tracks are why Verstappen is a multiple world champion and not another Bellof. Both had the same impudence and - for lack of a better word - immaturity. Verstappen lived long enough to learn when to compromise.
Sadly, there's a lot of truth in that. I could mention a few others, but there's no need to complicate matters. Good example.
How true.
That’s racing And that how racing should be they know the risks why shouldn’t they push limits
@@amacca2085
Their risks should be limited to them. Other drivers should not pay for their mistakes.
@@amacca2085 "Why shouldn’t they push limits" The point we're trying to make is that in the 60s Verstappen would be dead within less than a season if tried to drive the way he does now.
I'm glad Bellof is being talked about at least; for a long time, people would ask 'Stefan who?' because he did seem to have been forgotten about. I was 12, and just getting into sports cars when he died, so it's one that stays with me.
I feel like Rothmans Porsche deserves their own videos. Every driver that was on that team became legends who were already legends. Absolutely ridiculous.
Great video! I saw Stephan Bellof race in Canada in 1985. I was only 14 years old then and it was my first time at an F1 race. I saw all manner of legends race in that GP weekend - Prost, Senna, Lauda, Mansell, DeAngelis, Berger - but there was one car, a blue Tyrrell with a driver in a black, yellow and red helmet that I couldn't take my eyes off of. I was sitting at the famous hairpin and time and again Bellof would literally throw his car at the hairpin, entering the corner at seemingly unimaginable speed. He was simply incredible to watch. "What if" indeed.
A veteran GT3 racer once said to me the secret to endurance racing is going slightly less slowly than everyone else. Bellof's maximum attack everywhere style was going to land him a gigantic one sooner or later - neither car nor driver can sustain that for 1000km.
I'm a Senna fan. For several years, I've had his pic as my profile on all my socials. I'm a Mercedes fan, I've own one, and I'm tempted to have the pic of the W12 winning at Brazil 2021. But for many years, my desktop background was a picture of a 956 coming out off of Radillion. Because of Stefan. I believe that there's a clip of a quali lap from that Nürburgring race, can't remember whose car was recording, but he qualified 5th. Bellof passed him like he overtaken car was on a outlap. He definitely could be a Champion. His speed was just incomprehensible.
You should look into Davey Allison as well. Keep up the great work!
Davey Allison and Phil Hill would be awesome videos.
I agree 100%. Growing up, the Andretti's, Earnhardt, and Allison were our households idols. Most of my friends were huge American football fans or baseball fans, they all had at least heard of Mario or Dale and even Michael, but none knew Davey. For almost a season I secretly cheered for Davey. Being a GM family, I was afraid my dad would get mad I was cheering for a Ford driver. However, when it came out that Davey and Dale were buddies and hunted together, my dad even started cheering for the guy.
Or Alan Kulwicki
@@ahogg5960
And Tim Richmond.
As a Jeff Gordon fan, if Davey lived, Gordon wouldn’t have 93 Cup wins a maybe a championship or two less. Davey was that good
Nice video Aidan and a very respectful tribute to Stefan Bellof! He could have done so much in racing, and his fantastic results with Tyrell(Before they were taken away) showed that he had the potential to compete in Formula One. He could have done so much for motorsports.
I found an article an interview with Martin Brundle from a few years ago where he shared a particularly sad story about the aftermath of Bellof’s accident years later that shares a connection with Ayrton Senna’s death.
When he attended Bellof’s memorial service, he could clearly see that the fallen driver’s family and friends were completely destroyed by the loss. Their immense grief affected him so deeply that it led to him making a decision to never attend the funeral of another racing driver while he was still racing, not wanting his own family to process something similar to Stefan's family. That was why he did not attend Senna’s funeral, which is something he now deeply regrets today.
Senna vs Bellof, in parallel universe would be sick ;)
McLaren would have been unstoppable up to and including 1993 with those two
@@DOUBLEDTRAVEL and we might be seeing Bellof vs Schumacher. The idol vs the fan. Or possibly Bellof mentoring young Schumi, then a few years later Schumi gets into F1 and challenges Bellof for WDC.
Bus-stop is named that due to the fact that it was a public road and a bus would stop there for riders.
I didn't know that! I always wondered why they called it a "bus stop" chicane.
@@PaperBanjo64 Yes, I always chuckle at that. As Spa was once in majority public roads.
@stephencurry8552 I've heard occasionally during races road cars would occasionally be seen on the track unaware a race was going on...not sure if I believe it
@@PaperBanjo64 I have never read or heard that. Perhaps in a road race in Meixco like the Pan-America...Even in the lax early days, some controls were in place.
@stephencurry8552 seems too much of a tall tale of the old days like how much horsepower 80's turbos had
That’s insane I was looking for a good bellof video yesterday or two days ago, lovely stuff man keep up the amazing work. Rest in peace Stefan Bellof, he would have been a champion.
As you say Bellof is one of the great “what if’s?”
It is important to remember though, that nearly everyone on the grid in the 80’s had some form of provisional contract with Ferrari (Dumfries, Cheever, De Cesaris, Nannini, Capelli plus others.) so it wasn’t cast in stone that he was a shoe in at Marenello for 1986. And if he was, their car that year wasn’t the best by any stretch of the imagination. So what if he had gone? Would it have been right driver, wrong car? Would it have torpedoed his career? Would he have stayed at Tyrrell or would BMW found a way for him to be in a car powered by their engines?
Not so great if it was the Arrows or the skateboard BMW but in the Benetton? With Berger as his teammate? That would have been something to see.
There's always the chance that if he had gone to Ferrari, he would have overdriven the underperforming car and had some sort of major accident. Obviously I can't say "he'd have been killed anyway", that's just stupid, but the _potential_ for a serious accident was probably greater there than in a more reliable and quick car.
(Edit: meant to say you make great points and I agree!)
Greg Murphy Lap of the gods is fantastic. I highly recommend it. 👍
@@paulreilly3904 McLaughlin did it with two wheels in the dirt. Just saying. 🤣
While that was indeed fantastic, I think Scotty Mac's lap was even better.
Bellofs fatal crash at Spa was perfectly foreshadowed by his crash at the Nürburgring. He knew that taking Pflanzgarten flat was impossible but tried to do it anyways. At Spa it was the same. When asked about it by a reporter before the race, Bellof himself claimed that it was impossible to pass around the outside of eau rouge but yet again it seems like he sent it anyways. Even without the fatal accident at Spa I don’t believe Bellof would have survived the 80‘s. Who knows, in a different universe Senna might have been saved by safety improvements brought about as a reaction to Bellof being killed during an F1 GP.
Not too mention on the same spot where bellof Anthony Hubert was killed by Juan Manuel Correa in a t bone wreck and 4 years later danlio vant Hoff died almost 1500 to 3000 ft from where bellof and Hubert died
Thanks for your videos Aiden. I was gutted when Stefan passed. He certainly had some magic.
there's many if's in F1. Bellof, Peterson, Cevert & Montoya to name a few
TBF, Bellof looked like another quality driver. It's a shame what happened in Spa. But the fact that people speak about him 39 years later is a testimony to what he achieved in his short life.
what a fascinating story, thanks for sharing. Seeing how modern fans don't really get along and how toxic and obtuse they can get, I think we fail to realize sometimes how lucky we are to even witness greats such as LH44 and MV1 go to battle blow for blow (although it did get hairy in silverstone and monza etc) race after race. Credit to the regulators, engineers, marshals and medical crew. I look forward even more now to the rest of the season and beyond. How will Max manage his championship, can LH44 win a couple more (if not all remaining) races, will Piastri make a shock bid for the DC, can Norris get his act together and win a maiden title? And what about the likes of Checo, Russell, Charles and Sainz. Keep up the great work mate.
One of my favourite drivers from a classic period of F1. Always worth watching.
Your Mosport photo showed turn 3. Turn 2 is the downhill left hander. There was a reasonable amount of runoff, but it was downhill grass to a concrete wall protected by tire bundles. I have seen more than one GT car on top of that wall. The runoff was re-profiled during the Don Panoz years, and has now been paved. The racing surface is wider and more forgiving too.
This is my biggest what If’s in motorsport
Including Jules bianchi
As usual, you've made a fantastic video. All the details and nothing gratuitous; the silent ending was very respectful. Another reason why I appreciate your work.
Cevert is definitely a good comparison in some ways, but I think he, in F1 at least, was more inclined to back off (relative to how he would have done when even younger), possibly because Jackie Stewart treated him like a younger brother and did everything he could to teach him. His accident, whilst equally horrific, came in a practice session (IIRC. Might have been qually. I know it wasn't in the race. It's also nearly 1:30am, so I'm not up for looking. If anyone knows, please feel free to correct me), so he had no reason to overdo it. His death ended Stewart's career on 99 races because he couldn't bring himself to race in what was supposed to be his finale.
I was 21 when Bellof died. I wasn't into sports cars at the time (not sure it was even on TV! At most it would have been highlights on the following week's Grandstand or World of Sport on ITV). However, I knew him from F1 and the tragedy hit home, just as it did with every loss to the world of motorsports. Yet another dark day in the vast family of racing on however many wheels a sport has.
As we tend to say regarding tragedies such as this, "What if?" But I don't recommend playing that game. I find it somewhat... Not distasteful, but pointless I guess. And thoroughly depressing.
I'm not religious anymore, and I don't believe in any heaven or hell, not ever for my late parents, but (perhaps as a coping method) my mind refuses to be logical when it comes to those who spent their careers entertaining us, and losing their life in the bargain. I picture a large pub, filled with those lost both young and old, getting a pint in for the newest arrivals, ready to regale them with stories and jokes, and keeping the beer flowing. The saddest tables are for those like John and Henry Surtees. Henry's death is perhaps one of the most tragic given that had he been a tiny fraction faster or slower, we'd probably still have him, possibly in F1.
Cheers to those who have gone before us, and thank you for the great memories you gave us before your time came. 🍻
In 1985 there was no runoff at turn 2 at MoSport. Turn 2 is an off camber down hill left hand corner whose apex is blind on entry. The uninitiated will require a pair of 'Depends' upon first experience.
For more group C content, I'd love to see you discuss the Lancia LC2 and their time in sportscars in general - during the heyday of the factory Porsches, they went full Lancia and would turn up their boost to levels the engine could never survive just to get one over in qualifying - there have to be some great stories to dig up there!
It was late 80s before I got into motor sport so never saw him in action. But his name cropped up a lot at the time. I remember being quite intrigued about his story. Him and Jim Clark were the 2 drivers from the past I was fascinated with and still am.
Kind of like a German Gilles Villeneuve, I suppose. Loads of potential but took one too many risks.
One of those drivers, if you could get a little bit of control built into their skillset, they would be unbeatable.
Thanks for covering this and keeping the memory alive. Also nice Blue Jays jersey!
When you say at the end of your videos to "get subscribed and also get that bell on", Bellof always pops in my head
Perhaps that kind of spirit displayed by Stefan was what Enzo had saw in Nuvolari and Villeneuve. Bellof was to be his new daring driver, the one who takes it all for granted no matter what
One of your best vids.
Some guys only know how to go fast. They don't even need to be in the car, they just have this aura around them. But when they do get into the car, something changes even further. They turn into something beyond human and capable of actual magic on the circuit. It's almost spiritual or extraterrestrial even. Stefan was one of only a few drivers I feel this way about.
Story times about Porsche and endurance racing always give me goosebumps and chill. Partly because I'm a huge Porsche fan, partly because I'm also a fan of sportscar/endurance racing, and mostly because it was just so fascinating how Porsche always managed to pull that perfect trick of exploiting rules without even trying to bend it, developing cars in such way that even though their first year was patchy, by the time they entered year 2 they become a real threat, and how they went through meticulous details in picking who's behind the wheel and who will partner them. Also, the likes of Herrmann, Attwood, Bellof, Bell, Ickx, Holbert, Schuppan, Kristensen, McNish, Lieb, Tandy, Lotterer and the lot are endurance legends in their own respect. I guess it really is true when they say Porsche has no substitute.
Another Great Video!!!
Great video as usual. Stefan's story always reminds me of Henri Toivonen, they were almost the same age and if I recall correctly many contemporaries predicted a similar future for Henri ("future world champion"), only for him to tragically die.
Thinking of it, that would be a nice topic for a video. 😅
Although you did one on Henri's crash that ended Group B that was also fabulous.
Bellof biggest talent was his fearlesness. Unfortunately, it was also his weaknesses in those cars.. i really think that, had he lived, he would be regarded as a legendary driver.
Great video as usual. This was educational on more than one level. Never knew that Winkelhock died in a crash (or if I did I had long forgotten) and I thought I followed motor sport! I always thought of Bellof as another one of the F1 endless stream of also rans who because he didn't have the right car was never going to get anywhere. Did not realise he did sports cars or that he was so quick, so thanks for that Adrian. Every day is a school day. Incidentally, any chance of a piece on Derek Bell at some point? Sports car legend, multiple Le Mans winner and a Brit to boot. When I was v young I used to go to Brands Hatch for the club meetings and remember him whizzing round in the saloon car races in a yellow Ford Escort that went like hell, but cannot seem to find any reference to it on the web. This would have been late 70's I am guessing. Many thanks.
Excellent video as always.
FYI drive Mosport twice a year, the runoff at 2 was not like that in the 80s according to the old guys, also the track was narrower as well.
To be the fastest, you literally have to brush the outer limits of control. Making the corner or crashing with such a miniscule margin. It's what makes the greatest "the greatest!" for an ability to explore those very limits
In addition to sportscars, the Rothmans-Porsche partnership also participated in the Dakar Rally winning twice with an off-road variant of the 911 (the 953) in 1984 & 1986 (with the 959).
good work as always.
As an aside I think it's interesting that in 1985 the cars were still in fuel economy mode in group c but by 1989 they were finishing races with their fuel allocation not used up. The advancements in engine management systems were dramatic. By the end of the decade the car for running flat out for 24 hours and able to exceed the fuel economy standard of group c
As so often happens when drivers have passed away, they are often viewed in a higher regard compared to when they were alive. I remember at the time that Bellof was a one to watch, but given that Motorsport and especially F1 was much less commercialised in those days, there wasn't the hype that one might have expected. Some say he was signed by Ferrari in July 1985, others say he was going to sign or simply that Ferrari were 'interested' for 1986 season. He was under contract with Tyrrell and Ken would not have let him go easily had he lived, but it could have well been that the Old Man was after another Gilles, when in reality it was the last thing either of them needed. Bellof didn't live long enough to calm down, with the 956 simply dangerous and unforgiving, Bellof didn't show the car enough - if any - respect and went for a move at Spa that was simply never on and sadly paid the ultimate price.
A honey badger on wheels. He is a driver I often think of despite how short his career was cut. I've searched those few clips of him so many times.
Eau Rouge & Radillon have been straightened a lot over the past 30-40 years. The last major change a few years ago cut into the hillside, but before then much of the extra runoff space came from straightening the track. Back in the mid-80s Eau Rouge was still a distict left turn at the foot of the hill, in the 21st century it barely exists. Those once great corners are now barely more than an uphill right curve for the F1 cars, the bragging rights for taking it flat out have gone.
(Can't remember for sure when the straightening began, the runoff was reportedly inproved after Bellof's crash. The track was certainly reprofiles after 1994, the 1994 Grand Prix being run with a chicane at Eau Rouge, and the left turn at the foot of the hill reduced. Then Eau Rouge & Radillon were periodically straigtened further over the past 30 years in 3-4?? steps, to the point where Eau Rouge as a corner arguably no longer exists. )
I watched that race live. It was shocking and sad to see the crash and the death of Bellof.
At Tyrell Stefan was ahead 5 - 3 in the qualifying competition with Martin Brundle, but he wasn't notably faster.
Would probably have been similar to McRea in that you knew he could win a lot, but the fella just kept parking it in the wall too often.
Hello Aidan: Thank you for this. I have interested in Stefan for sometime. Have a lovely day.
Stefan vs Senna. There's a battle we were truly robbed of. I have the sportscar boxset from Duke and the racing is just staggering from the 80s.
Given the huge straight immediately afterwards with a nice, straight-forward overtaking opportunity at the end of it, I've never really understood why anyone would overtake going through eau rouge/raddillion....it's always seemed like more a "look at me" kind of thing than a smart decision, given how often it results in a big crash.
Sauber-Mercedes in Group C would also be pretty cool
Stefan would have been one of the GOATs of auto racing if he was still around. All talent, all bravery!
I still think he would have been the first german f1 champion if he had survived. Go watch some clips of his driving, its sensational. What a talent he was. Rest in peace, Stefan.
The car he drove in f1 was under weight
@@TinyBearTim Actually the Tyrrell 012 was never once flagged up for being underweight, it passed every single weight check it went through.
It was eventually disqualified because the only rule break FISA could actually prove was the lead shot in the water tank, and even then that was purely down to the definition of what counted as secured ballast.
@@MrSniperfox29 it was found to be under weight they would top up the lead water to go back up how else do you think they were keeping up with the turbo cars
@@TinyBearTim Actually no, it was never found to be underweight at any point because the team could ONLY top up the water tank at pit stops.
Filling the tank up post race had been declared illegal two years before after the water cooled brakes fiasco with Williams and Brabham.
The Tyrrell passed every single weight check it went through, even after Monaco where they didn't get to do a pit stop because the race ended before it happened.
You'll notice in the report of the disqualification the cars weight was never mentioned because they could never actually prove it was underweight
Have you considered doing an upload in regards to Maria de Villota? Incredibly sad what happened to her too.
Turn 2 was a short run off into a concrete barrier with single stacked rubber tyres. In a lifetime of tragedies and terrifying memories, watching a Pert Plus Formula Atlantic almost killing my father (a marshal on the outside of turn 2 after apex) is right up there. Scary corner at the time, next to Eau Rouge/Radillion.
Loving the Blue Jay gear!
Watching the recent Belgian GP I remember Martin Brundle talking about Bellof and his crash and that he saw it happen from the old pits and he knew pretty much instantly when he saw it that his Tyrrell team mate was dead.
And only 3 weeks after West Germany's "other" then F1 driver Manfred Winkelhock had died in a Porsche 962 at Mosport in Canada.
Manny was a great driver too. Poor guy just had no luck.
If you're looking for Group C stuff you could cover Mark Blundells ridiculous pole lap in the Nissan when his turbos got stuck and his cars power just kept increasing. Theres even in car footage of it. Blundell said he spent half the lap just trying not to crash. Its also the fastest anyone has gone down the Mulsanne since the chicanes
Fearless.
What must be remembered about Bellof's lap at Silverstone in 1983 was that the Porsche 956 was a full ground effects car. Formula One in 1983 was in its first year of flat bottom cars with ground effects banned which Ross Brawn estimated cost the F1 cars about 50% of their downforce in one hit. And on Silverstone's old, almost flat out layout, a ground effects Porsche 956 with qualifying tyres and the boost as high as Porsche engineers dared ... would have been F1 quick in the right hands. And in Bellof's it was the right hands that day.
The unrealized potential of Stefan Bellof is one of the biggest travesties in motorsports. The man had unreal potential to be one of the greats and challenge the likes of Senna, Prost, Mansell, and Schumacher for wins and possibly titles if he got the chance in F1 or become arguably Porsche's greatest sports car driver. Unfortunately, we will never know what his true potential was after he lost his life. Shame really. Especially since part of the reason why he's no longer here is because of a careless mistake he made when racing Jacky Ickx. Excellent video, Aidan.
My sim racing helmet paint has been Bellof's since I started.
Without all the massive run off areas recently added to many circuits, several of the current F1 drivers would have been hospitalised or worse.
Could you see Max survive driving between the trees in the WRC 😬.
It was a great place to spectate, the bus stop, went there in 1990 for the WEC.
I remember a German journalist saying Bellof would either be the world drivers champion or, die racing. The man had more raw talent in him that any driver in his day, and that includes Senna. What he didn't have was a sense of mortality or patience, the only reason he didn't leave a junkyard full of crashed race cars behind him was because he was a brilliant driver with supernatural car control. But he had a demon on his shoulder that even his talent and self belief couldn't overcome, he was either 100% on or he didn't see the point. If he had simple waited a couple of more seconds in Spa...
Roflwaffle did a video on Shingo Tachi, and his utterly dominant 1998 GT300 Championship winning season in the JGTC (Now Super GT) who tragically lost his life in a test session for his first GT500 campaign.
It truly is a heartbreaking story and one of the biggest what ifs in Super GT/JGTC.
Palmer had his seat moved back & a spacer on the steering column, it probably saved his life. The 962 had the pedals behind the front axle line.
I think one of the differences between the 956 and 962 is, the newer car had the driver positioned further back whereas the older car had the driver's legs in front of the front axle, so obviously being way more dangerous.
The general consensus on Bellof seems to be that he was blazingly fast but always on the edge of a terrifying accident.
5:30 gave me flashbacks to the movie Beerfest. “You want an HJ, it’ll be 10 bucks. A BJ, 20 bucks. Evija, 40 bucks.” “What’s an Evija?” “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”
McRae as an example again... Guess it isn't just me after all 😂😂 (we did talk about it in the comments if the JPM video).
Bellof, to me, closes the top 3 of my "Greatest Drivers of All Time". 1st being Senna, second Toivonen.
Well Hans later needed another master class from Walter Rohrl on how to drive a 4wd when Audi entered the IMSA, he was also seconds behind Rohrl.
I think you take an extremely simplistic view of Ickx' feelings with Jackie Stewart's safety campaign - he backed it 100%, what he didn't like was Jackie arguing with the race organisers while on the practice sessions or something like that. His view was either you call it off and give no concessions to the organisers months in advance but once you're at a circuit you've tacitly given the agreement that you'll race. I honestly believe that he is correct in his outlook because he's looking at it from a spectator's point of view that they've taken the time off to be there, and paid good money to watch the race only for a driver to decide that we're not driving would be hell. If we think Jenks' view on Jackie Stewart was bad, I think we must imagine ourselves as paying public at the time - I know I would rather the drivers agree not to race at a circuit months in advance than to come to a race not knowing if you're going to get one.
Bellof is someone I really wished could have kept a cooler head and been just a little more methodical without losing an ounce of speed. I would agree with Bell and Mass that his reckless ill-discipline is what was his biggest downfall. That thing I read where on the day of the crash, a German TV announcer joked "What have potatoes and German racing drivers got in common? The best parts are under the earth: Stefan Bellof died today. And now, onto the football…’" Such a remark in our more sensitive times would call for that announcer to be fired from his job. I was going to say I can't imagine the same joke working if it were in Brazil but....well I can imagine Piquet having a chuckle. All this is off-topic...if he survived, apparently he was set to be the next Ferrari driver - him and Alboreto as the team - they even wanted him for 85 but a mixture of Ken being stubborn and Arnoux's contract being troublesome....the alternative timeline is in overdrive with this one. To think of a timeline of The Professor, The Mystic and Stefan "Balls to The Wall" Bellof would've been something special.
I had a chuckle for what is worth :)
I know Stefan Bellof is one of those drivers you often mention in your What If's Aiden. Since you said your first F1 race was Imola when we lost Senna. So you likely don't remember this terrible thing. In the US, at that time, ESPN showed us Group C races in one hour digests on a show called SpeedWorld, usually about a week after the event. I still remember watching with horror as this crash was telecast. Seeing Icyx running to the scene from his in car camera. Quite a loss to our sport indeed. I echo what H.J. Stuck said, but I'd have been 11 minutes behind this young man.
I know Speedworld well. The theme tune is my ringtone. No joke.
@2:58 BOBBY M!!!!!!
Marc Surer was also at Spa on that day
Do a Jo Gartner Video or Fuji´s Fire and Rain 1998
(Tangent brought up in the video) I'd say that Colin McRae was incredible at what he wanted to do, which was win individual rallies. He didn't care if finishing second was a good points finish, if it was there, he would rather throw all the points away in a DNF than settle for 2nd.
Yeaaah Greg Murphy lap of the gods mentioned
I would say, Von Trips, Pryce and Bellof are real lost champions. This guys raced against al odds with a real perseverance. Bellof raced group C to finance his formula 1 seat, he earned every penny by hard work.
All I can say is, when you have racing legends like Bell, Stuck, Ickx etc. all saying Bellof was a talented driver, you know he had real talent.
where do you find a definitive list of lap times around the ring? I have googled it before but all of the results look a bit unofficial.
More people know about him for the nurburgring lap. I didnt know he pass at spa tbh
Love you to do one of Sandro Nannini, kind of another what if.... If it wasn't for the helicopter accident.
This was my favourite era of Sportscars and close to my favourite in F1 after the late 70s.
The 956 porsche's were just the ducks guts to me. And Im generally not a great lover of things Porsche.
I think Bellof was German for "Big Balls". 👍
You could take a look at Dave MacDonald, a sports car star in the making, and the 1964 Sears Allstate Special. A car that probably should never have been on the grid at Indianapolis. The story of the car itself is a right fustercluck.
Can you make a video about Micheal park which he won 4 rallies as a co-driver to Markko Martin
My dad always said: Bellof was the quickest ever
Because he had no fear and, sadly, that is what cost him in the end. Imo it was a tragedy that was always going to happen.
Aidan, if you haven't done already, could you do a piece about when the Parmaggiano Reggiano brand of parmesan cheese ended up being on F1 trackside billboards during the mid-90's?
Wholesome fact: Bellof's teammate, Thierry Boutsen, won the 1986 Spa 1000km.
Aiden have you done a video on Greg Moore yet? If you have apologies.
Bellof reminds me of Gilles Villeneuve. Ultra ultra quick and a great seat of the pants feel but the wrong temperament. I was in college when he was killed and I was gutted that we didn't get to see him, Senna and Prost go at it. If he could have curbed his enthusiasm a bit he might have given Ayrton a run..
To be that fast back then required you to take the risk of a crash. Bellof never backed off and so things caught up with him.
Seems almost alien that drivers would race in F1, Sports cars, F2 and other categories in the same season!
7:45 Jackie Ickx or Steve Coogan?
Outside turn 2 was grass from the track edge to the wall.
I love series and anything motorsport. 1 death i think think is Keith Odors in 1995
It really is a shame what happened to Bellof
With Stefan not suffering, we won't talk about a Michael Schumacher today that much. Stefan would have made his way on top, and he perhaps would have dominated the 90s F1.
@@toarak Ferrari might have kicked some discipline into him. Never know.
Ah McRae.... absolutely unpopular opinion: a massive overrated driver, he had the talent yes, but had not a single brain cell in his head. And that way he won his ONLY title in 95... The problem is the myth have grown a lot since his days thanks to people that never watched rallying those days, or even wasnt born, I live the 90s rallying and we all knew what kind of driver he was, a crasher, a specialist in throwing to the trash can championships.
I was kinda sad when Porsche beat Bellof’s ‘unbeatable’ Nordschleife record.
Ironically?, had he been in a 962, Bellof would've "walked away" from that crash. Everything that 956 did in that crash had been addressed in the 962, because IMSA demanded that Porsche do that if they wanted to race in the United States. From the nose being lengthened to move the drivers feet behind the front axle up to and including the removal/repositioning of the cross member on the roll cage that ultimately caused Bellof's fatal injuries. "Walked Away" is a relative statement, as I'm sure he would've had injuries.
Agreed. Stefan Bellof suffered an impact that was equal in ferocity to the well-known incident involving Johnny Herbert at Brands Hatch in an F3000 car in 1988. Johnny broke bones in both lower extremities and suffered a profound concussion, but was racing again just seven months later. Would Stefan, if he had survived Eau Rouge, have learned his lesson and tempered his astounding quest for speed? I somehow doubt it. He was the reigning Sports Car World Champion, was about to get his chance to drive in a podium-capable F1 car, and was always there to win "at almost any cost". His luck ran out earlier than expected, and the 956 greedily took his life.