The Rothmans files – Part Four – The eternal ring master
On a bitterly cold spring weekend in the Eifel mountains, a ruthless young racer etched his own eternal chapter in motor racing history. Piloting his Rothmans Porsche 956, Stefan Bellof set an everlasting benchmark during qualifying for the 1983 Nurburgring 1000km.
Forced by safety concerns and fiscal pressure, the third round of the 1983 World Endurance Championship would be the last world championship event held on the infamous 20 kilometres of the Nordschleife. This final opportunity to compete at world championship level on such a fearsome and unique circuit attracted a cast of blockbuster names from past and present.
1982 Formula One champion, Keke Rosberg, topped the star-studded bill in the Canon Racing Porsche 956 after a deal with Joest Racing fell through. “I like the Nurburgring. It’s the best track in the world. It’s the biggest challenge a driver can take. It might not be the best place to learn driving a closed sports car with a turbo engine, but it gives me the greatest pleasure of any racetrack” explained the moustached Finn. “I was looking forward to drive one of these Group C cars. It is even better that I get the chance at the Nurburgring.”
Returning to the Nurburgring 1000km for the first time since the 1960s, David Hobbs joined John Fitzpatrick in another privately entered Porsche 956. Even 1970 Nurburgring 1000km winner, Vic Elford, came out of retirement for one last run on ‘The Ring’ in a BMW M1.
Despite the furore surrounding the final world championship race at the famous Nordschleife and the all-star cast of drivers, Bellof abruptly halted this narrative with a scarcely believable qualifying time of 6 minutes and 11.13 seconds. After qualifying on pole and winning on debut with Rothmans Porsche at Silverstone in early May, Bellof had already made his presence known. However, no one, not even the Porsche team could fathom how their new superstar could conjure such a blistering lap.
Content with a still astonishing 6 minutes and 16.857 seconds, Jochen Mass could only stand back and admire the raw pace of his compatriot. “6 minutes and 11 seconds is an outstanding time. I really believe that Formula 1 would have to stretch itself to better that time. It shows the progress that the Group C car has made within a very short time. I think we will get to a limit where we have to think about going a bit slower again because the cars are really very quick,” said Mass.
Whilst under the scrutiny of Brian Kreisky’s roving camera crew, Bellof cowered, appearing introverted and cautious. Totally in contrast with the fearless approach to his landmark lap around the world’s toughest circuit. In the company of his Rothmans Porsche co-pilots, the grinning court jester Stefan Bellof emerged.
As the race approached, all eyes led to the cockpit of the #2 Rothmans Porsche 956 of Derek Bell and Stefan Bellof. Despite the ominously cold and damp track conditions, the Rothmans Porsche team appeared in jovial mood. A twenty second per lap advantage over their competitors certainly couldn’t harm moral.
Ever the strategist, Norbert Singer fully understood the margin his factory cars had to play with over the opposition. Therefore, an order was delivered firmly to the drivers. 6 minutes and 45 seconds per lap, and no faster. Furthermore, Singer’s decision to send the Rothmans Porsches out on slick tyres on a partly damp track added further weight to his demand to exercise caution.
Following an agonisingly long pace lap, Bellof took the green flag at the bottom of the Dottinger Hohe and led the chasing pack up to Tiergarten for the first of forty-eight scheduled laps. Although dry tyres appeared to be the right call over a whole lap, the opening section of Hatzenbach remained damp. This brief period of the race provided a very rare sighting of a hesitant and calculated Stefan Bellof. Bob Wollek and Ricardo Patrese utilised the superior grip of their grooved wet tyres and eased past Bellof as the Porsche star searched for traction.
However, as the field teared down towards the terrifying left hander at Schwedenkreuz, the road began to dry. A few kilometres later, Bellof struck back at the triple right hander of Kellenhard, reclaiming the lead. Once ahead, Bellof pushed on ferociously, leaving the rest languishing far behind.
After his initial wobble, Bellof locked in his one and only mode of driving – maximum attack. Singer’s stern orders were already a distant memory. Lapping over four seconds a lap faster than Mass in the #1 machine, the #2 Rothmans Porsche accumulated a commanding lead. Despite being overshadowed by the young upstart in the Porsche camp, Mass enjoyed a colossal twenty-second per lap advantage over current F1 world champion, Keke Rosberg. On any other day, Mass might have been the star. However, the final day on the Nordschleife belonged to Bellof. At least, to begin with.
With eight laps complete, Bellof dived for the pits and handed over the #2 Rothmans Porsche to Derek Bell in a commanding lead. However, the #1 crew primed their secret weapon. The original ‘Ringmeister’, Jacky Ickx, serenely hopped into the cockpit vacated by Jochen Mass and prepared to chase down his Le Mans winning partner Bell.
Ickx showed similar disregard for Singer’s instructions and duly obliterated the race lap record. Bell couldn’t match Ickx’s devastating pace, and the gap began eroding once again. Back in the pits, an increasingly restless Bellof watched the lead vanish and itched to regain control of the #2 Rothmans Porsche 956. After a typically controlled Derek Bell stint, the delightful Englishman returned to the pit lane. Before Bell could switch off the 2.6 litre motor, Bellof was already skipping towards the driver’s door, desperate to get on board and rebuild the lead. Bellof came from a world of flat-out sprints. His far more experienced teammate had defined his career through guile, cunning and old-fashioned patience. This mismatch was about to unravel in spectacular fashion.
Tearing out of the pits, Bellof set to work on reasserting his unparralled dominance. On his first flying lap, still carrying large volumes of fuel, Bellof carved nine seconds from Ickx’s 6 minute and 34 second benchmark. Could this spell a changing of the Nordschleife guard on its final day?
Rothmans’ sponsorship boss, Richard Watling, remembers the delirium amongst the usually disciplined Porsche crew. “The team perhaps got a bit over excited about the whole thing! Derek was there and he said ‘Wait a minute, we’re barely into a 6-hour race. We’ve got to get this car across the line.”
Bell’s concerns proved to be justified. Approaching the notorious Pflanzgarten at 160mph, Bellof approached the crest flat-out. As the 956 travelled over the rise, the prototype machine’s uncanny ‘ground-effect’ aerodynamics lost the vice like grip on the tarmac. Even a driver of Bellof’s super-human ability couldn’t mitigate the undeniable force of air passing under the floor, forcing the car into the air.
Shortly after Bellof’s #2 Porsche came to a rest, Mass arrived on a scene strewn with debris, the stricken 956 stranded at the side of the road, completely destroyed. Although Jacky Ickx’s car now led the race, the Belgian sat in the pits pensively staring ahead, completely devoid of joy.
Shortly afterwards, a similarly violent crash for Walter Brun forced a race stoppage. During the two-hour delay, Bellof returned to the pits relatively unharmed. With his dark blue eyes still bulging from the adrenaline, the man of the hour prepared for his interrogation from the press. “I had a really big accident at Pflantzgarten. I came over the big jump. The air goes under the car, then the car goes up in the air. I had a lot of spins. I don’t know exactly how much. The car came to a stop after three or four hundred metres from there” uttered the shell-shocked lap record holder.
When asked if he had been going too quickly, Bellof’s quiet whimpering speech sharply turned stern. “No” insisted the uncompromising superstar. “I always drove the same line in this position. I don’t know why there was this accident now.”
“Stefan’s accident was rather unfortunate because he has been extremely fast. That jump just blew him off the road” concurred Jochen Mass. “The car nearly somersaulted and landed on its back.”
After the restart, Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass shrugged off a suspension failure to claim the final Nurburgring 1000km crown. However, this bitterly cold day on the Nordschleife will always be remembered for the breath-taking pace of a young Stefan Bellof on his second appearance for Porsche.
Bellof shrugged off his 1983 Nordschleife disappointment by winning the first Nurburgring 1000km on the grand prix circuit a year later alongside Derek Bell. Furthermore, Bellof would be crowned the 1984 World Endurance Champion. Furthermore, the German ace had also arrived at the ultimate destination of Formula 1. Known talent spotter, Ken Tyrrell, believed Bellof to be the best German driver in the post war era and duly signed the fresh-faced 26-year-old for the 1984 Formula 1 season. By 1985, Bellof’s brilliance with Tyrrell had attracted the attention of Ferrari.
Arriving at the 1000km of Spa on the 1st of September 1985, Stefan Bellof possessed a document that every racer dreams of: a Ferrari Formula 1 contract for 1986. Arguably a match for Senna, Bellof’s stock value was booming.
In order to grease the political wheels towards his F1 dream, Bellof had left the works Rothmans Porsche team. Driving an older, Brun Motorsport run Porsche 956, even Bellof faced a difficult task against the more advanced Rothmans Porsche 962s, the factory Lancias, and TWR’s Jaguars.
On lap seventy-eight, Bellof found himself in a tantalising duel with Ickx. Charging down towards Eau Rouge, the challenger engaged in a move designed to intimidate and demoralise the established king of sports car racing. Attempting to drive around the outside of Ickx at Eau Rouge, Bellof clipped the rear of the Rothmans Porsche. As Ickx spun off, Bellof’s 956 violently shot towards the barriers, resulting in a head on impact. Although Ickx walked away from the terrifying impact unharmed, Stefan Bellof’s dazzling life had come to a tragic end.
Often regarded as one of the greatest lost talents, Stefan Bellof’s spellbinding exploits behind the wheel earn his place in motor racing folklore. Despite the heart-breaking and unfortunate circumstances of his death, we should all remember Stefan for that one incredible lap at the Nurburgring in May 1983. It shall remain unparralled forever.
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