Just came across this (not long enough but fun): http://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=362&hl= It would have been nice to have seen what he could have done in an F1 car.
We did. In the 1984 Monaco GP, the one that was stopped due to rain, and Senna was famously catching Prost, Bellof was in third place and catching Senna.
And in 1984 he was FLYING thru downtown Detroit, driving his tail off, sliding the Tyrrell every which way, I have pics of it with the upper bodywork off. I believe this was the year Tyrrell got bounced for adding lead shot during a refueling stop. I believe I said in a posting about a week ago something along the lines of 'I wish Bellof would have been around longer, he had the absolute potential to be a world champion'. (but not in a cosworth-powered car)
I watched him in the 84 Monaco GP. He was absolutely amazing. I took some pictures. Will post them later.
I'm getting old. I don't remember him in those years (1984-1985). I do remember his death though as I was in England at the time and remember reading the article in AutoSport.
He was absolutely brilliant in an underpowered go kart named Tyrrell. Had he lived, he'd been a revelation and probably ended up on the top echelon. He was of the Senna/MS mold.
I remember reading his obituary, but for some reason I don't remember the F1 info. I also remember the Tyrell of those years, black with orange stripes, running a Cosworth. At least I seem to remember it. I'll have to go back to my magazines and see what I can dig up. I'd had kept all of my old ones from summer of 84 up until 1992. Most were old AutoSports and On Track. But, then in the 90s I'd decided I didn't want to lug them around anymore and literally threw almost all in the trash. I kept some but they're in storage. Hopefully I kept the stuff from 85. It's been years since I've looked.
The man with no fear and hugh g attachments. Holds the lap record at N'schliefe. Taken from us too early... sad!!
1984 Monaco GP. Practice and qualifying. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow .. nice pictures Andreas. Looks like they allowed you to get a lot closer to cars back then. Do you have any of Senna or Prost in the same event
Ah the good old days before the global commercialization thanks to Bernie! Yes, during practice (not during the race) one could actually walk up to the guardrails and take pics. You needed earplugs for that...and a wide angle lens! Yes I have Senna and Prost as well. IIRC this was the race where the McLaren screwed up their qualifying and Lauda and Watson had to start from the back and make their way to the front (or maybe that was in 83, can't remember anymore).
I am not sure about Lauda, but Prost was leading from pole and was being caught up by Senna at an ungodly rate in the rain who was in turn being caught up by Bellof before the race was prematurely ended. Senna drove very well but it was one of the few times when the normally aspirated car was the right thing to have under the wet conditions ... the turbo guys were suffering due to the fact that the power used to come in one big lump.
Lauda behind Bellof in one pic, Prost, Senna... I couldn't remember when John Watson 'retired' - if it was after 82 or after 83. I was in Detroit when he won in 82. PS if you want a great memory, Autocourse books from the '80's are incredibly cheap on EBay, like $10 each. But look for them from 1977 or before, they are $300-400+. 1966-1974 seem to cost the most.
Yeah I remembered after all: In 83 it was Lauda and Watson and that was when they botched up qualifying in Monaco due to some brake problems. They started from the end of the field and cut their way through to the front during the race. In Monaco!
I have the VHS tape i made of a Detroit race and he was flying around corners sliding the tail around in a circle. That was fun. He is interviewed by chris econimacki before the start. I saw him race live in montreal. The cosworth was ear splitting.
Amazing pics..... so close the track! The engine sound at that distance must have been something different
So they say yet the great drivers still manage to do just that. Ironic isn't it? Where there is a will, there is a hole to pass.
Driver profile from GrandPrix.com: How did he die at Eau Rouge? I can't think of any instances in recent memory where someone was seriously injured in a crash there, let alone died.
Just from leaking memory: I think he died just about the same way Manfred Winkelhock died there: In one of those superfast Group C cars. Might have been a Porsche 956 or similar. Eau Rouge has no run off area so he basically missed the turn and went straight into the tire barrier. I didn't read the details on Bellof, but I remember the report of Winkelhock (another Group C accident in Eau Rouge): The negative G forces of the impact were so immense that basically every blood vessel in his body burst (I'm no doctor, so can't say whether that makes any sense, but that's what I read). His body was intact, but the forces were so strong that he died from the impact. Bellof was probably similar.
Some info about him here (in Danish though). But also some pics. http://www.f1journal.com/05-007/bellof/bellof_dd.htm
