DEREK BELL
The Legend
‘THE QUEEN SAID, “YES, I BELIEVE THERE’S A BIG SPORTS CAR RACE IN FRANCE THIS WEEKEND”’
The dust is settling on the 87th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours as I write this. To be honest, I was exhausted even before I left the United Kingdom for France, largely because I needed to be in London on the eve of the great race for a rather special birthday celebration.
Sir Jackie Stewart reached the big eight-zero in June, and accordingly his many friends and admirers descended on the RAC Club in Pall Mall for a commemorative luncheon. I have nothing but respect for the three-time Formula 1 World Champion, and not just for his achievement behind the wheel of a racing car. I knew I had to be there.
What really made it memorable was the arrival of a very special guest: Her Majesty The Queen. I had previously had the honour of meeting her when I received my MBE way back when, and I enjoyed our brief chat this time around. I could go on and on about her amazingly bright eyes, her porcelain skin, the luminosity of her smile and heaven knows what else.
But it wasn’t just that. What floored me was overhearing someone mention the Ecurie Ecosse team of old within earshot, upon which The Queen’s immediate reaction was to say, ‘Yes, I believe there’s a big sports car race in France this weekend.’
I enjoyed catching up with old mates Derek Warwick and Damon Hill while I was at Jackie’s ‘do’. Both are proper chaps, but neither of us talked about the upcoming 24 Hours. Instead, we mulled over incident during the previous weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
Derek Warwick and Martin Donnelly have been driver stewards at Grands Prix, and they sympathised with Emanuele Pirro who stepped into their shoes in Montreal. Vettel was leading when he left the track, with Hamilton in close proximity. The German was deemed to have rejoined the circuit in an unsafe manner and was awarded a five-second penalty.
The net result of this was that all Lewis had to do was sit in Seb’s wheeltracks to the flag. As long as he was less than five seconds in arrears, he was going to win, even if he was second on the road. The race was effectively nullified, and I suspect millions of televisions were turned off around the world in disgust.
Derek and Damon both reckoned that Vettel deserved to be penalised, but rued that the rules have become so rigid that there are no longer any shades of grey. Racing is racing and things happen. I have banged on about this before, but I wonder if the powers-that-be ever give the spectators or viewers at home a second thought. I am a purist at heart, but I also believe that we’re in the business of putting on a show.
I was in much the same frame of mind at the end of the 24 Hours. It was always going to be a Toyota benefit, as no other major manufacturer team was competing in the top class. While I was happy to see Fernando Alonso triumph again following his recent troubles at Indy, I couldn’t help but think that it was a hollow victory. For starters, the sister car had led most of the way so the win was inherited, but that’s the nature of motorsport.
Looking back, I led races several times until virtual sight of the flag, only for something to break. And there were times when good fortune smiled abundantly as cars broke in front of me at the last gasp, just when all hope of a win appeared lost. I get it. It’s just that as much as I am a massive Alonso fan, I felt gutted for fellow Brit Mike Conway. He appeared set to take the biggest win of his racing career to date until electrical problems allegedly put paid to his chances.
More than anything, though, my reaction was very much of the ‘so what?’ variety. I don’t begrudge Toyota’s victory for a second, as the company has been a loyal supporter of Le Mans for decades, but who did it beat? Those with long memories will no doubt point out that the 24 Hours was a Porsche benefit during the 1980s when I was a front-runner, but it wasn’t always the works cars that did the winning.
I just felt that, this year, the ‘show ’ element was missing. I also thought it a shame that, once again, the results were changed after the race. The class-winning Ford GT and the works entry in a different category were disqualified due to fuel irregularities, in which a vital parameter was ‘…found to be in excess of the permitted limit’.
Again, rules are rules and you cannot blame the organisers for sticking to them. It’s just that I want to see wheel-to-wheel racing without added bovine excrement. So do a lot of other race fans, and they are the ones who will vote with their feet. And their wallets.