FESTIVAL OF SPEED
GOODWOOD 2004
Derek Bell, posing with my brother Luc

BENTLEY SPEED 8
Not much space left for Derek Bell in the very narrow cockpit of the car that returned Bentley to the Le Mans podium in 2003

SUNOCO PORSCHE 917/30
Derek Bell, with more than 1000 bhp under his feet…

The Porsche museum sent a number of cars over to the event, including a Sunoco 917/30 for Derek Bell to drive. Like Finburghs car, this one has been to Goodwood on a number of occasions but is great to see andhear every time. So why did the 917 put the F1 cars to shame ? Well, Derek was in 'parc ferme' waiting to go down to the start line along with this years F1 cars and stars. Jenson Button, Luca Badoer and all we're all walking round clearly feeling very proud to be there with the cars - the pinnacle of modern racing. However, when the call of "Gentlemen, start your engines" came Derek started the 917 up first. The ground started to shake as the mighty 917 fired up, and you could hear the meaty rumble of the turbo engine. Next to Derek was Jenson with his BAR, which he climbed aboard and started.... however the engine note and depth relative to the 917 sounded distinctly "scooter-esk !" as the tiny high pitched engine revved ! Its not often that an F1 car sounds out-powered, but here it was !!