DEAN ADAMS meets Derek Bell – often described as one of the best-liked racing drivers of his generation. They say you can judge a man's character by the house he lives in or the car he drives. So when I pulled up at his impressive home with his Bentley in the drive, I knew this was going to be interesting.
And although he is very proud of his achievements and career, he wasn't at all flash. He was a very modest, interesting and likeable man, and I could have spent hours in his company.
Derek Bell, MBE, a true legend in the world of motorsport, lives with wife Misti and his children in Pagham. He's won Le Mans five times, two World Sports Car Championships and was a Formula 1 driver for Ferrari.
"I'm very happy with the career I've had. Just to turn up at Silverstone and see the big red Ferrari truck with your car on it is an incredible feeling," said Bell.
"I wished my Formula 1 career was longer, but I can't complain about my career. It's been fantastic – something I dreamed of when I was a young boy."
It all started in the 1960s when Bell, then working on his family's farm in Pagham, was urged to take up racing by stepfather Bernard Hender.
The creation of Church Farm Racing was to draw out the potential within.
"I attended one or two racing schools but the travelling was very difficult.
"I was working on the farm and a man from Arundel called John Penfold came to see me to sell me some farm machinery.
"We got talking and decided to build a racing car together."
It became a quite remarkable project.
They were soon winning races and found themselves leading the Lotus 7 championship. But changes in their lives came.
"John went off to get married – and we also crashed the car. I then met a gentleman called John Upton, who helped me rebuild the car," Bell recalled.
"Finances became tough, and John told my stepfather I couldn't give up, so my stepfather then helped, and Church Farm Racing was born."
A win in Formula 3 at Goodwood was soon to follow.
"It was unbelievable. Living just down the road, my dream was to race at Goodwood – but to win was amazing. I went on to get the lap record. It's what I use to dream about while working on the farm as a boy."
A succession of wins enabled him to make the step up to Formula 2 and continued success saw recognition from Enzo Ferrari.
"I had to pinch myself. Enzo was a great man to know. I raced a Formula 2 race for Ferrari, but ended up in a crash.
"Three days later, I went in with them asking me to sign a contract. I chose Ferrari over Cooper's Maserati, but it was a good job because Cooper's only raced for another year.
"I made my debut for Ferrari in Formula 1 at Monza, running on adrenalin. I did well sitting on the grid just behind Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, I think in sixth.
"I was feeling good but we didn't have the cars. Jackie Stewart later told me Ferrari had probably not been a good move. In those days, if you were to make it, you had to make it from day one."
But although he had the potential to be a great Formula 1 driver, Ferrari were a major player in Bell's life.
"My first drives were all with Ferrari. Not many people realise this. My first pro drive, my Formula 2, Formula 1 and Le Mans drives were all with Ferrari," he added.
He names the Porsche 962 as the favourite car he has raced and says the late Jochen Rindt was someone of his era he really rated.
"Jochen was a great driver, he was hard to beat and beat me every time bar one. I beat him in the Australian Grand Prix."
Rindt is the only driver to win the Formula 1 championship posthumously after he was killed in practice for the Italian Grand Prix, the second Lotus team leader to be killed in two years after Jim Clark.
"I met Jim at the hotel the night before his death. We had breakfast and travelled to the race together. Less than two hours later he was dead," Bell reflected.
Then, as now, the risk played on the minds of the drivers. "It was hard and it's hard to get your head around it at times. Sometimes you think about things but you go out and get on with it."
The dangers of racing nearly caught out Bell in 1970.
While filming the Steve McQueen film Le Mans, the Ferrari 512 he was in while preparing for a shot was engulfed in flames, leaving him with minor burns.
"I was lucky but it was a great experience doing the film. Steve actually drove one of my cars that I won Le Mans with."
The actor became a good friend: "He was a smashing bloke, a great man. Our families house-shared and we spent just under a year together. I use to meet him in Hollywood for dinner, he was great company."
In 1986, Derek made an MBE. "It's the greatest accolade I could have got, considering racing didn't get many column inches. It was great to be recognised by your country," he said.
Personal achievements extended to his family through racing with his son Justin.
"We led Le Mans for 16 hours along with Andy Wallace, finishing third, but standing on the podium with Justin was something I will cherish for as long as my memory allows. It was a wonderful feeling."
AS HE looks ahead to this weekend's Festival of Speed – and to the later Goodwood Revival in September – Derek Bell has high praise for Lord March.
"It's remarkable. What he's done for the public at Goodwood is fantastic. It's great seeing so many people and other drivers," he says.
"I'll be driving five different cars this year. Things like them trusting me to drive Ayrton Senna's 16 Grand Prix-winning Honda a couple of years ago are great experiences."
Which is his favourite event of the two?
"I think the Revival for the fantastic atmosphere, but at the Festival I get to see cars and drivers I've never seen or met before, and to drive cars I've forgotten about."
Bell is working as a consultant for Bentley and helping raise funds for a charity set up in 2003 in memory of his late manager, David Mills, Hope for Tomorrow, a national charity which helps those with cancer.
Funds raised will go to a mobile chemotherapy unit project. For information visit www.justgiving.com/hopefortomorrow
* Dean Adams is a sports presenter at 104.8FM BBC Sussex & BBC Surrey.
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