Stefan Bellof's incredible Nurburgring Lap | 6 mins 11.13secs | World Sportscar 1983

Stefan Bellof was a truly special talent with raw speed on tap, especially behind the wheel of his Rothmans Porsche 956 "Group C" car.
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Following an impressive win in the second round of the 1983 World Sportscar Championship at Silverstone, Stefan went on to produce a stunning qualifying lap time at the Nurburgring (Round 3) and to the astonishment of his fellow drivers, he'd clocked 6 mins 11.13 seconds around the Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of over 200 kph!

[@Jan_Berlucchi]

I wish, the whole lap had been filmed. What a skilled driver he was.

[@svizzy4270]

Really a shame, espencially when you realize that they had to insert Derek Bell onboard footage to at least get a little more of a picture.

[@Jan_Berlucchi]

@@svizzy4270 I feel, what you say. It really makes me sad.

[@AlonsoRules]

Skilled yes and also incredibly hot-headed. His decision to try and overtake on the outside into Eau Rouge cost him his life and it was pure luck that Ickx and spectators didn't join him.

[@TrevorBuick]

He wouldn't have listened, at that age, with that approach it's just built in, 100%, flat out, ala Senna, McRae, Villeneuve

[@silvioveneziano6429]

Legendary Stefan Bellof....R.I.P. Campion💯🔥

[@666okano]

What a Legend. The Greatest to ever live? Certainly one of. It's a shame we didn't get to see more of him in F1.

[@jmfjcas6014]

Huge talent, we'll never know what he would have done in F1, but i'm sure he would be one of the top.

[@danielmoohsroom6880]

He would've fought with Senna and Prost

[@Donan777]

@@danielmoohsroom6880 why do you think so? Did a certain Martin Brundle fight with Senna or Prost?

[@masterkamen371]

​@@Donan777 Wtf does Martin Brundle have to do with any of this? Stefan Bellof was one of the most talented drivers of the 80s, everyone expected him to be the next hot thing in F1 but he sadly died way too soon.

[@Donan777]

@@masterkamen371 if you really don‘t know why I mentioned Brundle I habe no idea why you feel qualified to talk about Bellof here. Bellof one of the most talented drivers of the 80s? Well, how do you measure talent?

[@roadgent7921]

Amazing the record stood for 35 years. 👌

[@Mr.Rickroll]

If a F1 In Nurburgring,he can's.

[@pederfallbom]

Still stands. No racing car in a sanctioned race has gone faster since.

[@burnsiet]

That little smirk on his engineers face is pure respect for what they all witnessed. 01:40

[@pederfallbom]

Thats Norbert Singer. Absolute Porsche racing engineer legend!

[@youtubemodsaresnowflakelef7692]

This is the one and only Nürburgring Record. The whole Timo Bernhard/Porsche thing is nice and all, a great tribute to our advances in technology and Bernhard is certainly a talented driver also. However this record was done in a race legal car under racing conditions with traffic. Some people are incredibly naive and argue (well you can get a tow from slip stream) which is certainly true and you can gain some time from that, however all it takes is ONE car in the wrong place and you lose valuable time before you can pass them. He also set the record for fastest lap during a race (this was in training for the race) that same weekend, before his car took off flying and crashed. I believe (but don't quote me on it) he drove a 06:18 during the race.

[@pederfallbom]

Very true. You cant compare a legal race lap with the "records" set in modern times. Bellofs time is still the true record.

[@rolandaushilfstrucker2385]

Three Legends the Stefan Bellof the Porsche 956 and Norbert Singer 👌👌👌👏🙌👏

[@Emira_75]

And DEREK BELL!

[@massimilianobelloni5613]

Lap of the Gods

[@allainangcao28]

It's a record that will never be broken. It's stands as the lap record for a legal regulation car in a race weekend. The 919 EVO had to be built without rules, hotlap outside a race weekend, and dealt with no traffic to break the record. The records stands for as long as until the WEC allows for LMP2 or LMP1s to run the Nordschleife and only the Nordschleife and not the 24HR layout that combines part of the GP circuit.

[@imbok]

Stefan was a huge talent, really quick. RIP to a great driver that died way too young.

[@BurtSampson]

True legends. Both man and machine.

[@ManTa-o5y]

This Champ truly has way bigger balls than any of us here... RIP! Hope you are having a ball in racing heaven sir! :D

[@johndeere1951a]

One of Derek Bell's life regrets is that he didn't say more to Stefan about tempering his aggressive driving style. "Be more careful".

[@AmericasChoice]

He did talk to Singer, and he just shrugged...

[@jblack5323]

The boost was clearly set up to kill mode on his lap.

[@klauskarnath2935]

Stefan war der Beste

[@Monsterknecht]

Definitiv!

[@YuriBruschi]

Ciao Bellof, R.I.P.💗

[@rittervonsport-zl1df]

Best racing driver ever RIP

[@MartiniPinball]

They problably didn't realize fully the feat Stefan accomplished there.

[@paulreilly3904]

Absolutely amazing. Such a loss. I so wish I could have seen him perform. Endurance racing is so much more interesting than F1.

[@CarlosPereira-sm7uy]

O melhor na sua época muito talento.

[@allihs7670]

The german Senna

[@toivonencresto]

I think that in terms of pure speed Stefan Bellof, Ayrton Senna, Henri Toivonen, Mike Hailwood and Casey Stoner are the greatest drivers of all time.

[@kingcarrot6355]

Gilles Villeneuve > Ayrton Senna

[@toivonencresto]

@@kingcarrot6355 ma anche no

[@pederfallbom]

Ronnie Peterson 🇸🇪

[@Joescuderia]

Fantastic stuff, just imagine, Bellof vs Senna in a proper car in Formula One.

[@youtubemodsaresnowflakelef7692]

We got a taste of that in Monaco. The race that Senna always gets so much praise for, while everyone forgets about Bellof. Bellof and Brundle were the only ones on the grid who didn't have a turbo charged car yet, so they had 150-200 horsepower less than everyone else on the grid. Due to the rain though they couldn't make full use of that. Bellof fought his way through the field to 3rd, when Alain Prost's good friend and pal Jacky Ickx (who was race director) black flagged the race as "too dangerous". Senna was gaining 1 second per lap on Prost, but Bellof was gaining 2 seconds per lap on Prost. He was struggling too and constantly on the edge, ie every other corner you could see the rear of his car trying to break out (oversteer), that's how hard he was going. When he overtook Rene Arnoux (Ferrari), Arnoux almost put him in the wall, leaving him only inches of space to overtake him on the inside. Bellof was a once in a life time type of driver. I believe (if I am not remembering it wrong) it was this fantastic display at Monaco that made Enzo Ferrari sign him for the 1986 season, or at least part of the reason. While the 1986 Ferrari wasn't a great car, the 1987 surely was. ie Gerhard Berger performed fairly well in it, and he wasn't half the driver the Bellof was (I'm an Austro-German, so it pains me to say it, but it is what it is). Even Niki Lauda low key praised Bellof, and Lauda was never the type to say things just to be nice.

[@kimiraikkonen949]

alain’s car was misfiring and his braking system was malfunctioning i believe

[@srxt6758]

​@@youtubemodsaresnowflakelef7692 due to the rain they could make the full use of that. Non turbo car was much easier to drive in wet and enabled a wider powerband. It still doesnt take away from Stefan's achievement

[@Joescuderia]

shut up@@kimiraikkonen949

[@Donan777]

We´ve seen Bellof vs. Brundle in F1 and Bellof wasn´t quicker than Brundle....

[@endless_touge]

What a driver. Too bad he was such a short while between us.

[@Jerry_1293]

What a historical day that was. What if they really knew.....

[@trombinichristian105]

LEGEND - the real German Wunderkind!

[@Donan777]

Considering the fact that when doing the 6:11 lap (and crashing out of the race the next day) Bellof had the same age as Schumacher when he won his 1st WDC, I have no clue what you´re trying to say.

[@trombinichristian105]

@@Donan777 ...that Bellof was simply immensely fast and had brilliant vehicle control. A great guy, not just as a racing driver (as mutual friends tell/rave about) adored and not forgotten by all Nordschleife fans. 👉a real legend! “Stefan Bellof is the greatest talent I have ever seen.” - Jackie Stewart (1984) “Bellof was a cross between Michael Schumacher and Gilles Villeneuve.” - Herbie Blash

[@Donan777]

@@trombinichristian105 thx for taking the time to write a nice answer. My opinion on Bellof is a bit different though. Of course, he was extremely fast, but he wasn´t that special compared to other F1-drivers of that era. With Bellof, Monaco 1984 and his 6:11 at the Nordschleife always get mentioned in a rather superficial way. In a very rainy Monaco 1984 Bellof´s Tyrell was actually the ideal car, since it was much easier to handle than the turbo-cars of the other teams. During his time in F1 Bellof was not quicker than his team-mate Brundle. One could argue, that Brundle´s 2nd place at Detroit in 1984 was more impressive than Bellof´s race in Monaco. BTW, have a look at their results at Monaco 1985.... Bellof´s 6:11 at the Nordschleife was about 5 secs quicker than his team-mate Jochen Mass´ best lap on that day, which is not that special if we consider that James Hunt´s best lap at the Nordschleife in 1976 was over 6 secs faster than team-mate Mass´ best lap, who was at the height of his powers back then. Bellof stupidly crashed out of the actual race in 1983 in Villeneuve-style btw...... I´m not sure, if Jackie really praised Bellof that much in 1984. Perhaps he was just overly nice. It had to be clear to everyone, that Senna was THE talent in 1984 and 1985 and not Bellof, who struggled against Brundle. It´s not important that some thought that Bellof was a nice guy. He could be pretty cocky to his rivals in his pre- F1-days fully knowing that he was faster than them. Belittling Ickx by calling him "Jakob" was not a smart move, for instance. All in all, I think Bellof was hugely talented, but nothing indicates that he could´ve been on Senna´s, Prost´s or especially Schumacher´s level. IMO Bellof lacked the right mindset. This is being written by a German guy, who was really into F1 back then as a kid and was devastated when he heard the news, that Bellof had died. I just can´t stand how famous people, who died tragically, get glorified.

[@AmericasChoice]

@@Donan777 Fair enough. He had some maturing to do, so it is hard to know how he would have been over the next few years.

[@Donan777]

@@AmericasChoice IMO nothing indicates, that Bellof´s career would´ve been any better than Brundle´s. If you compare the directions the career´s of Senna and Bellof were taking in 1985 right before Bellof´s death, it´s obvious, that Senna was the rising star winning his 1st GP in an extremely impressive way while Bellof´s F1 season in 1985 was basically nothing worth mentioning. What most don´t know is the fact, that Ken Tyrell preferred having Stefan Johannson driving the 2nd Tyrell in the GP in Brazil 1985 instead of Bellof. There´s no way, a driver of Senna´s calibre would´ve been treated like that.

[@user-Rocket-Fest]

30 psi is just the beginning

[@misterdog7]

Would probably have been Bellof vs Senna vs Prost in the years after, shame it never happened.

[@duyporsche1]

Do you have full onboard video, I’m willing to buy it

[@kebabaluba]

Stefan looked much older than he really was at that time those footages was made

[@karlmehltretter2677]

It seems he was really thin and sometimes could be looking quite gaunt. Also his looks seem to slightly change often, sometimes his hair is quite bright, sometimes quite dark.

[@johannesherr2333]

Da hat er dem belgier jakob gezeigt wo es lang geht😂😂😂und später wurde es nur böse und traurig. So traurig und unnötig😢😢😢