Ian Bell (racing driver)

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Ian Bell (born June 17, 1957 - June 10, 2016 in Douglas , Isle of Man ) was a British motorcycle racer .

Live and act

Ian Bell came from a racing family. His brothers Geoff and Geordie were motorcycle racers like him. At first he was a solo pilot. In 1979 Bell started for the first time at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man and immediately finished second in the 1300 cc race on a Yamaha and third behind George Fogarty and Joey Dunlop in the Solo Championship run. In the following years he won numerous victories in the road race - both in the solo class and in the sidecar category .

After he was unable to continue his solo career due to an accident, Bell concentrated on team racing. From 1995 he took part in the sidecar class at the Isle of Man TT . In his first year on a Windle- Mitsui- Yamaha , he and his co-driver Craig Hallam finished fifth and sixth in the two races, making him the best newcomer in his class.

In the following years, up to 2004, Bell achieved a total of five podium finishes at the TT. The highlight was his victory in the first race of 2003. On a DMR Bell Yamaha he won together with co-driver Neil Carpenter ahead of the duo Nick Crowe / Darren Hope on the Mountain Course .

During training for the 2004 TT, Bell had a serious training accident at Hillberry . The hand injuries suffered there forced him to take a break from racing. From around 2009 Ian Bell was active again and started with his son Carl as a co-driver. In 2014 he returned to the TT and immediately achieved placements among the top five.

On June 10, 2016, Ian Bell and his LCR Yamaha team had a fatal accident during the second sidecar race of the Isle of Man TT 2016 at Ballaspur near Peel . His co-driver and son Carl escaped the accident unharmed.

Bell lived in Bedlington , Northumberland , where he ran a motorcycle dealership. He was 58 years old and left behind his wife Trudi and two children.

statistics

Isle of Man TT victories

year class Co-driver machine Average speed
2003 Sidecar ( teams , 500 cc) race 2 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Neil Carpenter Bell Yamaha 110.16  mph (177.29  km / h )

References

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Southern 100 to mark Ian Bell's 60th birthday. www.ukclubsport.com, accessed on July 6, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Bell, Ian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1957
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 2016
Place of death Douglas , Isle of Man