Never Say Goodbye

The only picture we’ve so far agreed on to hang in the lounge. There is a precedence, as I think it used to have pride of place above the fire in our last house.
Not only does it bring back memories for both of us, but we are actually in the painting - in the sense that two of the blobs representing the crowd in the grandstands could be us as we were certainly there watching the start of the 1994 Le Mans 24 Hour Race.
Derek Bell is the most successful Briton to race at Le Mans, but announced the 1994 race would be his last. Driving the Gulf Kremer Porsche, he qualified second and - to the delight of all the Brits in the crowd - led the pack into the first corner, an act commemorated in this painting. Sadly, the position did not last and he eventually finished sixth overall at the end of the 24 hours. The winning car was the sister car to the number 35 Dauer 962 seen lying third in the painting (which is where it finished!). By exploiting a loophole in the regulations Porsche, under the aegis of Dauer, had been able to enter its ten year old 962 Group C racer as a GT rather than a Prototype. The upshot was that the bigger fuel tank allowed for GT cars meant less pit stops were required, leading to ultimate victory.
But not before Toyota had nearly won. Leading in the night, transmission problems had dropped them down the order and the Dauer cars were lying first and second with only a couple of hours to go. Toyota sent F1 driver Eddie Irvine out with instructions to “make it or break it”. We were then privileged to witness some of the best racing I have ever seen as Irvine drove like a man possessed to catch, and finally pass, the Dauer with two laps to go, then managed to hold it off until the end, finishing second overall in the process.
A great and memorable race, and we were delighted to spot this limited edition print, signed by the artist and Derek Bell, for sale later that year. Putting it back on the wall and writing this journal has certainly brought back great memories of that year’s trip to Le Mans.
And Derek Bell did not retire as announced. He returned the following year to finish third overall, co-driving a McLaren F1 GTR with his son Justin. The same combination finished sixth overall in 1996, before Derek finally brought his illustrious racing career to a close after 25 years, at the grand old age of 54. And I was lucky enough to get his autograph at the end of that race. He seemed quite happy to oblige the waiting fans, even though he must have been absolutely shattered!