page_title: Derek Bell (racing driver)
section_title: Post-racing career
hierarchical_section_title: Derek Bell (racing driver) / Post-racing career
caption_attribution_description: English: Bentley Brand ambassador Derek Bell at the Moscow Raceway
context_page_description: Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a British racing driver. In sportscar racing, he won the Le Mans 24 hours five times, the Daytona 24 three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams. He has been described by fellow racer Hans-Joachim Stuck as one of the most liked drivers of his generation.
context_section_description: Bell was hired as chairman for the Spectre R42 super car project between 1996 and its demise in 1997. In 2001 he was hired to consult for the Bentley Speed 8 programme, helping Bentley to win Le Mans two years later. He now splits his time between the United States and his home near Chichester, UK, with his wife Misti. He is an after dinner speaker and motorsport commentator, and also races in historic events, and is a global ambassador for Bentley. Bell is also an operating partner of Bentley Naples in Naples, Florida, USA.
  
  His eldest son Justin Bell is also a racer. The two raced together in the 1991 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bell was to race in the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona with Justin, however the car dropped out of the race early and Derek did not get to run in the race. Aside from winning at Le Mans five times, he claims his proudest moment was coming third with his son Justin racing the Harrods sponsored McLaren F1 GTR in the 1995 Le Mans on Fathers Day.
  Bell is a patron for the charities Hope for Tomorrow Mission Motorsport and the Henry Surtees Foundation. He is also an Ambassador for the Fly Navy Heritage Trust.
  He is currently the president of the oldest pram race in the world. The Pagham Pram Race started in 1946 and is run annually at 11am on Boxing Day.
  Bell returned to Le Mans to race a Porsche 962 for the first time in 20 years in the Group C support race at Le Mans on 16 June 2012.
  He was presented with Honorary Life membership of the AA in recognition of his 50 years in motorsport, commemorated by a plaque presented by Lord March at the Moving Motorshow during the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the presence of Chris Jansen, CEO of the AA, and Edmund King, the president of the AA.
caption: Bentley Brand ambassador Derek Bell at the Moscow Raceway
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