RallySport Magazine August 2016

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: WAYNE BELL
? WHERE
are they now
WAYNE BELL
Wayne Bell is widely regarded as the greatest rally
driver never to have won the Australian Rally
Championship.
The Newcastle native got his big break when he was
selected to drive for the factory Marlboro Holden Dealer
Team in the 1980s, and spent many years driving a selection
of Geminis in the Australian Rally Championship.
He was part of the Holden Dealer Team in the 1979 Repco
Round Australia Reliability Trial, and later joined forces with
Hyundai and ran the Korean company’s first official rally
team, contesting the ARC, the APRC and the WRC.
Now 64, Bell tells RallySport Magazine of his greatest
memories in the sport, how he wasn’t allowed to drive the
final days of the ’79 Repco Trial, and his experiences with
Hyundai, including being welcomed back to the team at the
2014 Rally of Portugal.
Story:
PETER WHITTEN
You’re widely regarded as the best
driver never to win the Australian Rally
Championship. How does that sit with you?
Yes, I have that honour, if you can call
it that. It does not worry me so much,
although it would have been nice to
have that title.
I was actually Australian and Asia-
Pacific Champion in Formula 2 (F2) and
won WRC events in the class of vehicle
I was driving. However, in the overall
scheme of things ... big deal!
I am satisfied that I was respected
by my competitors, and spectators
enjoyed my driving style. I am satisfied
40 | RALLYSPORT MAGAZINE - AUGUST 2016
that my career lasted around 30 years,
either driving factory cars or fullysupported
teams. I never considered
myself to be anything special or better
than my competitors.
Driving came easy to me, I did not
have to work at it, and just got in and
did my thing.
George (Shepheard – Holden Dealer
Team boss) never said anything to me
as far as my ability was concerned,
except once in testing the Gemini for
the first time. He said to his wife Marie,
who was there at the time: “You have
got to go for a ride with Wayne, it is
really something else”. I took that as a
compliment.
The only person to ever really
comment was Fred Gocentas when
Bell and navigator George
Shepheard and the factory
Gemini in the 1977 Southern
Cross Rally.
we were testing in the Fiat. Fred said:
“F^%& me, I am pleased you never
had a BDA”. I also took that as a
compliment, and once Neal Bates said
after a test session in Canberra (in a
Hyundai Coupe): “S@#t, do you usually
drive that hard?”.
Also, Murry Coote just reckoned I was
crazy. Anyway, to answer your question,
no it does not bother me that much.
What was your best year in the ARC,
and how close did you come to winning the
championship?
I am hopeless on dates, however,
I finished second in the ARC twice
I think, for sure once behind Greg
Carr. Having my team, Japanese
Connection, withdraw halfway through
the championship, and some poor
decisions on my behalf after that, cost
me the championship that year.
I only needed to finish the Alpine
Rally ahead of Greg’s Alfa, and with
the 323 Mazda that should have been
a stroll in the park. But no, not me ...
I clipped a bank on the first stage and
broke the rear suspension. We had no
parts, so completed the event with a
patched up car held together with wire.
I made the mistake of modifying the
Mazda to Group A, but should have left
it standard - it was fast enough to win.
You drove for the factory Holden Dealer
Team for many years, largely in what were
considered uncompetitive cars (Geminis)
against the factory Ford and Datsun teams.
Was it a frustrating period, or one where you
felt you were punching above your weight?
It was a huge honour to be selected
for the Dealer Team. Who would not