The previous weekend, Bellof had joined Kremer to compete in the Hessen Cup at Hockenheim as part of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, but retired with transmission failure.

In 1983 Bellof joined the Rothmans-backed Porsche factory team for the World Sportscar Championship driving a Porsche 956 alongside Derek Bell.

Bellof first tested a Formula One car towards the end of 1983, when he joined the top two drivers from that season's British Formula Three Championship – Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle – in testing for McLaren at Silverstone, where Bellof managed to damage the gearbox before Brundle's opportunity behind the wheel.

Despite starting down in 20th and last place, Bellof remained away from the barriers that caught out many of his rivals, and was catching the race-leading pairing of Alain Prost and Senna when the race was curtailed after 31 laps due to inclement weather conditions.

In training for that race, the late Stefan Bellof set the all-time lap record for the Nordschleife in his Porsche 956, which is still unbeaten at 6: 11. 13, or over on average ( partially because no major racing has taken place there since 1984 ).

Brundle telling in qualifying that at one point while both were on a quick lap, he had followed the Bellof's 012 onto the Mistral by about 100 yards, and by the time he reached Signes, Bellof was nothing more than a dot in his mirrors.

Missing from the grid was popular German driver Stefan Bellof who was killed a week earlier in a sportscar race at the Spa Circuit in Belgium.

Bellof at the 1985 German Grand Prix.

The Dutch Grand Prix was the last Grand Prix for Stefan Bellof, who died in the World Endurance Championship race at Spa Francorchamps at Eau Rouge corner.

Even though Formula One had tragically lost rising stars Stefan Bellof and Manfred Winkelhock in separate World Endurance Championship races at Spa-Francorchamps and Mosport ( Canada ), it was still a season to remember.

Stefan Bellof ( 20 November 1957 – 1 September 1985 ) was a racing driver who is famous for setting the fastest lap ever on the Nordschleife configuration at the Nürburgring in 1983, driving a Porsche 956.

Bellof moved into Formula Ford at the tail end of the 1979 season, as a member of Walter Lechner's Racing School setup, making his bow at Hockenheim in November 1979, where he finished in second place.

As well as those outings, Bellof moved into the German Formula Three Championship, making his début for Bertram Schäfer's team at Wunstorf.

Despite missing the opening two races of the season, Bellof led the championship by seven points going into the final round at the Nürburgring, having taken a top four finish in each of his first eight races.

At the conclusion of the season, Bellof contested the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, but was excluded from the meeting after finishing sixth in his quarter-final heat, for excessive contact.

Eje Elgh, who finished third with Maurer in the 1981 European Formula Two Championship was present at the test and was impressed by Bellof, and recommended him to team boss Willy Maurer to sign him for the 1982 season.

The first race of the season was the BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, where Bellof qualified ninth on the grid.

Sticking to his promise that he made at the 1981 Formula Ford Festival, Bellof drove through the field in showery conditions to win by 21 seconds ahead of Satoru Nakajima and became the first driver to win outright, and second driver to win a race on his European Formula Two début after Dave Morgan won on aggregate at Silverstone in 1972.

While competing in Formula Two in 1982, Bellof made a one-off appearance in the World Endurance Championship at the 1000 km of Spa, partnering Rolf Stommelen at the wheel of a Kremer CK5.

A Porsche 956 being demonstrated at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed, formerly a car shared by Bellof and Jochen Mass in the 1983 World Sportscar Championship season | 1983 World Sportscar Championship.

Bellof and Bell won first time at the 1000 km Silverstone, beating Bob Wollek and Stefan Johansson by almost a minute, having taken the lead at half-distance, completing the race's duration at an average speed of.

The overall all-time lap record for the demanding 20 km Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in the Eifel Mountains has been achieved during the qualifying session for the 1983 1000km of Nürburgring, by Stefan Bellof, who drove his 956 around in 6 minutes 11. 13 seconds, at an average speed of.

The Tyrrell team's results were erased later in the season due to weight infringements, meaning that Bellof was stripped of his podium finish, with his place being taken by René Arnoux.

The French Grand Prix also marked the first time the Tyrrell team used the Renault turbocharged engine with Martin Brundle having use of it for the race mounted in a new Tyrrell 014 chassis while team mate Stefan Bellof still used the Cosworth DFV powered Tyrrell 012.

To get around a FISA rule that a team and driver can not run more than 2 engines in the one chassis during a season ( with the 012 running the Cosworth and 014 the Renault ), Tyrrell simply switched the drivers from one car to the other but not their car numbers meaning Bellof drove in car # 3 and Brundle in car # 4.

Bellof qualified the turbo powered car 19th while Brundle was 26th and last with the Cosworth V8, some 10. 2 seconds of Fabi's pole time and 6. 4 seconds slower than his team mate in his usual car, something Brundle was reported to be not happy with.

Tyrrell were back to a two car team for the race with Italian rookie Ivan Capelli replacing the late Stefan Bellof for his first start in Formula One.

Instead Johansson started again with Tyrrell as a replacement for the suspended Stefan Bellof before being called up to Ferrari when René Arnoux was mysteriously sacked after the first race of the season in Brazil.

After acquiring a limited amount of BMW backing, Bellof assumed a place in the team, with Maurer eventually becoming his manager, having signed an eight-year management deal with Bellof.

Bellof also set the fastest lap during the race, with a lap time of 6 minutes, 25. 91 seconds, which remains the official Nordschleife lap record for all cars.

Bellof was the dominant force in the 1984 championship driving alongside Bell, with John Watson also joining the team.

Bellof also contested races with Brun Motorsport with whom he won at Imola partnering Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Retirements followed in Canada and in Detroit, where Brundle claimed the team's best result of the season with second position as Bellof stuck his Tyrrell in the pit wall.

Bellof remained with the team into the season, but did miss the opening round of the season – the – as Tyrrell had Brundle and Stefan Johansson in their two cars in Rio de Janeiro.

He failed to qualify in Monaco, the only time Bellof failed to qualify in his short Formula One career, along with his exclusion at the 1984 Austrian Grand Prix.

Bellof was making his fourth appearance of 1985 in the series, despite there not being any clashes with his Tyrrell campaign in Formula One.

Today, he is often mentioned as Michael Schumacher's childhood racing idol, and during an interview for the January 2007 issue of the ' 911 and Porsche World ' magazine, teammate Derek Bell felt Bellof's death was caused by lack of discipline in his driving style, and that the blame for his death lay with those around Bellof, including team personnel, who should have allowed him to mature.

At the 1985 1000 km of Spa, Bellof died after colliding with Jacky Ickx's newer 962.

At the end of the race, Bellof had been 21 seconds in arrears of Prost and 13. 7 behind Senna.

Out of respect for Bellof, the race organisers chose to end the event some earlier than planned.

Senna actually finished 7th on the road but the Tyrrell-Ford of Stefan Bellof was disqualified from 6th place when the team was later disqualified from the season.

In the same season, Bellof also finished thirteenth in the Karting World Championship in Hagen, Germany.

A full season in the 1600cc class beckoned in 1980, and Bellof became champion taking eight victories and nine podium placings from twelve races.

Bellof added two more wins later in the season at Kyalami and at Fuji, as he ended the season in fourth position.

Bell and Bellof won the opening round of the season at Monza, but only after the pairing were reinstated to the results.

Other victories at the Nürburgring, Spa, Mosport and Sandown helped Bellof claim the World Sportscar title by eight points from Jochen Mass, and also helped Porsche secure the manufacturer's title for the year ; the make taking all but one victory in the season.

Bellof did move into the championship ahead of the season, joining Tyrrell Racing Organisation, to partner Brundle in naturally aspirated, Ford-engined machinery, which were giving away in excess of to their turbo rivals.

However, Bellof, Brundle and the team were stripped of all their championship points, after their cars were disqualified from the 1984 season after a dispute over lead ballast in their fuel tanks found after the.

Catching both Prost and Senna was the Cosworth powered Tyrrell of Stefan Bellof who, while finishing 3rd on the road, was later disqualified when the entire Tyrrell team was disqualified from the 1984 season due to technical infringements.