It has been described as the most authentic racing film ever made, but the story of making Steve McQueen’s Le Mans is far more gripping than the film’s plot.

In a new Motor Sport special issue, Racing at the Movies 2, we go back behind the scenes of the turbulent, intense 1970 shoot that brought the raw reality of the Le Mans 24 Hours to the big screen.

Among the contributors is Derek Bell, who joined as a driver to make some extra cash and found himself riding bikes with McQueen or racing Richard Attwood and Jo Siffert around the dirt tracks of the production village.

“I was there from the week after Le Mans until October,” says Bell. “I’d dive off at weekends to race. On the way to the European championship races, we’d bring my F2 car down and I’d do a couple of laps of the Bugatti Circuit. That’s when Steve had a go in it. There were great pictures of him, which were all over the press. Can you imagine it today? He did 10 laps and really loved it.”

It was conceived as the film that showed the authentic grittiness of racing, combining footage from the 1970 race, including shots from a Porsche 908 camera car that was on the entry list, with staged scenes. McQueen’s own bid to race was stymied by insurers, but the 12 Hours of Sebring veteran made up for it when he was handed the circuit for filming.

“At the time I thought he was OK, but with hindsight he was very good,” says Bell. “There was the famous run through White House with me leading Steve and Siffert. Both Jo and I said we’ve got to drive flat out. We wanted it to be real.

“I told him he didn’t have to keep his foot in it. But he did, because he could”

“We weren’t taking maximum revs, but we were driving hard, 1-2-3 like that. We got to the end of the shot and Steve was right behind me. He got out and his face was as white as his face mask! He said, ‘You bastards! Hey, John, come here.’ [Director] John Sturges came over. ‘They took me through the corner bloody flat out!’ I told him he didn’t have to keep his foot in it. But he did, because he could. That was him, over any other actor. I don’t think Paul Newman would have done that. Paul was far too calculating. Steve was a racer, in my opinion.”

Filming of Le Mans went on from after the race until October, with a crew dedicated to authenticity but without a script for much of the time. Sturges walked out, there were serious crashes — including one where Bell was hospitalised with burns, and costs spiralled.

Ultimately, Bell says he wasn’t proud of the result from his summer of filming. “I think we were all disappointed in the film. Really, we expected more from it. But the story was weak and we hadn’t realised Steve actually said very little on camera.”

Elsewhere in the 132-page issue, packed with pictures from filming, Aubrey Day, former editor-in-chief of Total Film, explains how Le Mans’ reputation has grown in the 51 years since its release, and why it improves each time you watch it.

It also includes Jonathan Williams describing his role driving McQueen’s Porsche 908 camera car in the 1970 race, more behind-the-scenes stories, and the tale of how hundreds of thousands of feet of original footage from filming was recovered.

Racing at the Movies 2 takes a similarly in-depth look at John Frankenheimer’s seminal Grand Prix, as well as Paul Newman’s Winning, while exploring the history of racing movies, from 1913’s The Speed Kings to Michael Mann’s forthcoming Ferrari epic, as well as the posters that are art forms in themselves.

Racing at the Movies Part 2 The greatest motor sport films of all time Published by Motor Sport £19.99 Buy now