Jacky Ickx

Did You Know?

• Ickx's father Jacques and older brother Pascal were also racing drivers.
• During his youth Ickx disliked noise and had ambitions to be a gardener or gamekeeper.
• He is married to singer Khadja Nin.

Formula One career

Ickx made his Grand Prix debut at the 1966 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in a Matra Formula Two car, but retired after a first-lap collision with John Taylor, who later died. He made his Formula One debut at Monza in 1967 with Cooper, finishing sixth despite a late puncture. In 1968 he drove for Ferrari, taking his maiden victory at the French Grand Prix in heavy rain. He finished third at Spa, Brands Hatch, and Monza, and fourth at the Nürburgring. A practice crash in Canada broke his left leg, causing him to miss that race and the United States Grand Prix, but he returned for the season finale in Mexico. Ickx scored 27 points in 1968, placing fourth in the championship.

Endurance racing career

Ickx won the Spa 24 Hours in 1966 with Hubert Hahne in a BMW 2000TI. In 1968 he won the Brands Hatch six-hour race with Brian Redman in a Ford GT40. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 1969, driving a Ford GT40 with Jackie Oliver. Opposed to the traditional Le Mans start, he walked across the track and fastened his belts carefully, starting last. On the first lap, John Woolfe, who had not belted in, died in his Porsche 917. The race became a duel between Ickx and Hans Herrmann's Porsche 908; Ickx won by less than 120 yards. From 1970, drivers could start seated with belts fastened. Ickx later won Le Mans five more times, and also won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1969 and 1972, and the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1972 with Mario Andretti.

Further racing career

In 1979 Ickx won the revived Can-Am series, driving against Keke Rosberg, Elliot Forbes-Robinson, and Bobby Rahal. He clinched the title at the Riverside finale, having raced conservatively at Laguna Seca the previous weekend. Ickx consulted for the Oreca team during Mazda's 1991 Le Mans victory with the 787B. He participated in the International Race of Champions in 1978 and 1984. In 1969 he was entered in the Daytona 500 in a car owned by Junior Johnson, but crashed in practice and the car was damaged beyond repair; the team's backup car went to LeeRoy Yarbrough, so Ickx did not race. After retiring from professional racing, he continued in the Paris-Dakar Rally, winning in 1983 driving a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and later competed with his daughter Vanina.

Awards and honours

Ickx was named Belgian driver of the year multiple times, holding the record with titles in 1967–1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, and 1982. He received the Belgian National Sports Merit Award in 1968 and was Belgian Sportsman of the Year in 1982. The ACO awarded him the Spirit of Le Mans trophy in 2004. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2020. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown and an Officer of the Monegasque Order of Saint-Charles, and in 2007 a Grand Officer of the Belgian Order of Leopold II.