Expo: 80 Years of Jacky Ickx – A Tribute to a Belgian Motorsport Icon

Belgium’s most accomplished and versatile racing driver, Jacky Ickx, is celebrating his 80th birthday. Autoworld honors this milestone with an impressive exhibition tracing the rich and varied career of this national legend. The exhibition runs until January 26, offering a unique opportunity to delve into the legacy of Jacky Ickx.

Collector Eric Janssen showcases over 100 miniature models depicting the cars that Ickx raced and triumphed in. Complementing this collection, life-sized vehicles are also on display, including a Gulf Ford GT40 and a Zündapp trial motorcycle. Visitors can marvel at authentic memorabilia from Ickx’s career, ranging from trial motorcycles to Formula 1 racers and Dakar vehicles.

Trial

Jacky Ickx started his career on two wheels. His father, Jacques, was a journalist specializing in motorsports, which explains why motorsports were omnipresent in the Ickx household. Did you know that Jacques Ickx was the first to use the word "motocross"?

Young Jacky was not particularly attracted to noisy racing cars. However, when he received a moped to improve his poor academic results, he quickly became attached to it. In 1963 and 1965, Ickx won the Belgian trial championship in the 50cc category, beating, among others, future five-time motocross world champion Roger De Coster.

Jacky Ickx attributes his reputation as a "rain master" to his sense of balance developed on his trial bike. However, when he was still too young to participate in 50cc Grand Prix road races, despite his success in Belgium, importer Moorkens offered him a BMW 700 to compete in hill climbs and rallies.

Jacky confesses that if he had been able to compete in 50cc GPs, he would probably have stayed on two wheels. Regardless, he has always remained a passionate motorcyclist.

Touring Cars

Although his first hill climb race with the BMW 700 ended against a tree in La Roche, Ickx quickly proved to be a very talented car driver. His talent was noticed by personalities such as driver-journalist Paul Frère.

Ickx was taken under the wing of Ford Belgium, and the Lotus Cortina led him to international heights. During a race in Budapest, Ken Tyrrell noticed Jacky Ickx, who was then competing in a Cortina for the famous Alan Mann team. After his military service, this allowed him to drive the Tyrrell Matra F2 single-seaters, a stepping stone to Formula 1.

Ickx also won the Spa Cup four times driving Ford Mustangs, a Ford Falcon, and a BMW 2800CS. In 1966, he won the 24 Hours of Spa with a BMW 2000TI, the same car his brother Pascal had used to win a year earlier.

Later in his career, Ickx also achieved victories with the iconic BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile" and once at the Bathurst 1000 with an Australian Ford Falcon.

In 1969, he participated in just one American Nascar race, but his Daytona race ended in a crash. A few participations with Chevrolet Camaros in the IROC (International Race of Champions) series were not very successful, although they illustrated his versatility.

Ickx also participated several times in the "Marathon de la Route," an 84-hour race at the Nürburgring with Cortinas and, once, with a Mustang. The knowledge he gained on the 21 km of the Nürburgring would prove crucial for his rise in Formula 1.

Single-Seaters

As mentioned, Ken Tyrrell offered Jacky Ickx a place in his Matra Formula 2 car. After a learning period, Ickx demonstrated his talent and knowledge of the Nürburgring in 1967. During the German Formula 1 race, where F2 cars were admitted to complete the grid, he qualified third. Only two F1 cars were faster than the very young Ickx in a much less powerful car. In the race, his Matra’s suspension broke while he was fighting for a podium among the F1s, but his reputation was made.Later that year, he debuted in F1 at Monza with a Cooper-Maserati. His sixth place earned him his first F1 points.

In 1968, Enzo Ferrari offered him a contract in both F1 and F2. That year, he won his first F1 race in the rain at Rouen, where his friend and colleague Jo Schlesser tragically lost his life. In F2, he was often very fast but frequently suffered mechanical failures.In 1969, he joined Brabham due to sponsor conflicts at Ferrari and finished as vice-world champion for the first time, thanks to victories in Germany (naturally) and Canada.

In 1970, he returned to Ferrari, becoming the only driver Enzo Ferrari ever offered such a second chance. Despite numerous mechanical problems, he again finished as vice-world champion, behind Jochen Rindt, who tragically died at Monza. “I was relieved to have retired in the penultimate race because I didn’t want to take the title from someone who could no longer defend it,” he admitted. That season, he also competed in F2 races for BMW but had little success due to reliability issues.

Ickx continued to race for Ferrari until 1973, but the team declined, and successes became rare, even though Ickx was considered one of the fastest drivers in the world. This was proven when he finished third in the German GP in a Yardley McLaren he had never driven before, after being sidelined by Ferrari. Before the end of the season, he joined ISO-Williams without success.In 1974, he signed with Lotus, but the team was in decline. After stints with minor teams such as Wolf-Williams, Ensign, and Ligier, he left F1. He then focused on other disciplines, notably winning the 1979 CanAm title with a Lola from the Haas team.

Endurance

Even before his F1 career began, Ickx was already a global endurance racing reference. He debuted in 1966 with a Ferrari 250 LM from the Francorchamps team at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

With the Gulf-Wyer team, he won the 1000 km of Spa twice in 1967 and 1968 spectacularly, with impressive performances in the rain.

And of course, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1969 in a legendary race. To protest against the traditional "Le Mans start," he walked to his Ford GT40 instead of running. Starting last, he ultimately triumphed with Jacky Oliver after a fierce duel with the Porsche 908 of Larrousse/Hermann.

Despite the setbacks in his F1 career with Ferrari, Ickx achieved numerous endurance successes with the 312 PB, forming victorious teams with Mario Andretti and Clay Regazzoni. When Ferrari ceased its endurance activities, Ickx continued to achieve victories with Matra, Alfa Romeo, and a second Le Mans win with a Mirage Ford from Gulf-Wyer.

Then Porsche recruited him, impressed by his talent. With the 935, he dominated Group 5 races and won two Group C world titles with the 956. Adding two more victories at Le Mans, he became "Mr. Le Mans" with six triumphs in total. He raced until 1985, concluding an extraordinary career.

Rally Raids

After his first participation in the Paris-Dakar rally with Citroën in 1981, Ickx fell in love with Africa and rally raids.

In 1983, he won the Dakar with Mercedes before convincing Porsche to get involved. Although Porsche won with the 959, Ickx never managed to win the Dakar for the brand. 

He continued to race for Peugeot, Citroën, and even Lada, but successes were rare, except for a solo victory in the Diesel class with a Toyota Land Cruiser.

He even participated one last time with his daughter Vanina driving a Toyota before retiring permanently.