one last victory: in torrential conditions atthe 1974 Brands Hatch
Race of Champions, he passed the Ferrari of Niki Lauda at
Paddock Bend – on the outside...
While a magnificent F1 driver, Ickx is most remembered for his
many sports car wins for Wyer, for Ferrari, for Porsche. There were
six at Le Mans, including the fabled triumph in 1969, when his Ford
GT40 beat Hans Hermann’s faster Porsche by a scant 130 yards.
The victory Jacky remembers most fondly, though, came in 1977.
“My Porsche retiredwith an engine problem, and I went to the
remaining car, which had also had troubles, and was lying 40th.
Ahead therewere four works Renaults, which were the quickest
cars, but we all drove like maniacs, pressuring them so muchthat
in late morning the last one retired. It was one of those days when
nothing will stop you.”
As a motorsport all-rounder, Ickx – who won the CanAm
championship, won at Bathurst, won the Paris-Dakar – might be
thought of in the same terms as Moss or Mario Andretti, yet he
looks back on it all withdisarming humility.
“In the rest of life, you know, selfishness is a defect, but in racing
it’s necessary if you are going to be a winner. I’m much happier
today because in so many ways I’m another person. I was quite
difficult when I was young – winning was my only goal – but now
I don’t have any ego any more.
“I watch the races on TV, and enjoy going to Monaco or Spa, but
whereas at Goodwood I know everyone, F1 is a world I don’t know
any more, and I don’t think I would have survived too well in it- not in the physical sense, because it’s so much safer than it was –
but all the PR work, and so on, I would have hated.
“I always kept a certain distance from total professionalism –
somewhere itwas al ways a sort of hobby. Between race weekends,
you know, I never used togive ra cing a thought...”
champion. Uniquely in the annals of racing
history, he rejoiced that he did not.
“At first the 312B was not so reliable, but
later we were able to compete with [Jochen]
Rindt and the Lotus72. By then, though,
Jochen had a big points lead, and it looked
impossible tocatch him.”
Then came Monza, where Rindt was
killed in final qualifying, and after winning
the next race inCanada Ickx found himself
the only other driver with the possibility
to win the title. “First of all, honestly, the
world championship had no meaning for
me – the goal was always to win races, not
calculate how many points I would get
for this position or that.
“Still, this was a horriblesitua tion.
I was obligedto try and win for Ferrari if
not for myself, and if I won thelast three
races I would be champion, by one point.
I won at St Jovite, but then had a problem at
Watkins Glen and finished fourth. That was ahugerelease. I didn’t
want to be champion, beating a man who... wasn’tthere any more.
Where would have been the glory in that? Jochen deserved the
championship – if God exists, he made the right decision. I went to
the last race, in Mexico, in a good frame of mind. And I won again.”
There would be further victories for Ferrari over the next two
seasons, not least adominant display at his beloved Nordschleife
in 1972, but the team’s fortunes plummeted the following year, and
although Ickx has only good memories of Maranello, he left for
Lotus. By now his F1 career wason the wane, but there remainedIckx leading Rindt in Germany in 1970, arace Rindt won.To Ickx’s
relief, Rindt was crowned F1’s only posthumouschampionIN THE REST OF
LIFE, YOU KNOW,
SELFISHNESS IS
A DEFECT, BUT
IN RACING IT’S
NECESSARY IF YOU
ARE GOING TO
BE A WINNER
JACKY ICKX“
”
one last victory: in torrential conditions atthe 1974 Brands Hatch
Race of Champions, he passed the Ferrari of Niki Lauda at
Paddock Bend – on the outside...
While a magnificent F1 driver, Ickx is most remembered for his
many sports car wins for Wyer, for Ferrari, for Porsche. There were
six at Le Mans, including the fabled triumph in 1969, when his Ford
GT40 beat Hans Hermann’s faster Porsche by a scant 130 yards.
The victory Jacky remembers most fondly, though, came in 1977.
“My Porsche retiredwith an engine problem, and I went to the
remaining car, which had also had troubles, and was lying 40th.
Ahead therewere four works Renaults, which were the quickest
cars, but we all drove like maniacs, pressuring them so muchthat
in late morning the last one retired. It was one of those days when
nothing will stop you.”
As a motorsport all-rounder, Ickx – who won the CanAm
championship, won at Bathurst, won the Paris-Dakar – might be
thought of in the same terms as Moss or Mario Andretti, yet he
looks back on it all withdisarming humility.
“In the rest of life, you know, selfishness is a defect, but in racing
it’s necessary if you are going to be a winner. I’m much happier
today because in so many ways I’m another person. I was quite
difficult when I was young – winning was my only goal – but now
I don’t have any ego any more.
“I watch the races on TV, and enjoy going to Monaco or Spa, but
whereas at Goodwood I know everyone, F1 is a world I don’t know
any more, and I don’t think I would have survived too well in it- not in the physical sense, because it’s so much safer than it was –
but all the PR work, and so on, I would have hated.
“I always kept a certain distance from total professionalism –
somewhere itwas al ways a sort of hobby. Between race weekends,
you know, I never used togive ra cing a thought...”
champion. Uniquely in the annals of racing
history, he rejoiced that he did not.
“At first the 312B was not so reliable, but
later we were able to compete with [Jochen]
Rindt and the Lotus72. By then, though,
Jochen had a big points lead, and it looked
impossible tocatch him.”
Then came Monza, where Rindt was
killed in final qualifying, and after winning
the next race inCanada Ickx found himself
the only other driver with the possibility
to win the title. “First of all, honestly, the
world championship had no meaning for
me – the goal was always to win races, not
calculate how many points I would get
for this position or that.
“Still, this was a horriblesitua tion.
I was obligedto try and win for Ferrari if
not for myself, and if I won thelast three
races I would be champion, by one point.
I won at St Jovite, but then had a problem at
Watkins Glen and finished fourth. That was ahugerelease. I didn’t
want to be champion, beating a man who... wasn’tthere any more.
Where would have been the glory in that? Jochen deserved the
championship – if God exists, he made the right decision. I went to
the last race, in Mexico, in a good frame of mind. And I won again.”
There would be further victories for Ferrari over the next two
seasons, not least adominant display at his beloved Nordschleife
in 1972, but the team’s fortunes plummeted the following year, and
although Ickx has only good memories of Maranello, he left for
Lotus. By now his F1 career wason the wane, but there remained
Ickx leading Rindt in Germany in 1970, arace Rindt won.To Ickx’s
relief, Rindt was crowned F1’s only posthumouschampion
IN THE REST OF
LIFE,YOU KNOW,
SELFISHNESS IS
A DEFECT, BUT
IN RACING IT’S
NECESSARY IF YOU
ARE GOING TO
BE A WINNER
JACKY ICKX“
”