24h Le Mans
Throughout this month, we will bring you a very special Advent calendar dedicated to remarkable stories and anecdotes from the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, here is a look back at the early 1980s when Jacky Ickx became the new win record holder at the race…after a very brief retirement from competition.
When Jacky Ickx announced his retirement after his second place finish at Le Mans in 1980, he was 35 years old with a remarkable career that breaks down in three chapters. In 1969 when he was 25, the Belgian driver had already won his first 24 Hours, all while finishing world champion runner-up in Formula 1. Ickx won eight F1 Grand Prix from 1968 to 1972 and in the second half of the 1970s he returned to Le Mans for a second major chapter in competition for three consecutive victories (1975, 1976, 19977) with which he matched the record set by fellow countryman Olivier Gendebien. He quickly reconsidered his decision to retire and reached new summits with Porsche in the first half of the 1980s.
From 1981 to 1985, for the third and final chapter, and his last four participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he won in 1981 and 1982 along with Derek Bell. In addition to this new record of six victories at the race (held until 2005), he was crowned world endurance champion in 1982 and became the first driver to score three pole positions in a row at Le Mans in 1981, 1982 and 1985. Added to those in 1975 and 1978, they established a record of five poles that Ickx holds to this day. After winning with the Porsche 936 in 1981 (after 1976 and 1977), Ickx and Bell won with the new Porsche 956 in 1982 for the car's first appearance at the 24 Hours.
Absent in 1984 (the factory Porsche team did not take the start that year), the following year Ickx finished his 15th and final 24 Hours in 10th place along with German driver Jochen Mass. In tandem with his exceptional performances at Le Mans, he also became a rally raid expert during the 1980s, with one win at Paris-Dakar shared with French actor Claude Brasseur.
Over the last few years, Jacky Ickx has spent his time in Africa where his wife was born, major vintage car events, serving as a global ambassador for the Volkswagen Group and and regularly attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He is always "extremely happy" to return to the circuit at which an outstanding portion of his legend was formed.
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO ARCHIVES): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS 1981 & 1982. Jacky Ickx represented Porsche for his last two wins at the 24 Hours in 1981 (above) and 1982 (below) along with British driver Derek Bell. The duo had already won together in 1975 at the wheel of a Gulf-Ford prototype.
