Jacky Ickx was first recruited by Ferrari in 1968 to join the Scuderia in Formula 1 while he was participating in endurance racing with John Wyer's Gulf team. After clinching his first win at the Grand Prix of France on July 7, 1968, in 1969 he joined Brabham, sponsored by none other than Gulf Oil. With two victories, he became world vice-champion behind Jackie Stewart. In 1970, Jacky Ickx became one of the few drivers in history to be re-hired by Enzo Ferrari, that time for a two-fold program in Formula 1 and sports prototypes.

Consequently, Jacky Ickx found himself at the heart of Ferrari's last three legendary duels at Le Mans. When he first appeared at the 24 Hours in 1966 with a Ford GT40, Ferrari and Ford were already writing one of the greatest pages in Le Mans history. In 1970, the Ferrari 512 fought a breathtaking duel with the Porsche 917. The latter gave the German manufacturer its first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Jacky Ickx and his teammate, Swiss driver Peter Schetty, were forced to retire after an accident.

"In the Ford-Ferrari duel, there was a great deal of fondness for the Italian marque and its beautiful cars and great engines," recalls Jacky Ickx. What made 24 Hours of Le Mans history were these huge duels, with effectively Matra and Ferrari. There was an incredible boom for Matra and Jean-Luc Lagardère who decided to become involved in motorsports and incorporate the aeronautical knowledge of his engineers."

In 1973, against Matra, Jacky Ickx and his Ferrari 312 PB fought all the way to the final moments of the 50th anniversary edition of the 24 Hours. After adopting a cautious pace early in the race, the Belgian and his teammate British driver Brian Redman never let up on future winners Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse. Leaders from the 11th to the 17th hour, they finally had to give up due to an engine breakdown with only two hours left to the checkered flag.

At the end of 1973, Enzo Ferrari allowed himself to be pursuaded by his new right-hand man Luca di Montezemolo to leave sports prototypes in order to focus on re-establishing the marque's supremacy in Formula 1. The same year, Jacky Ickx also left endurance racing. From 1970 to 1973, he won five of his eight victories in Formula 1 at the wheel of a Ferrari.

"I did not leave Ferrari on bad terms. I left because I wanted to do Formula 1 and endurance racing at the same time (which was quite common in the 1970s, Ed.), but with Ferrari that would not have been possible. At that time, Formula 1 and the 24 Hours were treated as equals. It was when things became more professional that a choice had to be made. I remember Enzo Ferrari as a very affectionate and sensitive man. I think I was fortunate because he was always very patient with me. I always felt I was given the best of what the factory could provide, even if the priority was always to see Ferrari win, no matter the driver. Enzo Ferrari was also around when motorsports was still dangerous. I don't think he was able to become great friends or be very affectionate with the drivers competing for him. As the risk of accidents was very significant, he didn't want to become too close with them and then possibly suffer."

During the last half of the 1970s, after two full seasons in 1974 and 1975, Jacky Ickx's participations became more spaced out through the years up until 1979. During that period, the 24 Hours of Le Mans became his veritable playground, with three consecutive wins in 1975 with Mirage, then in 1976 and 1977 with Porsche.

So began the great love story between the Belgian champion and the German marque which includes their stunning exploit at the 1977 24 Hours...to be continued in the next installment of this interview series.

Click below for the previous installments in this interview series:

Jacky Ickx interview series (1) - The road to the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans

Jacky Ickx interview series (2) - 1969 and the walk to victory