In 1966, two Belgian drivers, Lucien Bianchi and Jacky Ickx made their Ford debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For Bianchi, it was his eleventh Le Mans outing. He was a works driver in a Mk II shared with American Mario Andretti. Meanwhile Ickx was paired up with German driver Jochen Neerpasch, for his maiden race at Le Mans in a GT 40 fielded by Essex Wire Corporation (a team named after an electrical wiring company whose biggest customer at the time was – Ford!). Unfortunately neither of them would finish the race. Bianchi and Andretti were both given a second chance in 1967 but were forced to retire early again.

In 1968, Ickx and Bianchi almost became teammates at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ickx’s partner in the Gulf team’s Ford GT 40, the UK’s Brian Redman, was seriously injured during the Belgian F1 Grand Prix and was replaced by Bianchi. The Belgian duo formed a dream team, taking victory at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. However, just days before Le Mans, it was Ickx’s turn for injury, this time at the Canadian Grand Prix. Bianchi ended up sharing the cockpit with Pedro Rodriguez... and together, they won the race!
Sadly Bianchi was absent from the next year’s race. He had moved over to Alfa Romeo but on 30 March 1969, he died in an accident during the test sessions ahead of the 37th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 1968 and 1969, Jacky Ickx and a third Belgian driver, Willy Mairesse, forever changed the face of the 24 Hours and the famous Le Mans start.

In 1968, Mairesse drove a Ford GT40 fielded by fellow countryman and gentleman driver Jean Blaton or "Beurlys", as he was known. Beurlys made regular appearances at Le Mans between 1958 and 1978 and claimed five podium finishes. In fact, in 1967, Beurlys and Mairesse had finished third at the wheel of a Ferrari P4.

On 29 September 1968, after running to jump into his #8 Ford GT 40, Mairesse set off for the first lap. However, in the rush of the start, he hadn't shut his car door properly and the door flew off shortly afterwards, sending the Belgian spinning violently off track. He eventually emerged from a long coma but the lasting effects meant he would never race again.

In 1969, Jacky Ickx protested against the run-and-jump start that had brought his teammate’s career to an end, believing it to be dangerous. On 14 June, instead of running, he simply walked across the track on the pit straight before getting into the #6 Ford GT 40 , thus starting the race from the back of the field. Nevertheless, he staged a spectacular recovery with co-driver Jackie Oliver to reach third position by Sunday morning. The rest is now part of the Le Mans legend: after the leading Porsche 917 was forced out of the race three hours before the finish, Ickx snatched victory from Gérard Larrousse and Hans Herrmann’s Porsche 908 in the very last lap.
On 2 September 1969, Willy Mairesse, who never really got over his accident, took his own life.
In 1970, the race began with a variant on the traditional Le Mans start, with the drivers already strapped into their cars (a scene that can be seen in the film Le Mans, produced and starring Steve McQueen). In 1971, the rolling start that we know today was introduced.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO | Translated from French by Clair Pickworth