The Ickx factor
Motor Sport Magazine|June 2024
Add a Belgian driver and a Cosworth V8 and this Brabham BT26 gave Jackie Stewart a fright,
Simon de Burton
The Ickx factor

Not long ago I had the privilege of being driven around the Spanish circuit Ascari in a Porsche 911 GT3 by the legendary Jacky Ickx. We were less than a lap in before the secret of the genius that enabled him to win Le Mans six times became apparent: despite being close to 80 years old, he remains spectacularly smooth (both in his driving style and in his demeanour), as cool as a cucumber and – most noticeably – incredibly sympathetic to the machine.

In fact, during multiple cringe-making quick laps, I don’t think the tachometer ever passed the 4000rpm mark.

So if you’re looking for a historic Formula 1 car and believe a little bit of a past driver’s magic might sometimes be left behind, check out this example that was successfully campaigned both by Ickx and posthumous 1970 F1 world champion Jochen Rindt.

This story is from the June 2024 edition of Motor Sport Magazine.

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This story is from the June 2024 edition of Motor Sport Magazine.

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