Jacky Ickx
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By Jon Saltinstall
Preface by Jacky Ickx
Foreword by Derek Bell
Jacky Ickx is one of the true greats of motor racing. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, he was both highly successful and hugely versatile, racing at the highest level in a wide variety of categories — including Formula 1, sports cars, touring cars and rally raids — and winning throughout. Among many accolades, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours an unprecedented six times and twice finished runner-up in the Formula 1 World Championship. This exhaustively researched book has been written with his full co-operation and outlines every one of the 565 races that he contested in cars and on motorcycles, forming a detailed and insightful record of his racing life supported by over 850 photographs, many of which have never been published before. This is a racing driver’s biography of exceptional depth that all motorsport enthusiasts will treasure.
- Starting in motorcycle trials, Ickx was twice crowned Belgian champion before switching to four wheels; he immediately proved himself a winner in touring cars and single-seaters, becoming European Formula 2 Champion in 1967.
- From 1967, he established himself as a star in sports cars, driving blue-and-orange Gulf Mirages and Ford GT40s to numerous successes, culminating in his first Le Mans victory in 1969 with its famously close finish.
- Snapped up by Ferrari for 1968, he achieved a heroic first Formula 1 victory in that year’s rain-soaked French Grand Prix, confirming his career-long reputation for peerless driving in wet weather.
- Other than one season with Brabham, Ickx spent his best Formula 1 years with Ferrari, achieving eight wins in the period 1968–72, and twice finishing second in the World Championship standings, with Brabham (1969) and Ferrari (1970).
- Post-Ferrari, his Formula 1 fortunes waned but he thrived in sports cars, claiming three successive Le Mans victories, with Mirage in 1975, then with Porsche.
- After his fifth Le Mans win in 1981, the rebirth of sports car racing in the Group C era from 1982 saw Ickx as anchorman in the all-conquering works Porsche team, a four-year period that brought his record sixth Le Mans victory, 12 wins in total, and two World Champion titles.
- After retirement from circuit racing, his later career took him into entirely different motorsport adventures in rally raids, where his Paris–Dakar record includes victory in 1983 (driving a Mercedes-Benz) and second places in 1986 (Porsche) and 1989 (Peugeot).
- ISBN: 978-1-910505-80-9
- Format: 280x235mm
- Hardback
- Page extent: 608pp
- Illustration: 900 photos, including much colour
Jon Saltinstall grew up near Donington Park, where he witnessed his first motor race at the age of 12 after winning tickets in a local newspaper competition. Already fascinated by the sport and its history, and an affirmed Ferrari fan, he obsessively pursued his interest while following a career in banking. His admiration for one Ferrari driver led him to embark on a book, Niki Lauda: His Competition History, which was published by Evro Publishing in 2019 and shortlisted for the RAC Motoring Book of the Year. Encouraged by the acclaim for his first book, he moved on to a similar project about another Ferrari star, Jacky Ickx, a driver with a truly eclectic and fascinating racing life. Married with two grown-up children and a grandchild, he lives in Leicestershire.
“The breadth and depth of Jon Saltinstall’s huge book means that there can be very little left to be said about its subject… if you want to understand this enigmatic driver, this book should be read from cover to cover… a tour de force.”
speedreaders.info (John Aston)
“No driver could hope for a better or more comprehensive chronicle of their entire life’s work behind the wheel… such an approach could become dry or repetitive – this is neither. The narrative doesn’t linger where not needed, and there are always enough nuggets, anecdotes or surprises to keep things lively… a magnificent achievement… I fully intend to spend much of the winter buried in this fantastic book.”
racefans.net (Ben Evans)
“Jon Saltinstall’s 608-page book is more than a mere list of exploits, but it also touches on the lesser-known yet crucial and often poignant parts of Ickx’s life that formed the resolute character he displayed when racing against the odds. Excellent archive imagery, much of it previously unseen, adds to this absorbing read.”
Magneto
“This remarkable book recording every event in which Jacky Ickx competed is proof that British enthusiasts are the most dedicated of motorsport fans. Jon Saltinstall’s fanatical research extends from Jacky’s earlier motorcycle trails to the 2000 Dakar, with the author’s enthusiastic style bringing the stories to life… An astonishing book of which author and subject are rightly proud.”
Classic & Sports Car (Mick Walsh)
“Told in meticulous detail.”
Classic Cars
“This is another fantastic book by well renowned author Jon Saltinstall, running to over 600 pages, each page a story in itself. Such is the attention to detail and depth of research, it can only be described as a work of art. I’m told Ickx is a very private person, not hard to get on with, but preferring to keep himself to himself. So, well done Jon on creating what must have been an incredible working relationship…. faultless in production… Evro Publishing produces books that not only look good, but are a treat to just handle… worth every penny.”
retro-speed.co.uk
“This a very special book…”
GrandPrix+ (David Tremayne)
“With his thorough research, this is definitely a labour of love by the author… production is of a high standard and warrants the cover price… An epic book about an epic driver.”
Racing Spirit
“As comprehensive a book about a driver ever published.”
BusinessF1 (Tom Rubython)
“What strikes most, is the man's extraordinary versatility. We remember Jacky’s exploits in F1, sports car racing and the Dakar rally but I knew nothing of his stunning career on trials bikes, his hill climbing record and little of his participation in many other racing disciplines.”
Goodwood Road & Racing
“The career of Jacky Ickx spans nearly 40 years, so the effort to research his complete racing history must have been tremendous… an absolute masterpiece… a biography of exceptional depth.”
loveforporsche.com
“Produced to Evro’s usual very high standard, the £95 price is eminently reasonable for a book that runs to 608 pages and is so generously illustrated.”
Ferrari Owners’ Club magazine
“The research is seriously impressive.”
the-race.com
“The range and research of the book impress... a phenomenal reference.”
Motor Sport
“A wonderful book to enjoy reading over many sessions, enjoying the car details, the scene, the nature of racing in those times and how a beginner in racing evolved into a champion and a legend.”
Victory Lane
“Remarkable writing keeps the reader’s attention… a beautifully designed book… everything about it looks and feels like quality, from the binding to the slick feel of the pages… not to be missed.”
lacar.com
“Year by year, the variety and calibre of this remarkable career is laid bare… absorbing.”
Octane