Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx (French pronunciation: [ʒaki iks]; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1966 to 1979. Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1969 and 1970, and won eight Grands Prix across 14 seasons. In endurance racing, Ickx won two World Endurance Championships with Porsche and is a six-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring. In rallying, Ickx won the Paris–Dakar Rally in 1983 with Mercedes.
Born and raised in Brussels, Ickx started his career in motorcycle road racing and trials, winning several national and continental titles in the latter discipline. Progressing to touring car racing in the mid-1960s, Ickx won multiple titles before winning the 24 Hours of Spa in 1966. Attracting the attention of Ken Tyrrell, he entered the 1966 German Grand Prix in a Matra Formula Two car, retiring after a first-lap collision with John Taylor, who later died of his injuries. Ickx returned to the race the following year, qualifying third in his Formula Two machinery and earning a Formula One drive with Cooper from the Italian Grand Prix onwards, where he finished sixth. Ickx was signed by Ferrari in 1968, taking his maiden victory in France, amongst several podiums, as he finished fourth in the standings.
Moving to Brabham in 1969, he took multiple wins as he finished runner-up to Jackie Stewart. He returned to Ferrari the next year, again finishing runner-up to Jochen Rindt as he took wins in Austria, Canada and Mexico. Ickx took further wins for Ferrari at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1971 and the German Grand Prix in 1972, but left the team halfway through the 1973 season over the performance of the Ferrari 312B3. After one-off appearances for McLaren and Williams, Ickx joined Lotus in 1974, but left after less than two seasons with the team. He returned to the sport with Wolf–Williams in 1976, swapping seats with Chris Amon at Ensign from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards. After intermittent appearances for Ensign over the next three seasons, Ickx joined Ligier in 1979, replacing an injured Patrick Depailler at the final eight Grands Prix of the season. Struggling to adapt to the ground effect era, Ickx retired from Formula One at the conclusion of the 1979 season with eight race wins, 13 pole positions, 14 fastest laps and 25 podiums.
Outside of Formula One, Ickx won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times, a record which stood until 2005. He also won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1969 and 1972, and the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1972 alongside Mario Andretti, making him the fourth driver to complete the Triple Crown of endurance racing. Ickx won two World Endurance Championships in 1982 and 1983 with Porsche. He retired from endurance racing in 1985, following his involvement in the death of Stefan Bellof. Between 1981 and 2000, Ickx entered 14 editions of the Dakar Rally, winning in 1983. Ickx was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002.
Source : Wikipedia
