Editing Jacky Ickx (section)

==Endurance racing career==

[[File:1968 Ford GT40 Mk I (14288662849).jpg|alt=Ickx's Gulf Ford GT40, winner of the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans|thumb|Ickx's Ford GT40, winner of the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans]]
In 1966, Ickx teamed up with [[Hubert Hahne]] in a BMW 2000TI to win the [[Spa 24 Hours]] endurance race in his native Belgium. In 1967, Ickx won the [[6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps|1000km of Spa]] with [[Dick Thompson (racing driver)|Dick Thompson]] in the [[Gulf Oil|Gulf]]-liveried JW Automotive [[Mirage (race car)|Mirage]] M1.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1967-spa-1000kms|work= [[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] magazine database|title=1967 Spa 1000Kms|access-date= 3 October 2019}}</ref> In 1968, Ickx won the [[1000 km Brands Hatch#Winners|Brands Hatch six-hour]] endurance race partnered with [[Brian Redman]] in a [[John Wyer]] entered [[Ford GT40|Ford GT40 Mk1]]. Ickx would go on to win the Brands race on a further three occasions, in 1972 for Ferrari alongside [[Mario Andretti]] and 1977 and 1982 driving [[Porsche]]s with [[Jochen Mass]] and [[Derek Bell (racing driver)|Derek Bell]] respectively.

[[File:Ferrari 512 S - Nick Masson.JPG|thumb|left|[[Ferrari 512|Ferrari 512S]]: Ickx drove this model during the [[1970 24 Hours of Le Mans]].]]
Ickx won the [[1969 24 Hours of Le Mans]], his first victory in that race. This race also saw the first appearance of the [[Porsche 917]] at Le Mans, which was regarded by far as the favourite. The [[Ford GT40]] that Ickx drove with [[Jackie Oliver]] appeared at that time to be an obsolete car, outperformed by the new Porsche 917 but also by the older [[Porsche 908]] and the new generation of 3-litre prototypes from [[Ferrari]], [[Equipe Matra Sports|Matra]] and [[Alfa Romeo T33|Alfa Romeo]].

As Ickx was opposed to the traditional Le Mans start which he considered to be dangerous, he slowly walked across the track to his machine, instead of running. He locked the safety belt carefully and thus was the last to start the race, chasing the field. On lap one, private driver [[John Woolfe]], who had not taken time to belt himself in, had a fatal accident in his new and powerful 917.

[[File:JackyIckx1975.jpg|thumb|right|Ickx in 1975 at [[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps|Spa]]]]
During the race the Porsche 917 cars proved unreliable, and none finished. The last four hours of the race turned into a duel between the Porsche 908 of [[Hans Herrmann]]/[[Gérard Larrousse]] and the Ford GT-40 of Ickx/Oliver. In the last hour, Ickx and Herrmann continually leapfrogged each other, the Porsche being faster on the straights owing to having less aerodynamic drag, while being passed again under braking as the brake pads were worn and the team reckoned there was not enough time left to change them. Ickx won the race by the smallest of competitive margins ever, with less than {{convert|120|yd}} between the two cars, despite having lost a bigger distance intentionally at the start. He also won his case for safety: from 1970, all drivers could start the race sitting in their cars with the belts tightened properly.

In later years, Ickx won a record six times at the 24h race at Le Mans, becoming known as "Monsieur Le Mans". Three of the wins were with [[Derek Bell (racing driver)|Derek Bell]]: this would become one of the most legendary partnerships. In 2005, [[Tom Kristensen (racing driver)|Tom Kristensen]] surpassed Ickx's record and when Kristensen announced his proposed retirement at the end of the 2014 season<ref>{{cite web|title =Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen announces retirement from racing|url =http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116830|last =Watkins|first =Gary|date =19 November 2014|work =AUTOSPORT.com|access-date =4 January 2015}}</ref> had nine victories.

[[File:1973-05-27 Jacky Ickx, Ferrari 312P.jpg|thumb|left|Ickx driving a [[Ferrari 312PB]] at the [[Nürburgring]] in 1973]]
From 1976 on, he was a factory driver for Porsche and their new turbocharged race cars, the [[Porsche 935|935]] and especially the [[Porsche 936|936]] sports car, which he drove to wins in Le Mans three times. These drives, as well as the losing effort in 1978, often in the rain and at night, were some of the finest ever. Ickx considers the [[1977 24 Hours of Le Mans]] race to be his favourite win of all time. Retiring earlier on in another Porsche 936, which he shared with [[Henri Pescarolo]], the team transferred him to the car of [[Jürgen Barth]] and [[Hurley Haywood]] which was in 42nd place. Ickx made up for lost laps to lead the race by early morning, but suffered a mechanical problem which forced the car to pit. The mechanics resolved the issue by switching off one cylinder, and Ickx went on to win the race. The win in 1982 came with the new and superior [[Porsche 956]] model, though, which carried him to two titles as world champion of endurance racing, in 1982 and 1983.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

In 1983, Ickx was the team leader at Porsche, but a new teammate was faster than he was: young German [[Stefan Bellof]] set new lap records at the [[Nürburgring]] in the last ever sports car race held on the original configuration of Ickx's favourite track. As it turned out, Ickx and Bellof would become involved in controversial events later on.

In 1984, Ickx acted as Formula One race director in Monaco. He stopped the race before half distance due to heavy rain, just as leader [[Alain Prost]] was being caught by a young [[Ayrton Senna]] and Bellof. Prost thus won the race but was awarded only half the points for a win (4.5); the Frenchman subsequently lost the [[1984 FIA Formula One World Championship|1984 World Championship]] to [[McLaren]] team-mate [[Niki Lauda]] by half a point.

[[File:956 Rothmans 1.jpg|thumb|right|Ickx's ''[[Rothmans International plc|Rothmans]]'' Porsche 956]]
In 1985, Ickx was involved with Bellof again, but with fatal consequences. Bellof raced a privateer Porsche while waiting to join the Ferrari in 1986, which had promised him a seat after his performance in Monaco, similar to what they had done for Lauda after he outclassed Ickx there in 1973. At Spa, Ickx's home track, the young German in the private [[Porsche 956]] of [[Walter Brun]] tried to pass the experienced Belgian in the factory [[Porsche 962]] for first place after being behind Ickx for three laps. At [[Eau Rouge corner]], Bellof attempted to pass from the left, but Ickx turned left from the right side at the entry of the Eau Rouge and they collided and crashed, Bellof dying an hour later after he crashed the barrier in the "[[Raidillon]]" part of the track head-on, while Ickx was shaken but unharmed. He retired from professional circuit racing at the end of the season.