24h Le Mans
From the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Belgium and France, the Ardennes mountains and the Sarthe region, enjoy this in-depth interview of Jacky Ickx. In this sixth installment, we will try to answer the question: between Jacky Ickx and Tom Kristensen, who really is "Monsieur Le Mans"...?
In the wake of his numerous exploits at the 24 Hours (among others the down-to-the-wire win in 1969, the climb of 1977 and the three consecutive pole positions in 1981-'82-'83), Jacky Ickx inherited the nickname "Monsieur Le Mans" in 1981 when he beat Olivier Gendebien's win record (four), then carried it to six in 1982.
But on June 19, 2005, Danish driver Tom Kristensen won a seventh victory (and sixth consecutive) which made him the new win record-holder at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And so another "Monsieur Le Mans" made his indelible mark on the history of the 24 Hours. Though Tom Kristensen won two more victories, in 2008 and 2013, bringing his stunning record to nine, he never failed to assert - with an exceptional level of class - that for him the only "Monsieur Le Mans" was Jacky Ickx.
If you look at the results, the raw numbers command respect. From 1966 to 1985, Jacky Ickx took the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 16 times, winning six victories (1969-'75-'76-'77-'81-'82) and claiming three other podium finishes (three second places). In 18 participations from 1997 to 2014 without interruption, Tom Kristensen won nine times (1997, from 2000 to 2005, 2008 and 2013), reached the podium five other times with two second place and three third place finishes.
Tom Kristensen comes out on top in the ratio participations/podiums/victories...but the eras they dominated were fundamentally different. Nonetheless, the Belgian and the Dane share a certain philosophy of motorsports, seemingly fitting to 24 Hours of Le Mans and endurance racing: a fierce desire to triumph at the wheel with a great deal of natural refinement off the track. It can be said that Jacky Ickx and Tom Kristensen, today highly active retirees, have formed a sort of exceptional "Messieurs Le Mans" duo!
"When Tom Kristensen won for the seventh time at Le Mans in 2005, I found it incredible because records are meant to be broken," underscores a very fair-game Jacky Ickx. "You don't win nine 24 Hours of Le Mans by accident. For Tom, the timing was perfect, he is elegant, he is talented, he was surrounded by very competent people as was I during my time, he had excellent teammates at the wheel and he won nine times thanks to all of it."
These days, Jacky Ickx splits his time between vintage car competition events (Goodwood, Mille Miglia, Historic Grand Prix of Monaco), Africa (his wife's native land) and of course his annual visit to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He will discuss his philosophy of life in the next installment in this series.
Click below for the previous installments in this interview series:
Jacky Ickx interview series (1) - The road to the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans
Jacky Ickx interview series (2) - 1969 and the walk to victory
Jacky Ickx interview series (3) - The Ferrari years
Jacky Ickx interview series (4) - 1977 and the (nearly) impossible win
Jacky Ickx interview series (5) - Teammates and team work
PHOTO (Copyright - Archives/ACO): On June 14, 1981 with his fifth victory, Jacky Ickx - along with British driver Derek Bell - beat the win recored at Le Mans previously set by his fellow countryman Olivier Gendebien.
VIDEO: ...and 24 years later, on June 19, 2005, Danish driver Tom Kristensen (#3 Audi R8) dethroned Jacky Ickx with a seventh victory - along with the Finn J.J. Lehto and German driver Marco Werner.
