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Conversation with Jacky Ickx: Racing Legend and Friend of Chopard

Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times, attained P1 eight times and 25 podium finishes in Formula One, won the Can-Am Championship in 1979 and the Dakar Rally in 1983. As a Chopard ambassador, he has taken part in the Mille Miglia Race numerous times since 1989, in the company of his friend, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele.

I was thrilled to have a conversation with Jacky during the end stage of the 2015 '24 Hours of Le Mans' race.

PP=PuristSPro.
JI=Jacky Ickx.

PP: Thank you for answering questions from PuristS readers at this exciting time, just 4 hours from the end of the Le Mans 2015 Race.

JI: What would you like to know? I can answer anything except about my sex life!

At this time, I was a little flummoxed by the Belgian's dry humour!  Regaining my composure, I realised that this was going to be a really informal interview. The Le Mans race was reaching an exciting climax as Porsche had cars in P1, P2 and P5 being chased down by Team Audi. Jacky and I were both distracted intermittently by the race commentary and Live TV feeds.

PP: You've had a racing career in Formula 1, Endurance Racing and Paris-Dakar? If you had to re-live your life with only one out of these; which would you choose?

JI: I have been very privileged. I did what I had to do in motor racing just at the right time. In those days, we were supposed to be professional but racing was like a hobby. I was able to do everything simply because we were free to do what we wanted. That means that all of us – Jim Clark, Brabham, Graham Hill – could race in every kind of competition. The freedom was non-exclusivity with anyone. You could drive for Ferrari in Formula 1, for Ford in an endurance race, for Team Lotus in saloon car racing and a Matra in Formula 2. Personal sponsorship was non-existent so we were free to race. It was not a business but about sport. That's the difference; we could do what we wanted. Today, you will not get that sort of drivers anymore. It is not because they have no talent but because they are not free.

PP: It is a bit unusual that Hülkenberg is racing in F1 and Le Mans this year.

JI: That's it! He is lucky to be released by Force India to do another type of competition and at the moment, he is on the way to a possible win. I say "possible" and I think it is very nice. He deserves it. He is a talented person. He is in the third Porsche car and is not used to it. He has learnt quickly to manage all the systems but they are similar to F1. All three drivers, because he is not competing alone, performed well to produce a racing fact – that they are now 1 lap ahead of the others. But that is nothing...why? Because 1 lap is just over 3 minutes here at Le Mans and with 3 hours 45 minutes to go, anything may happen.

PP; With the luxury of hindsight, when were you "on top of the world"; which racing would you chose?
JI: I think frankly, I would not fit into this type of racing today because it is very demanding. Demanding means that you have to concentrate 100% on the subject and I must admit it was not easy to be that focused for more than three days in a row. I was distracted by many things....

PP: Which was your favourite car?

JI: Don't ask me which my favourite car was.

PP: The readers want to know you favourite F1 car, Le Mans car and even overall race car?

JI: I know, but don't ask me because a driver is always happy with a car that he is winning with. Ask me which car I disliked and I can say immediately the worse moment I had was driving for Team Lotus, two years in a row because I felt unsafe in the car. Uncomfortable and it was the worse time I had in motor racing. It was 1974-75 and there was a lack of budget. We had old cars and the reliability was very limited. There were a lot of failures – suspension, half-shafts and all sorts – I lost confidence in the car. When you don't feel confident in the car; you don't go fast.

PP: I watched the video you made with Chopard – ‘Frankly ... Jacky Ickx' – where you described some dangerous moments and lost friends through racing. At any time, did you ever consider giving up because of the danger?

JI: No. One of the reasons I had the opportunity to do many things was because I was realistic about what I was able to give or wish to give to motor racing. I chose different categories because sometimes the pressure was too high for me, especially with the passage of time. I did my last F1 race in 1979 and luckily I knew I was not ready to give the last three tenths of second that makes the difference between a winner and a 2nd or 3rd row guy. That day, I "turned the page". Then, I looked to 'Endurance' [Racing], where I had the ability and speed but the pressure was less. That's why I was able to go through the years in different categories. I started with 'Endurance' and returned to 'Endurance' before going to 'Dakar' [Paris-Dakar Rally] because it required different feeling and a different mentality. For me, the 'Dakar' was a real discovery. The first part of my life – Formula 1, Endurance, whatever – was very successful. In my opinion, I got much more than expected but there was limited vision. The nicest part was the Paris-Dakar because not only did I discover another style of competition but also another vision. Going to Africa and seeing the people, I had a much larger vision of the people around me. So it was much more positive.

PP: Is that how you met Khadja?  [Khadja Nin, a Burundian musician, is Jacky Ickx's 2nd wife]

JI: No. That is a completely different story. 

With the Paris-Dakar, my new vision, not only considering the sport; not only the vision of new countries but I started to see the people.

PP: Are you involved with any charitable organisation in Africa?

JI: I live part time in Mali so there we have some projects.

PP: As a father, did you worry about Vanina taking the wheel for the very competitive DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) and 24-Hour racing? [Jacky's daughter, Vanina Ickx, raced in many categories including Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Supercup, F2000, Dakar Rally and Endurance racing with class victories in the Spa 24 Hours and 7th overall at Le Mans in a Lola-Aston Martin]

JI: It was easier for me than it was for my father. I don't think that my father and mother liked the idea of seeing me racing. As it was a very dangerous era, I think they had painful weekends. Information was not as readily available like today with television coverage and mobile telephones. As I was not stopped by my parents, I didn't see any rights for me to stop Vanina. Plus the fact that Vanina was a surprise, in a way, starting racing later. First she studied Biology and I thought she was going into Research but at 23 years of age after a karting race for fun, she said she would like to try racing. She did it herself without my help. I never wanted to be a coach or manager. I don't see myself following my children doing what they do as my parents did not do it with me. She managed to do something fairly unique considering that competitive motor racing is not a woman's world.

PP: Do you have a favourite track?

JI: There are two – Spa and Nürburgring – they are road courses and not modern flat facilities. They are natural courses going up and down; the surroundings are incredible. From a safety aspect, the Nürburgring was much longer with 163 corners whilst Spa, in the past ,was like Le Mans at 13 km length but with high speed. In 1972/3, I drove the 3-Litre prototype Ferrari at Spa for a lap average speed of 263 km/hr. That was an incredible sustained speed when you consider Le Mans today at 13 km, plus roughly 8 corners compared to, at my time, when there was only one straight and the Dunlop Bridge, they are going 250 km/h average.

PP: A Belgian PuristS asked if you could remember instantaneously the fastest time you ever set at Spa-Francorchamps, in what car and year. You clearly can.

PP: An Australian PuristS asked your thoughts about the ‘Bathurst’ after muscling a car around in the 1970s?
JI: In the 70s, the Bathurst in Australia was like racing at Le Mans in Europe. It was the key moment for motorsport in Australia. It was televised for three days and it was called the Hardie-Ferodo 1000. There was a huge battle between Ford and Holden/GM. That was 'The Moment' and I won that as well. [Ickx won the 1977 Bathurst race with Allan Moffatt]
PP: The Australians remember you for that as well.

JI: So you see; I'm a great driver!

PP: Before this Le Mans weekend, there were 5 editions of the Chopard Jacky Ickx watches and PuristS were asking what the 6th one would be like. We did not know that they would launch the Chopard Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Jacky Ickx Edition watch today.

JI: I don't know if you can consider this as the 6th edition.

PP: As you won Le Mans 6 times, I would expect a 24-H chronograph counter for the 6th Jacky Ickx watch.

JI: In my opinion, it symbolises Le Mans but I didn't see anything saying "Edition 6". Maybe one day, if I live long enough, maybe we get the real Jacky Ickx 6th Edition? The nicest thing, frankly, is to play a bit with Karl about details that I wish to have and if they are not too bad, he can say "Yes".  [Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President Chopard]

PP: What details did you suggest?

JI: For this watch I wanted something with the colour. I always wanted to involve the blue and the white from my racing colours but we never found a way.  

Before, I chose the design of the whole thing or the size of the needle or I'm checking this part or another. I wanted to have a steering wheel logo or sometimes I wanted rubber on the buttons. For that detail it is possible to say, "Yes" because he is a good friend.

PP: You said you had fun playing with the choices with Karl-Friedrich but only if he approves them...?

JI: Because he remains the boss...you understand?

PP: What is the craziest idea that you think he might be ‘on the edge’ about approval?

JI: I may try it the next time because until now, I have stayed fairly conservative. I will think about it and if you see something very strange appear, you will know that after talking today: it gave me the idea.

PP: Regarding friendship, I asked Karl-Friedrich how he first met you and he said it was because of issues with a watch bracelet.

JI: There was nothing wrong with the bracelet. Frankly, I bought a bracelet that was the wrong size for my wife. I had to make it shorter and smaller and then by good luck, I met him personally. I asked someone, "Do you know who is in charge of Chopard because I am going to Geneva anyway?" She said, "I know him and I called to ask if it would be possible". From that moment we started a long friendship.  It's more than that....

PP: Until today, which was your favourite Chopard watch?

JI: It is difficult to say because I have many. It depends what I am doing. If I go to Cannes [Film Festival], I have one type of watch. I am not into the L.U.C collection; I in the sportive watches. So for Cannes, I wore the pink gold Mille Miglia 2014 Race Edition. It depends where I am going; I wear the five Jacky Ickx editions. Some watches are too large if I have to wear long sleeves.

At the moment, the steel Mile Miglia 2014 Race Edition is my favourite. I change things around; if I go to Africa, I take the rubber strap because of the dirt, water and harsh conditions.

PP: Is there anything else you want to tell PuristS that I have not asked?

JI: I tell you – we're here together at Le Mans because we have established a connection with Porsche Motorsport and we thought there was an opportunity to do something. There was somewhere a link between Porsche and Chopard. The amazing thing is that until not so long ago, Porsche was still a family business like Chopard. The amusing thing is that the chronograph plays a clear role in motor racing which fits with Chopard. The only difference is only the size of the toy. With Porsche and Chopard, you have a big toy and a small toy but both require precision. That is the reason why I think they are lucky and are good partners.

PP: Thank you for your time for the PuristS.

© Dr Melvyn Teillol-Foo,  2015.

ADDENDUM

A few days after publication of this interview, Lotus Cars achieved 3rd place at Spa-Francorchamps for the 2015 F1 Belgian Grand Prix.

Driver Romain Grosjean was featured in a PuristSPro article by Andrew Hildreth about Lotus Cars. 

CLICK the following URL link to read the article:

www.watchprosite.com