A new book about Jacky Ickx is truly a monumental work

Books about the excellent Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx have been appearing since the late 1960s, which is quite logical, because in 1969 he became vice-champion in Formula 1, speaking for Brabham, and also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time .

In total, Ickx climbed to the top step of the podium at Le Mans six times during his long motorsport career, the last time he succeeded in doing so in 1982, when he drove a Porsche 956 sports prototype in the same crew with Britain’s Derek Bell , also a former Formula 1 driver .

But in the history of Formula 1, Jacky X came in as one of the most talented drivers who failed to become world champion, although he rose to the second line of the personal classification twice. In 1970, speaking for Ferrari, he lost to Jochen Rindt at the end of the season by just 5 points.

Interest in the heroes of motorsports of recent years does not diminish over time, so the authors who write about races and racers continue to delight fans with new books. In addition, publishers often try to release such a work closer to Christmas, because a good book has always been considered a worthy gift.

This fully applies to the new book, the title of which can be translated as “Jacky X – the authorized history of his motorsport career”, published by the English publisher Evro Publishing.

Briton John Saltinstall created a truly monumental 600-page work, in which he spoke in the most detailed way about all the races X participated in, speaking in Formula 1, driving Porsche Group C sports prototypes in endurance races, and also exploring the vast African plains for driving Mercedes and Peugeot cars specially prepared for the Dakar rally raid.

This British author is known for writing a similar book about Niki Lauda in 2019, which received critical acclaim from critics and readers alike. But unlike that work, this time Saltinstall was personally assisted by the hero of his book, including by providing many unique photos from his archive.

The book is intended for true enthusiasts and fans of the history of motorsports – this is an expensive (list price – 95 pounds) deluxe edition weighing almost 5 kg. But according to the testimonials of those who have already skimmed through it, it’s worth it. Not only the content is really interesting, the design and printing quality also meet the highest requirements.

As one reader wrote in his review, “The scale and depth of John Saltinstall’s monumental work leaves almost nothing to add to the portrait of his hero. If you want to understand the nature of this enigmatic racer, this book is worth reading from cover to cover.”