Jacques Bernard “Jacky” Ickx (last name pronounced “Ix” or “Icks”) (born 1 January 1945 in Brussels) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the highly prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans six times, achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One, won the Can-Am Championship in 1979 and is a former winner of the Dakar Rally.
His Wife Khadja Nin (born June 27, 1959) is a Burundian singer and musician.
Jacky Ickx was introduced to the sport when he was taken by his father, motoring journalist Jacques Ickx, to races which he covered. Despite this family background, Jacky had limited interest in the sport until his father bought him a 50 cc Zündapp motorcycle. Soon afterwards, Ickx won 8 of 13 races at the first season and the European 50 cc trials title. He took another two titles before he moved to racing a Lotus Cortina in touring car racing, taking his national saloon car championship in 1965, as well as winning the Spa 24 Hours race in 1966 driving a BMW 2000TI. He also competed in sports car races where he had already significant experience from taking part in the 1000 km races at the Nürburgring.
Ickx entered his first Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 1966, driving a Matra MS5-Cosworth one litre Formula Two (F2) car, entered by Ken Tyrrell. However, a first lap collision with John Taylor caused both cars to retire and Taylor later died as a result of burns received in the accident. In 1967, Ickx again drove at the Nurburgring, with an F2 Matra MS7-Cosworth 1.6 litre, also entered by Tyrrell. Despite the greater power of the Formula One (F1) cars, only two F1 drivers qualified with a faster time than Ickx: Denny Hulme and Jim Clark. As Ickx was racing in the separate F2 class, he started the race behind all of the F1 cars, but within four laps of the 28 km circuit he was up to fifth place, having overtaken 12 F1 cars. He was forced to retire after 12 laps with broken front suspension, but set fastest lap of the F2 runners.
At Monza in 1967, he made his F1 debut in a Cooper T81B-Maserati, finishing sixth, despite suffering a puncture on the last lap. he also drove for Cooper in the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen but retired on lap 45 with overheating.
In 1968 Ickx drove in Formula 1 for Ferrari. He retired from his first two races, but at his home race at Spa-Francorchamps he started from the front row and finished 3rd. At the French Grand Prix at Rouen he took his first win, in heavy rain. Ickx also finished third at Brands Hatch and fourth at the Nürburgring after driving almost the entire race in heavy rain without his helmet visor. At Monza he finished the race in third position. In Canada he crashed and broke his left leg during practice, thus did not start and also missed the subsequent United States Grand Prix.He returned in time for the final race of the season in Mexico. Ickx scored 33 points in the 1968 Formula One season finishing in third place behind Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart.
In 1969, Ickx moved to Brabham, partly at the instigation of the John Wyer team for whom he’d had considerable success in sports cars. Wyer’s main sponsor, Gulf Oil were keen to ensure that they retained his services rather than possibly lose him to Ferrari’s sports car team. His first results at Brabham were poor, but after Jack Brabham broke his foot in a testing accident, Ickx’s results improved: Alan Henry suggests that Ickx performed better with the whole team focussed on him. Ickx finished third in France, second in Great Britain and won in Canada and in Germany at the Nürburgring, where he also took pole position and fastest lap, in the last Formula One race there before ‘The Ring’ was made less bumpy and dangerous. In the 1969 Mexican Grand Prix Ickx finished second and ended the year as runner-up in the drivers’ world championship, behind Stewart. He returned to the Ferrari team for the 1970 season, a move he had been considering since the Italian Grand Prix.
This man is a legend > Official website for the limited edition book about Jacky Ickx …
Khadja Nin was born in Burundi, the youngest of a family of eight. Her father was a diplomat.
She studied music at an early age like most of her brothers and sisters. With her exceptional singing voice, at the age of seven she became one of the lead vocalists in the Bujumbura choir and performed in the local cathedral.
Khadja left Burundi for Zaire in 1975 and got married in 1978. In 1980 she emigrated to Belgium with her two-year-old son. In 1985 she met musician Nicolas Fiszman, who helped her get a contract with BMG.
Her second album, a 1994 release entitled Ya Pili, was critically acclaimed. Her breakthrough, however, came in 1996 with her widely popular album Sambolera, which was sung in Swahili, Kirundi, and French. In 1997 she performed the song “Sailing” in a duet with Montserrat Caballé on the album Friends For Life.
Khadja Nin successfully used a blend between African rhythms and modern pop to create her own unique brand of music. One of her most popular songs is Sina Mali, Sina Deni, a translated cover version of Stevie Wonder’s song Free.
She is married to Belgian former racing driver Jacky Ickx.
Above she is standing next to the Prince of Monaco.
