We start with the first win for a car sporting Gulf’s iconic sky blue and orange livery in 1968. Then, ahead of the 40th anniversary celebrations this year, we remember the Renault Alpine’s triumph in 1978. Finally, we recall Jacky Ickx’s sixth win in 1982.

 

Jacky Ickx, "Mr Le Mans" - Jacky Ickx can claim more Le Mans and Grand Prix wins than any other driver to have competed in both disciplines. In 1969, the year of his first Le Mans victory, he was runner-up in the F1 Drivers’ Championship final standings (behind Jackie Stewart). In 1970, he  was beaten to the crown by another former 24 Hours winner, Jochen Rindt. After eight Formula One victories between 1968 and 1972, Ickx reigned supreme at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1975 to 1985 (five wins and three other podiums), holding the record for the highest number of victories from 1981 to 2004. Ickx first stepped up to the top spot on the F1 podium at the French Grand Prix in 1968. However, he missed the 24 Hours that year because he was involved in an accident at the Canadian Grand Prix, just a week before Le Mans. Nonetheless, the Ford GT40 he was due to drive in La Sarthe won the race, driven by Mexican Pedro Rodriguez and Belgian Lucien Bianchi.   

Jacky Ickx (born 1 January 1945)  15 appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1966 and 1985 (6 wins: 1969-75-76-77-81-82), competed in 114 Grand Prix from 1967 to 1979 (8 wins).

Pedro Rodriguez, the Mexican maestro - Rodriguez scored two Grand Prix wins (South Africa in 1967 and Belgium in 1970), but he really owed his status as a racing legend to his performances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1961, paired with his younger brother Ricardo, he led a ferocious battle against eventual winners Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien. Two years later, when starting positions on the grid were determined by the fastest times in practice rather than in order of engine size, he took the first ever pole position in the history of the 24 Hours. After ten appearances and nine DNFs for Ferrari, he switched to Ford and took the win in 1968. In 1970, he triumphed in the final Belgian Grand Prix to be run on the full 14-km circuit at Spa-Francorchamps. That year, he also finally found a car worthy of his talent in endurance racing: the Porsche 917. Rodriguez never won Le Mans in that car but went down in the 24 Hours record books in 1971 when he became the first pole-sitter to exceed an average speed of 250 kph. His dazzling career came to a brutal end on 11 July 1971 when he was killed in an accident at the Norisring circuit (Germany).

Pedro Rodriguez (1940-1971) - 14 appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1958 and 1971 (1 win in 1968), competed in 54 Grand Prix from 1963 to 1971 (2 wins).

Didier Pironi, an all-French victory - In 1978, Didier Pironi joined Tyrrell to compete in his first Formula One season. The same year, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with teammate Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. He was one of French motor racing’s rising stars at the time. He had already raced Le Mans twice, first in a Porsche 934 (P19) then in a Renault-Alpine prototype (DNF). In 1980, a month after his first F1 win (Ligier) at the Belgian Grand Prix, he made his fourth and final 24 Hours of Le Mans appearance, this time in a BMW M1 (P14). He switched to Ferrari the following year. He scored two wins in 1982 (San Marino and the Netherlands). He started the German Grand Prix at the top of the world championship standings, but an accident during tests on the Saturday morning put paid to his hopes. The injuries sustained also brought his F1 career to an end and he turned to offshore powerboat racing instead in 1986. Pironi sadly lost his life in a race near the Isle of Wight in August 1987.

Didier Pironi (1952-1987) - 4 appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1976 and 1980 (1 win in 1978), competed in 70 Grand Prix from 1978 to 1982 (3 wins).

 

Read more about Grand Prix winners who have also triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

24 Hours of Le Mans and Formula One - 12 winners (1) - The 1950s and 1960s

 

Photo (Copyright - ACO Archives): Originally, the Ford GT40 that triumphed in the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours should have been driven by Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman. However, the Belgian and the Brit were both involved in accidents during the Formula One season and were replaced by Pedro Rodriguez (sitting on the roof and holding the champagne) and Lucien Bianchi.