Le Mans legends Ickx and Bell to star at London show

Legendary Le Mans pairing Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell will be teaming up for a special appearance at the London Classic Car Show next month.

Ickx, regarded as one of the world’s greatest all-round racing drivers with Grand Prix and Paris-Dakar wins to go with his six Le Mans victories and two World Endurance titles, will be guest of honour at the show, which takes place 23-26 February.

A special display will showcase several of the iconic cars he raced and rallied while Ickx will appear live on stage to discuss his remarkable career.

Ickx will be joined by five time Le Mans winner Britain’s Derek Bell, MBE. Ickx and Bell shared the top step of the 24 Hours podium three times – in 1975 (Mirage) and 1981 and 1982 (Porsche).

Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx first won Le Mans in the Gulf Mirage GR8 in 1975.

As former Ferrari Grand Prix and sports car drivers, Ickx and Bell will also be talking about those chapters of their respective driving careers. Twenty of the greatest road cars to wear the prancing horse badge – and together worth more than £120 million – will form one of the major displays at the show to celebrate the legendary Italian company’s 70^th birthday.

Ickx and Bell, too, will be VIP guests at the show’s star-studded Gala Evening (Thursday, 23 February) where they will be joined by two other Le Mans superstars – Emanuele Pirro, who claimed five victories for Audi, and Jürgen Barth, who won in 1977 sharing a Porsche with Ickx. Together the quartet can claim 17 victories at Le Sarthe.

Bell said, ‘Sharing a car with Jacky at Le Mans was one of the high points of my career. I am looking forward to sharing a stage with him at the London Classic Car Show and remembering some of the great times we had together.’

Ickx’s timetable starts at noon on Thursday (23 February) when the Belgian officially opens the inaugural Historic Motorsport International, the London Classic Car Show’s new sister exhibition, which is staged in an adjacent hall within the ExCeL London complex.

Derek Bell with the Le Mans winning Porsche 956.

He will then transfer to the London Classic Car Show when that opens at 3pm and, as well as joining in the celebrations at Thursday’s gala evening, he will appear live on stage on both Thursday and Friday to talk about his career which includes notable success in F1, World Sportscars and Dakar.

Ickx said, ‘This is a huge privilege for me to be a guest of honour at these two shows in the heart of London. Whether it was winning Le Mans three times with Derek or competing at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, I have always had a wonderful relationship with the British racing community and that’s why I am so thrilled to have these very special dates in my diary.'

Now in its third year, the London Classic Car Show is bigger than ever and will have more than 700 stunning classic cars on display, some for sale from leading dealers in the classic world. And this year it incorporates a second show, Historic Motorsport International (HMI), which is devoted to historic racing and rallying and will include 50^th anniversary celebrations for the Ford DFV Grand Prix engine and the birth of Formula Ford.

Entry to the London Classic Car Show incorporates free entry to HMI. Historic Motorsport International will open its doors at 12 noon on Thursday, 23 February while the London Classic Car Show will spark into life at 3pm that afternoon.

Tickets to the 2017 London Classic Car Show/HMI are now available from the show website – thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk – and start at £24 for single adult entry (£27 on the door on the day). Gala evening standard entry costs £42 or for access to the Grand Avenue Club, where the interviews take place, tickets cost £70.