Vanina Ickx
Vanina Ickx ( born on 16 February 1975 in Brussels) is a Belgian racing driver and daughter of six-time " Le Mans " winner and two-time Formula 1 world vice champion Jacky Ickx. She currently lives with her partner in Wiesbaden.
Career
Although her father visited as a child irregularly at the track, located Ickx hardly interested for motorsports. Instead, they invested in their schooling most of her free time in the equestrian sport in which they participated regularly in competitions. But Jacky Ickx was not trying to inspire the daughter for motorsports. So Ickx in 2005 said in an interview:
" Il n'est pas très expansif ... Il ne nous parlait jamais de son métier, il ne nous sur les pas emmenait circuits. Je ne conaissais rien à la course. "
"He is not particularly responsive. He never talks about his work, he never took us to the track. I knew nothing about race. "
Getting Started in Motorsport
After school Ickx started studying biology, in parallel, they were despite their disinterest her debut in car racing. In 1996 she start as a substitute driver in the BMW Compact Cup. Your claims to them was more random for racing, as a young woman in the gym she spoke out that they could no longer compete in their actual team on grounds of pregnancy and asked if Ickx is this her with a view of the successes father could not imagine.
That same year she also launched the first long-distance race, the 24 - hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. It was followed by several launches in various touring cars, including the 1998 24 -hour race with her father Jacky, she also provided support as a co -pilot in the Rally Paris -Dakar. However, it was the father with the experience gained more freedom, then Ickx commented on the relationship 2005:
" Je sais qu'il commence à être très content of résultats que je fais, mais il ne me le dira pas trop bien C'est comme ça, j'ai son esprit d' indépendance, je ne pas qu'il soit supporterais tout le temps derrière mois! "
"I think he's very proud of my results, but it would never tell me. That's good, I have some of its independence in me and I think I could not bear it if he had always been there. "
Until 2000, Ickx took of their studies hardly participate in the race. However, she received the opportunity to participate in a Ferrari 360 Modena to a run of the Belgian GT Championship this year. In addition, they started again at the 24 -hour race in Spa- Francorchamps, where she graduated with Anthony Beltoise and Thierry van Dalen in a touring car from Peugeot on the podium. The following year she appeared in the racing team of Paul Belmondo at the 24 - hour race at Le Mans, but was unable to finish the race. Also, the endurance race at Spa they remained in a Porsche 996 GT3 RS of Freising Motorsport unsuccessful. In Freising they should first grab the wheel of the Porsche in 2002. She was reported in the 12 Hours of Sebring race, had to vacate the place, however, and made contacts to the Belgian automobile manufacturer Gillet, for which she took in Spa 2002. In addition Ickx crossed the English Channel this year with a light aircraft and it later in her career a world speed record on skis on a ski jump. Ickx expressed in 2006 as to the motives:
"I do not like the routine. I want to learn something new all the time. Right now I have started to learn German. This is also a challenge, but not so crazy. "
Le Mans Endurance Series and Belcar
In 2003, she launched alongside the long distance races of Le Mans and Spa -Francorchamps for two championship runs in a single-seater Formula Renault. In 2004, she dabbled in several series. So they started regularly with a Porsche 996 GT3 RS in the championship rounds of the Le Mans Endurance Series for T2M Motorsport, for which they had already begun in the previous year at Le Mans. She also dabbled in the newly created LMES accompanying series Formula X, which, however, was set early in the course of the year. In addition, they run it as women's team with Alexandra Van de Velde on a mini in the Belcar and the 24- hour race at Zolder. However, up to the podium at the Nürburgring, the duo had little success. In addition, she went as a guest in the Porsche Supercup and brand trophy over multiple runs of the European Ferrari Challenge. Her biggest success in 2004 was the G3 - class victory, Porsche 996 GT3 Cup in the 24- hour race at Spa -Francorchamps for the Belgian Muehlner Motorsport team. Ickx ' program in 2005 was versatile, in addition to guest appearances in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Seat Leon Supercopa Germany and three rounds of the FIA GT Championship for Gillet was the Le Mans Endurance Series and the Belcar their main field of activity. So she moved in the Belcar again with van der Velde at the wheel of the Mini from. After a class win in the first race at the Circuit Zolder, however, the team was unable to build on this success during the season. In the LMES, however, it achieved with Joao Barbosa and Martin Short several podium finishes in the Dallara SP1. They reflected at the end of their findings in the Le Mans prototype:
"En montant dans un proto, j'ai franchi un palier et en obtenant de bons résultats, je crois que je me suis crédibilisée beaucoup. J'espère pouvoir en Continues LMES et m'améliorer. Ma carrière avait besoin d' un peu de tout, au gré of opportunites qui se présentaient. "
"At the moment I have made a step forward in the prototype with the good results. I think I have gained a lot of credibility. I hope I can stay in the LMES and keep improving. My career needs a little stability and less distraction. "
DTM
According to their knowledge Ickx 2006 reduced their program initially on only one series, but then signed a contract but at Futurecom TME for the DTM. In the 2006 DTM season they drove an Audi A4 from 2004. With the two- year-old vehicle it was as good as a chance against the current and last year's models and drove mostly as last placed behind the field. In the 2007 season, although they received an A4 from 2005, but remained unsuccessful and thus further collected until the end no points. She was also underpin most of the changing teammates such as former Formula 1 driver Nicolas Kiesa or Adam Carroll.
Le Mans Series
Following the resignation of the DTM at the end of the 2007 season, she received again in 2008 when a cockpit Team Racing Roll Centre by Martin Short. In the meantime renamed Le Mans Series now they start with different teammates in the 1000 km races in a Pescarolo 01 you could not build on the achievements of 2005, but still finished two of the five runs in the top 10 She also won the 12-hour race at Spa from the Belgian touring Car series. The 24 Hours of Zolder Belgian GT Championship, she finished among others with teammate Alexandra Van de Velde in fourth place overall.
Due to the financial difficulties and the withdrawal of rolling Centre of the Le Mans Series also Ickx had to look for a new field of activity. So they got the opportunity to start again at the 24 - hour race at Le Mans in Creation Autosportif. In addition, she has performed with a natural gas -powered VW Scirocco in the VLN. With the same car she started also at the 24 -hour race on the Nürburgring, which was finished on the 17th place overall and as the winner of her class. This success could be repeated in 2010, the year improved in the overall standings to 16th. In the Le Mans Series in 2010, she signed with Signature-Plus, and now drove a Lola - Aston Martin LMP1 closed. While the team from Ickx, Franck Mailleux and Pierre Ragues was able to record in the championship races where the works team from Peugeot, Audi and Aston Martin took part, no success, they finished the race against the firmly inscribed Le Mans Series teams in the Algarve, at the Hungaroring on the podium of the best performing prototype class. As Ickx drove in the other races in the points, they finished the season as runner-up of the team and driver championship of the Le Mans Series.
For the 2011 season Ickx joined the FIA GT1 World Championship and drove together with Christopffer Nygaard a Ford GT.