Jacky Ickx’s Brabham BT26 that gave Jackie Stewart a fright

Not long ago I had the privilege of being driven around the Spanish circuit Ascari in a Porsche 911 GT3 by the legendary Jacky Ickx. We were less than a lap in before the secret of the genius that enabled him to win Le Mans six times became apparent: despite being close to 80 years old, he remains spectacularly smooth (both in his driving style and in his demeanour), as cool as a cucumber and – most noticeably – incredibly sympathetic to the machine.

In fact, during multiple cringe-makingly quick laps, I don’t think the tachometer ever passed the 4000rpm mark.

So if you’re looking for a historic Formula 1 car and believe a little bit of a past driver’s magic might sometimes be left behind, check out this example that was successfully campaigned both by Ickx and posthumous 1970 F1 world champion Jochen Rindt.

The quintessential Brabham of the era, this BT26, chassis three, had four GP starts with Rindt late in the 1968 season prior to his (ultimately fateful) departure to Lotus.

Then powered by the feisty but temperamental Repco four-cam V8, the car retired from every race it took part in that year, prompting a switch to the soon-to-be-dominant Cosworth-Ford DFV V8 for the following F1 season.

Re-designated B26A, chassis three was assigned to Ickx for the entirety of 1969, during which the Belgian used the car to take the chequered flag at the Canadian Grand Prix and second place in Mexico (where he also set the fastest lap), third at the French GP, fifth at the Dutch and sixth at the Spanish.

Ultimately, chassis three was key in taking Ickx to second place in the 1969 World Driver’s Championship (behind Matra’s Jackie Stewart) and landing Brabham with the runner-up spot in the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

And had it not been for rule changes for 1970, the car may well have gone on to further F1 successes.

In the event, it was sold into private ownership and competed in that year’s SCCA L&M Continental Championship in the US and Canada, remaining with the same owner for 15 years until being acquired by motoring writer, lawyer and automotive industry businessman Roger Meiners.

Now part of a private collection and carrying No11, its 1969 Canadian Grand Prix-winning race number, the car is signed on its wing by Jack Brabham – and, at the Paris Rétromobile show in February earlier this year, became ‘double signed’ after being reunited with Ickx who added his own distinctive autograph.

There must be many a car-mad baby boomer who recalls being drawn to the distinctive green and yellow Brabham livery during the ’60s – and plenty whose longing to replicate Ickx’s exploits behind the wheel came to nothing more than building a scale model of a BT26.

And no doubt one of those boomers now has the means to splash-out on the real thing. How I wish it were me…

1968/69 Brabham- Cosworth BT26/BT26A
On offer with Fiskens, London, £POA. fiskens.com

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