May 2015 – Toulouse Airport. After leaving the Pyrenees early in the morning, I was waiting for my flight. Serene, but inhabited by a gentle excitement. Because this journey will be the one of my reacquaintances with Belgium, with Julien Garnier and a certain… Jacky Ickx. He’s the one I have a date with at the end of this trip. Not a physical appointment, no. A virtual meeting through the exhibition dedicated to him and his great friend Eddy Merckx on the occasion of their respective 70th anniversary.

Here is what I’m getting myself into: the Merckx / Ickx exhibition

When I heard that it was going to take place, I promised myself to undertake the trip to Belgium and to visit it. And this morning, despite a job that leaves me very few opportunities to escape, so here I am waiting for boarding for the Flat Country. Idle during those moments of inactivity before the flight, my mind wanders thinking of Jacky Ickx, his career, his exploits, our past encounters, and I feel growing within me the impatience to be at this exhibition..

Boarding time finally arrives and after less than 2 hours of a peaceful flight the wheels of the Boeing 737 make contact with the Belgian ground. When I get off the plane, it’s a very spring-like sweetness that greets me. The sun is shining and the weather is much warmer than it was this morning in the Pyrenees. If this Belgian trip is like the weather that reigns on my arrival, then everything looks very promising.

When I arrive in the airport lobby, I look for Julien Garnier (creator of the magnificent website Tribute to Jacky Ickx) and his wife, Denise, who came to pick me up and will very kindly welcome me at their place during my stay in Belgium. I see them very quickly and the first pleasure of this trip is the reunion with these friends.

After the journey to the surroundings of Liège, where Denise and Julien live, the joy of meeting up makes time go by very quickly until the end of the evening… which continues. It is with the prospect of a beautiful day ahead that I fall into the arms of Morpheus.

Tuesday, May 5th. Here I am, waking up early, in a hurry to go “fight it out” with Jacky Ickx and Eddy Merckx!!! 9:30 am, let’s go. Julien and I are on our way to Brussels for this exhibition, which is waiting for us. After overcoming the traffic jams in the Brussels ring, we finally arrive at the Heysel, the venue of the exhibition.

Along the aisles that lead to the exhibition, the color is announced with beautiful panels displaying the portrait of our two legends of Belgian sport.

What am I saying: legends of the sport… just that!!!

A brief stop at the ticket office to buy the tickets and with our precious passes, we finally enter the sanctuary.

Quite naturally, Julien and I are drawn towards the “Ickx side” of the exhibition. In spite of our great respect for Eddy Merckx, we are heading towards the Helmeted Knight.

As soon as you enter, a sort of mural on the wall immediately catches your eye. In the middle of it sits a large and magnificent photo of Jacky, embellished with a text by Pierre Van Vliet presenting the champion in a few lines. It is an excellent introduction.

A few meters away, we discover Jacky’s first F1: his pedal car often seen in photos in various books. We feel a special emotion to discover this toy that was the first steering wheel of the Ringmeister!!! Given the stigmata adorning the body of the craft, no doubt that the first poles positions childish were embellished with some off-road excursions.

As we make some progress, we come across the Zundapp with which Jacky made his debut in two-wheeled competition. The trial helmet from his first sports games is also there. White, he has not yet taken the legendary midnight blue color that we will know him later.

As we move forward, we discover the richness and diversity of the exhibition: known photos, others unpublished. Superb scale models of the cars driven by Jacky, dioramas reproducing scenes punctuating the life of the circuits.

A magnificent large-format painting of Jacky, helmeted in the cockpit of a 1976 Porsche 936, is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces on display. It feels like being in the Porsche with the desire to see the driver operate the starter and be his passenger to drive through the Hunaudières, before facing the violence of braking as we approach Mulsanne. Unfortunately, this is just a delusion of my imagination!!!

Many other paintings, drawings and engravings adorn the walls of this exhibition. In particular, those of Clovis, the author (among others) of “Historickx” presents his works in a dedicated space.

Another beautiful moment of this exhibition: the replica of a Porsche stand with refueling cans, tires, tools etc… We are plunged into the heart of the action waiting for the car on which we will have to intervene quickly in order not to make Jacky lose precious seconds that he has so hard won on the track. Above all, do not ruin the efforts of our pilot. Here my imagination is playing tricks on me again by making me believe I’m Jacky’s mechanic!!! The realism of this stand’s reproduction is undoubtedly the cause of my confusion.

Further on, a small room, similar to a crypt, is dedicated to Le Mans. Presenting the official posters of the editions won by Jacky, there are also models of each car that allowed him to glean his victories in the Sarthe and thus win his nickname Monsieur Le Mans.

Trophies collected throughout his prestigious career are also presented. That of the first victory in F1 at Rouen, in 1968. In the rain… because Mr. Le Mans also had another nickname: the Rainmaster. His first laurels in the top category of motorsport, Jacky won them on a rainy day. A day that should have been happy but was tarnished by the accidental death of Jo Schlesser during his first Grand Prix in the bucket of an F1. Sinister fate. Cruel emotion conveyed by Jacky’s closed face on the podium of victory.

Among the other trophies, we discover in particular the crown of the winner of the 1.000 kms of the Nürburgring 1973. But by the way, wasn’t Mr. Le Mans, aka the Rainmaster, also … the Ringmeister??? So many nicknames for one man, you end up getting lost in them.

Combinations from different eras also line the walls. In each of them, memory associates cars, circuits, victories… and sometimes real feats. These are the combat outfits of a 20th century gladiator.

After having mentioned photos, canvases, miniatures, combinations, trophies, the ultimate object is still missing. The one that allows you to identify which driver is behind the wheel when the car is speeding under your eyes at more than 300 km/h. The helmet. For Jacky, a helmet that has become legendary. Sober, simple, unforgettable… just like the pilot. Several versions of this helmet are presented: the one from 1968, before the appearance of the full-face helmet, a second of the same year with its anti-fog visor, “the owl’s eye” from the late 70s and above all, the one that gives you a real shock to your stomach: the 1970 Jarama helmet.

The helmet of horror. Its vision is, for me, the strongest moment, the most impressive of all the exhibition. It’s the testimony of a miracle. That day, everything could have stopped for Jacky. Today, he often talks about his guardian angel who accompanied him throughout his career to allow him to still be present among us. No doubt that on this April 19, 1970 in Jarama, this guardian angel had spread his wings wide in order to prevent the reaper from accomplishing his sinister task. To reinforce the unease that one feels at the sight of this burnt helmet, recalling the dark hours of motorsport where so many drivers lost their lives, a sentence by Jacky is reproduced on the wall: When you’re young, you think you’re invincible; you don’t realize that you’re just playing Russian roulette.”

All these objects, which we have just mentioned, presented in a circular gallery, surround these jewels born of brilliant brains and without which the driver would be nothing: cars… They are there, in the center, inevitably attracting attention: Ford Cortina Lotus, BMW 3. CSL, Porsche 935, Porsche 956. Well present and beautiful. There are still the two that I prefer: the 1969 Le Mans GT 40… present during the first months of the exhibition but moved towards other horizons at the time of my visit. And then there is the Porsche 936. Even if the one presented is not the victorious model in 1977, it reminds me of the fabulous victory at Le Mans that year and my most beautiful emotions as a spectator on the edge of a track (read the article “Queen of victories” on this site).

The exhibition, on Jacky’s side, ends in a projection room. A film runs on repeat there. Beautiful images of the desert scroll on the screen, accompanied by a comment from Jacky himself. In a calm, deep voice, he evokes his encounter with the desert and how it changed his life and his vision of things. Through simple but touching words, a philosopher and humanist Jacky Ickx appears. A very beautiful conclusion giving another dimension to the character…

The visit of the part dedicated to the pilot ending on this very beautiful note, Julien and I are now heading towards the world of the cyclist. Presented according to the same concept, the exhibition Eddy Merckx also contains some treasures. As for Jacky, photos, jerseys, following vehicles, bicycles, trophies (ex: the flags of the 5 victories at the Tour de France).

Among the photos, one attracts my attention: the one showing Eddy crossing alone the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in 1969. Living less than 10 kms from this mythical pass, I feel like I’m already back home!!! Very often, when I take the slopes of the Tourmalet (1 or 2 times a week but… by car!!!), I think of those men who, on their bikes, face this giant and made the legend of the Tour de France. Exploring places steeped in history, sports or anything else, always generates a special emotion.

In the Eddy Merckx section, there are also reproductions of scenes from life. Notably one, fabulous, with a strong emotional charge. This is a reproduction of a Belgian café: the bar, furniture, equipment, decoration, TV and juke box are from that era. A radio broadcasts the commentary relating Eddy’s ascent on the sides of the Col du Tourmalet, the day he literally knocked out all his opponents to win the stage and then his first Tour de France. The realism of this café is so striking that it feels like we borrowed a time machine to find ourselves on July 15, 1969 to live live the exploit of “Cannibal”!!!

By bringing us back to that day, this bar spreads nostalgia in high doses.

And reminds us how much 1969 was a magical year, rich in memories, emotions and landmarks: first victory at Le Mans for Jacky Ickx, first victory at the Tour de France for Eddy Merckx, first steps of man on the moon, festival of Woodstock….

Tout as for Jacky Ickx, we end the exhibition Eddy Merckx with the projection of a magnificent film where we see the ascent of a pass, accompanied by comments from the champion. After watching it, we head towards the exit, not without having stopped by the shop where I hasten to purchase the little book dedicated to Jacky, specially edited for the exhibition. The return to Liège is easy and the end of the day at Julien’s passes very quickly.

The next day, after 36 hours of this brief stay in Belgium, the time had already come to return to France. At the airport, when I split up with Denise and Julien, the atmosphere is obviously less cheerful than when I arrived.

The return to France was hassle-free, with in mind the beautiful emotions experienced over the course of two days and the feeling that we were right to make the trip.