Kristensen or Ickx?

[vs346]

Tom Kristensen or Jacky Ickx? Seems like a logical question considering their records.

I personally can't decide so I'm hoping to hear from the rest of you!

[PascaLM]

If you limitate to Le Mans only, I confirm that I'm hesitating too.
J. Ickx had too difficult wins in 1969 and 1977. Tom K had a lot of success (not luck), but he has less participations.

[Nordic]

I voted Ickx. His wins in F1, F2 and Can Am then Rally Raids make him a clear winner.

TK however, is racing in a very different era where such achivements may not be possible

[Fab]

Can't chose as well !

[Audi R8R]

TK has won all of his in an era where he has had the best equipment at his disposal and he's had some luck.

I don't know Ickx' full Le mans history so don't know whether he always has the best car or team around him?

I would say Ickx's era was the more difficult, but both have done well to achieve what they have at a race like Le Mans.

[Tom V]

Reliability in the Ickx days (certainly the early victories) was far less than these days + the opposition was bigger too. But I guess I'm biased...

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Saleen

Reliability in the Ickx days (certainly the early victories) was far less than these days + the opposition was bigger too.

That's why I voted for Ickx.

[Dani Filth]

9:1 ./. so far ... easy victory

[Rich R]

i'd say ickx just for 69, but there's so many more classics he has been involved in, plus the ones he didn't win. kristensen only has 1 win when he wasn't in the best machinery.

[Bramzel]

Ickx. For being successfull in far more then LeMans alone (not that Kristensen hasn't, but you get the idea) and for producing one of the nicest looking females racing around these days

[Speedworx]

Tom for me. Jacky was before my time.

[The Badger]

Jacky for me .... I think its a little to early to compare Kristensen to Ickx . Ickx "is" a legend and Tom is "fast" becoming one . On saying that , I would prefer to have Tom in my car (if i had a car) at Lemans then Ickx ..... now !!!

Take another vote on this in 15 years time and see the diferance .

[GTRMagic]

Jacky Ickx, 1977 Bathurst Winner with Allan Moffat in a Moffat Ford Dealers XB Cobra 1-2..... the car had no brakes for the 2nd half of the race, and there were some doubts the engine would make the distance... Mr Ickx & Mr Moffat brought the sick soldier home in front of the 2nd team car (which was told to hang behind)

The legend of Mr Ickx improved immeasurably that day also

[Aysedasi]

Ickx for me. But I don't think Tom is finished yet.........

[BSchneiderFan]

Quite so. I voted for Ickx, but Kristensen is still going. He has more to achieve yet. I think TK may well take the record for LM victories.

[marcosgt]

Got to be Ickx.

Sportscar superstar for well over a decade and F1 runner up TWICE!

Kristensen probably SUFFERS from being tied into Audi. He might be as good as his results suggest, but his win rate at Le Mans owes a lot to Audi's domination.

Cheers.

[Dunlop Corner]

But Icxk was not tied with Porsche??

Tom was able to win before he drove for Audi, when he was not in the clearly best team. In 98 he did well in the BMWs first race, but a stupid mechanical erros costed them. In 99, Kristensen/Lehto/Muller was the dominant trio. Not because the BMW was so much better than the rest (the eventual winner BMW was far off pace of the Kristensen car), but because their driver was good. They was much faster than Mercedes and Toyota, and even if those cars hasn't run into problems, the BMW would have won anyway (with the Dalmas winning BMW finishing about 5th position... such was the difference).

Since the BMW years, Tom has been with the best teams. But he hasn't had legendary co-drivers as Jacky had in his later years. I don't think anybody would put Biela, Pirro or Capello in the same class as Bell.
And he has been against very good drivers. McNish and Herbert are very good, F1 caliber, drivers. But they have yet to beat Tom in equal machinery!

What Tom has done is amazing, and him being with Audi doesn't change that.

[marcosgt]

>> But Icxk was not tied with Porsche??

Not for all his career, but to a degree, yes.

>> What Tom has done is amazing, and him being with Audi doesn't change that.

Indeed, but it doesn't make him a match for Ickx, either, in my eyes

Cheers.

[Jack Man]

Jackie has been my hero since my first race at age 12.

[krt917]

It has to be Ickx for me, not least because he achieved so much in other top categories. It's probably fair to say that Ickx was successful during two of Sportscar racing's greatest periods, whereas Kristensen's successes have not been achieved in quite the same environment (not that that is his fault). Both had competitive machinery most of the time, because both were/are near the top of the tree.

In terms of Le Mans, Ickx also gets the nod. I've been looking at old reports recently and Ickx would often be significantly quicker than his team-mates. That's why he used to get moved into other team cars if his had a problem. Although that obviously increased his cahnces, his fightbacks (such as in '77 and '78) were pretty impressive.

[Woolley]

Definitely Ickx. Tom's cars were the class of a small field, with built in reliability which makes it hard not to get them to the finish. Jacky was up against greater opposition in cars that needed looking after and only 2 drivers per car.