Harborough author wins award for biography on Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx

A Harborough author has scooped an award for his biography on Belgian racing driver Jacky Ickx.

Jon Saltinstall’s second book ‘Jacky Ickx: His Authorized Competition History’ was a collaboration with the driver, who had previously declined to do a biography for more than 30 years.

And dad-of-two Jon has now received an award for his work, recognising the writer who has made ‘the greatest contribution to recording the history of motoring’. He received the Suzuki Award for the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy at the recent Guild of Motoring Writers' annual ceremony.

Jon said: “It was incredibly humbling to receive this accolade, and I am tremendously grateful to all those whose help and support with the project made it possible.”

It is Jon’s second book - his first covered the sporting career of racing driver Niki Lauda and scooped a prize as runner-up in the RAC Book of the Year Awards 2020.

Jon said: “I managed to persuade Jacky to collaborate on the project with me so it's a fully authorised competition history detailing his entire career. No mean feat given that he did about 575 races overall. And quite a coup as he has declined to do an autobiography for over three decades; unusually for an elite sportsman, he doesn't like talking about his own achievements but prefers to reflect on the people behind the scenes who make it all possible.

And the racing driver, who has won Le Mans six times and twice been runner up in the Formula One championship – was equally as delighted with the book.

When it was released he said: “It must require a genuine passion for motorsport to tackle a subject as vast as my career with such precision and so exhaustively. Honestly, to the best of my knowledge, no one but Jon Saltinstall has had the guts to undertake such a mammoth task before. Indeed, Jacky Ickx: His Authorised Competition History isn’t a typical biography; it’s a true encyclopaedia about my sporting life. This is a book I will treasure.”