The Ferrari 312PB

VRJ caught up with the Belgian former GP and sports car driver at a Spa track day where Ickx was putting in many laps in a Ferrari 312PB–in fact the very car that he had raced in the 1970s and that we test drove back in January of this year.

It’s a little hard to know what to say about the 312, it’s such a classic sports racing car…and has been for 30 years. What I think is fantastic about this particular example is that 30 years after its first outing, it is still in great condition. When these cars are owned by people who like to use them and know how to take care of them, well, it makes a drive like here at Spa a real privilege. It enables me to drive this car in a very relaxed way. Why should I drive it any other way? I don’t have to work hard and there is no reason to overly push it. This is a special piece of history and needs to be preserved. Still it is very fast. It is the kind of car that is naturally quick when you are smooth and if I am relaxed, it seems to go quite quickly, though I am certainly not trying to make it go quickly!