This weekend marks the occurrence of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gijs van Lennep (82), a two-time champion of the classic race in 1971 and 1976, was a successful racer during the 1960s and 70s, a period often referred to as the Killer Years due to the numerous fatal accidents. Van Lennep witnessed many friends and colleagues meet tragic ends on the track, yet he managed to escape unscathed, time and time again.
“Looking back, it was madness what we did. The fact that I can tell the tale and others can’t, comes down to one thing. Pure luck.”
The day before the interview, Gijs van Lennep, a nobleman by birth, enjoyed a round of golf with friends at De Hilversumsche, his favorite course. Since getting a new hip, he’s been playing better than ever, a fact that clearly pleases him. The hip had been a hindrance for a while, not so much in daily life, but whenever he wanted to execute his once fluid swing on the golf course. “That’s why I decided to get a new hip. I play for the fun of it, 100 percent, but I still want to win.”
No Longer Affected by Vanity
For the same reason, Van Lennep underwent an eyelid correction. He was having trouble with it while playing snooker. He noticed it was affecting his game. “I couldn’t see the balls clearly anymore. Did I have the procedure done solely because of snooker? Well, to put it another way: without that reason, I don’t know if I would have done it. Vanity certainly didn’t play a role. At my age, I’m no longer affected by it.”
Unwavering Competitive Spirit
Van Lennep’s competitive drive and ambition have hardly diminished over the years. He is still a winner. For him, life is a competition. Or rather, a race. A day not driven is a day not lived, was always his rule. Nowadays, it’s more about talking about racing than racing itself, but his passion for the sport is undeniable.
“That sacred fire is still burning brightly,” he says at home on the couch. A cup of coffee in hand, a plate of cookies on the glass table in front of him, and one anecdote after another. Meeting with Gijs van Lennep feels like a journey through time. Back to the sixties and seventies when tires didn’t need to be saved, no one was talking about hybrid or green engines yet, and according to Van Lennep, there was only one rule for drivers: “Gas it up!”
Modern Racing and Max Verstappen
A few years ago, the Blaricummer was one of the many guests during the return of Formula 1 at Zandvoort. He saw Max Verstappen triumph in what he calls a phenomenal super weekend. He does find it a pity that there are more rules in the sport today, more than he would like, but he has nothing but good things to say about Verstappen. “Max is a driver after my own heart.” In other words: a driver of the old school. Uncompromising and ruthless.
Max Verstappen: A Master of All Facets of Racing
“Max is a jack of all trades. He masters all facets. Let’s be honest, he has received the best possible training from his father since he was four, has the racing genes of both his father and mother, and on top of that, he is super intelligent. Not streetwise, but racewise. Max always goes full throttle, but rarely crosses the line. And the few times he did, he learned from it. It’s these kinds of experiences that have made him so incredibly good.”
And, he adds in the same breath, let’s not forget that he has had some incredible luck. “Remember that crash in Monaco in 2015? He was lucky to hit the tire barrier. Normally, he would have been dead. And the crash at Silverstone in 2021. The same. Some so-called experts said he had experienced 52G. That seems unlikely. The tires absorbed some of the impact, it’s a springy affair. Trust me, at 52G, nothing in your body is in its place and you’re dead. Well, as a driver you need to have luck. And Max has it. The fact that he walked away unscathed at Silverstone is because both the circuits and the cars have become much safer in recent years. Maybe even too safe.”
What Do You Mean by That?
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s good that the sport has become safer, but risks are part of racing. Formula 1 should not become a chess match. In the past, the sport was too unsafe, but nowadays I sometimes get the impression that they are going overboard at the FIA. What do I mean? Racing involves track limits, but not white lines or kerbstones with asphalt behind them. In the past, we had grass or a gravel trap and every mistake was fatal, in the sense that you lost positions or the race. Now they get away with everything. That often irritates me.”
Coming Up in Part 2:
“We had a different approach to life. Death was our co-driver.”
