Vanina Ickx: “Motorsport was my spark of life”

Vanina, I was wondering what car you were going to take us with and you arrived on a motorbike…

Sensations that I rediscovered a few years ago. For my 8th birthday, Dad gave me an 80 cc 3-speed clutchless Yamaha. I gained a little bit of balance from that time. At 16, a scooter took me everywhere. I'm aware of vulnerability, so I have traffic experience, but not a lot of technique. For almost twenty-five years, the motorcycle remained in a corner of my memory. Then I had the opportunity to drive a BMW R 90 on the Mettet circuit. What a foot! It's corny to say that, but the feeling of freedom you have on a bike is not found much elsewhere. Maybe on skis... On a motorcycle, whether you ride fast or not, you are in another dimension. Obliged to be attentive. Since this rediscovery, I did an internship in Beaujolais with Vintage Rides on Royal Enfields, I took Supermoto lessons with Fred Fiorentino (French champion of the discipline in 2006. Editor's note). I was having the time of my life on the whoops. A few months ago, I also took part in a wonderful trip to Turkey. We traveled across Anatolia, visited Roman sites and temples. Superb roads, many beautiful places and heavily wooded areas. Today, it's with a Ducati Scrambler that I'm having fun on the roads of Walloon Brabant.

Speaking of two-wheelers, still into cycling?

What a discovery! Endurance with a capital E, resistance to effort, suffering, mental strength. Cycling is only bad