Back in the day, there was something gloriously exotic and aloof about Jacky Ickx. In the 1960s and early '70s he cut a figure of elegance, occupying the same stratosphere as Sir Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt - and yet somehow standing apart. He was always his own man.
Today, the contrast to that cold 'untouchable' is stark, only more so when the 72-year-old Belgian maestro speaks with emotion about the modern sport having lost touch with its human essence.
To those who knew him when he twirled grand prix Ferraris and Gulf GT40s with a clinical, otherworldly talent, his words might raise an eyebrow.