"That is why, as soon as I felt a real attraction for my first passion, which was the motorcycle, and in spite of the danger it could represent, they encouraged me"
About this Quote
The phrasing matters. “As soon as I felt a real attraction” makes the passion sound less like a choice than a discovery, almost physical, as if the motorcycle called him into a life already waiting. Then comes the essential tension: “in spite of the danger it could represent.” He doesn’t deny the risk; he names it plainly, which lends credibility and keeps the memory from turning into sanitized myth. The emotional payoff arrives at the end: “they encouraged me.” It’s positioned as the conclusion, the moral reveal, and it reframes the whole relationship between passion and permission.
Context deepens it. Ickx came up in a mid-century European motorsport culture that still carried a craftsman’s ethos: competence, nerves, and mechanical intimacy mattered as much as glamour. Motorcycles were the raw gateway drug to speed, demanding balance, vulnerability, and judgment. His subtext is legacy-building: the courage to race isn’t just personal temperament, it’s nurtured. The quote isn’t selling recklessness; it’s defending a kind of faith that says talent plus discipline is worth the risk.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ickx, Jacky. (2026, February 17). That is why, as soon as I felt a real attraction for my first passion, which was the motorcycle, and in spite of the danger it could represent, they encouraged me. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/that-is-why-as-soon-as-i-felt-a-real-attraction-112065/
Chicago Style
Ickx, Jacky. "That is why, as soon as I felt a real attraction for my first passion, which was the motorcycle, and in spite of the danger it could represent, they encouraged me." FixQuotes. February 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/that-is-why-as-soon-as-i-felt-a-real-attraction-112065/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"That is why, as soon as I felt a real attraction for my first passion, which was the motorcycle, and in spite of the danger it could represent, they encouraged me." FixQuotes, 17 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/that-is-why-as-soon-as-i-felt-a-real-attraction-112065/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.





