Ford GT40
Back in the 1960's the talks of a merger between Ford and Ferrari were taking place, but in the end the merger never materialized. Ford wanted a race car for events like Lemans and others, and a merger between they and Ferrari would have made that path much shorter, and easier to come by. When it became apparent that all bets were off between the two, and maybe for reasons attributed to nothing more than egos, it then was as though Ford, now more than ever, wanted to build a car and one directly targeted at Ferrari, and the story of the GT40 began. And, at the beginning, the story wasn't a smooth one. With only months to design, build, and test a car before the car's first planned race was going to be a monumental task! But Ford put a great team together to take on the challenge and they did meet that deadline. All were very enthusiastic, however, meeting a deadline was only part of the challenge...having a car, or cars that could be in the winner's circle at the end of the race was the real goal. Sadly, on their first time out they were met with mechanical failures, and once more it was back to the drawing boards and decisions on subtle exterior design changes, engine changes (289ci - 427ci) brakes, and gearbox changes were made. Now, let me move ahead to June of 1966, and the Lemans Race against the Ferraris, and what Ford was now hoping to be victorious in doing so.
As the day of the race drew closer, the Ford Le Mans Committee arrived to support the team. Henry Ford II had been named honorary chairman of the race and would serve as starter with his wife and son Edsel with him in tow. As the clock hit 4:00 PM on June 18th, Henry Ford II waved the starter flag and the drivers ran across the track to start their cars and the race. Ken Miles, who had the second fastest qualifying time after Gurney, had immediate issues as the door struck his helmet and he had to quickly pit for repairs. The rest of the cars roared on with the Fords and Ferraris trading the lead through much of the early race. The crowds watched knowing that the Fords had often been the fastest cars but never completed the endurance race. After midnight, the tables began to turn. The Ferraris began to drop out with mechanical difficulties and while Ford had some withdrawals, the bulk of the team raced on and at one point held the 1-2-3-5-8 spots. By 4:00 AM, the last of the Ferraris was out of the race and the order went out for the teams to slow the pace to ensure the most cars could complete the race. The drivers slowed from the early pace of 3:30 per lap to a more strategic 3:50 per lap. Dan Gurney was in the lead most of the evening, with the Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren teams trading 2nd and 3rd place depending upon their pit stop order. When Gurney’s car went out with engine problems around 10:00AM, Ford still had the first three places between the Shelby American and Holman Moody teams.
With two hours left in the race, Leo Beebe and Carroll Shelby met to discuss the end of the race. With the Ford cars running 1-2-3, there was little question as to winning the race, but what order should the finish take? If Miles and McLaren continued their personal race, a malfunction such as the one Dan Gurney had at Sebring might occur. The team also discussed having the cars come across in a tie and inquired of the ACO (Le Mans race organizing committee) if that was permitted. The ACO agreed that this was possible and so the drivers (at this time Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren) were told the news at their next pit stop. While neither was thrilled with the decision, both acquiesced with Ken Miles saying “I work for the Ford Motor Company… if they want me to win the race, why, I’ll do it… and if they ask me to jump in a lake, why I’ll guess I will have to do that as well.”
Miles (who had just taken the lead during a McLaren pit stop) and McLaren began to slow down to allow the third car, driven by the Holman & Moody driver Dick Hutcherson to catch up. By this time, word had come back from the ACO that a tie would in fact not be permitted and since the Bruce McLaren team had started 8 meters further back from the start line it would have traveled further and would be declared the winner. The ACO ruling is a matter of some debate as there was nothing written in the sporting regulations from that year that accounted for the rules in the event of a tie.
The decision to notify the drivers of the change in ACO policy rested with Leo Beebe and Carroll Shelby. As the two conferred, there were a number of considerations. While Ken Miles had done the bulk of the race prep work on the Mark II to prepare it for competition since his first drive in February, 1965, Bruce McLaren had been with the program since its inception in 1963 and had always been a true team player driving at the assigned speed. Both drivers felt they could win in a race to the finish as neither had more than a lap or two lead during the second half of the race. Leo Beebe ultimately made the decision to not notify the drivers and let the dead heat occur, which would make the McLaren team the victor. Beebe later noted that “to have Ken win would have been more expedient and popular, but the extent to which McLaren and Amon had played exactly according to our rules mitigated against Miles. The result was not necessarily even popular with me.” Ultimately, Beebe felt that Ken Miles trying to push the Dan Gurney car at Sebring was a big enough strike against him to give the nod to the McLaren/Amon team.
During the final lap, the three Ford cars rode in tandem with Miles and McLaren crossing the finish line in a dead heat with Hutcherson close behind in 3rd place. Photos at the time appear to show McLaren surging ahead at the final moment, but the checkered flag is actually waved some distance from the final finish line, which was being monitored by newly installed IBM electronic time keeping devices. The photo finish was intact. As the cars approached the victory circle, Ken Miles and fellow driver Denny Hulme who hanging out of the passenger side door, were surprised when they were waved off to allow McLaren and Amon to the victory podium. Both were crestfallen when they learned of the changed ACO rule interpretation, but Ken Miles had the most to lose. He would have been the first driver to win Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans in the same year. In an interview a few months after the race he was philosophical, noting once again that he worked for Ford and would accept whatever outcome occurred.
This victory was a culmination of three years of engineering, design, and research to develop a winning car and winning team. Motorsport racing requires a combination of engineering, artistry and intuition from the drivers. With the Mark II all three elements were in play. Ford Motor Company engineering did tremendous work on the elements of the car and many were highlighted in papers to the Society of Automotive Engineers, while the stellar teams of Shelby American and Holman & Moody provided the artistry to turn the cars into unbeatable racing machines, and the drivers provided the vision and courage to navigate the difficult courses.
Ford GT40
Back in the 1960's the talks of a merger between Ford and Ferrari were taking place, but in the end the merger never materialized. Ford wanted a race car for events like Lemans and others, and a merger between they and Ferrari would have made that path much shorter, and easier to come by. When it became apparent that all bets were off between the two, and maybe for reasons attributed to nothing more than egos, it then was as though Ford, now more than ever, wanted to build a car and one directly targeted at Ferrari, and the story of the GT40 began. And, at the beginning, the story wasn't a smooth one. With only months to design, build, and test a car before the car's first planned race was going to be a monumental task! But Ford put a great team together to take on the challenge and they did meet that deadline. All were very enthusiastic, however, meeting a deadline was only part of the challenge...having a car, or cars that could be in the winner's circle at the end of the race was the real goal. Sadly, on their first time out they were met with mechanical failures, and once more it was back to the drawing boards and decisions on subtle exterior design changes, engine changes (289ci - 427ci) brakes, and gearbox changes were made. Now, let me move ahead to June of 1966, and the Lemans Race against the Ferraris, and what Ford was now hoping to be victorious in doing so.
As the day of the race drew closer, the Ford Le Mans Committee arrived to support the team. Henry Ford II had been named honorary chairman of the race and would serve as starter with his wife and son Edsel with him in tow. As the clock hit 4:00 PM on June 18th, Henry Ford II waved the starter flag and the drivers ran across the track to start their cars and the race. Ken Miles, who had the second fastest qualifying time after Gurney, had immediate issues as the door struck his helmet and he had to quickly pit for repairs. The rest of the cars roared on with the Fords and Ferraris trading the lead through much of the early race. The crowds watched knowing that the Fords had often been the fastest cars but never completed the endurance race. After midnight, the tables began to turn. The Ferraris began to drop out with mechanical difficulties and while Ford had some withdrawals, the bulk of the team raced on and at one point held the 1-2-3-5-8 spots. By 4:00 AM, the last of the Ferraris was out of the race and the order went out for the teams to slow the pace to ensure the most cars could complete the race. The drivers slowed from the early pace of 3:30 per lap to a more strategic 3:50 per lap. Dan Gurney was in the lead most of the evening, with the Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren teams trading 2nd and 3rd place depending upon their pit stop order. When Gurney’s car went out with engine problems around 10:00AM, Ford still had the first three places between the Shelby American and Holman Moody teams.
With two hours left in the race, Leo Beebe and Carroll Shelby met to discuss the end of the race. With the Ford cars running 1-2-3, there was little question as to winning the race, but what order should the finish take? If Miles and McLaren continued their personal race, a malfunction such as the one Dan Gurney had at Sebring might occur. The team also discussed having the cars come across in a tie and inquired of the ACO (Le Mans race organizing committee) if that was permitted. The ACO agreed that this was possible and so the drivers (at this time Ken Miles and Bruce McLaren) were told the news at their next pit stop. While neither was thrilled with the decision, both acquiesced with Ken Miles saying “I work for the Ford Motor Company… if they want me to win the race, why, I’ll do it… and if they ask me to jump in a lake, why I’ll guess I will have to do that as well.”
Miles (who had just taken the lead during a McLaren pit stop) and McLaren began to slow down to allow the third car, driven by the Holman & Moody driver Dick Hutcherson to catch up. By this time, word had come back from the ACO that a tie would in fact not be permitted and since the Bruce McLaren team had started 8 meters further back from the start line it would have traveled further and would be declared the winner. The ACO ruling is a matter of some debate as there was nothing written in the sporting regulations from that year that accounted for the rules in the event of a tie.
The decision to notify the drivers of the change in ACO policy rested with Leo Beebe and Carroll Shelby. As the two conferred, there were a number of considerations. While Ken Miles had done the bulk of the race prep work on the Mark II to prepare it for competition since his first drive in February, 1965, Bruce McLaren had been with the program since its inception in 1963 and had always been a true team player driving at the assigned speed. Both drivers felt they could win in a race to the finish as neither had more than a lap or two lead during the second half of the race. Leo Beebe ultimately made the decision to not notify the drivers and let the dead heat occur, which would make the McLaren team the victor. Beebe later noted that “to have Ken win would have been more expedient and popular, but the extent to which McLaren and Amon had played exactly according to our rules mitigated against Miles. The result was not necessarily even popular with me.” Ultimately, Beebe felt that Ken Miles trying to push the Dan Gurney car at Sebring was a big enough strike against him to give the nod to the McLaren/Amon team.
During the final lap, the three Ford cars rode in tandem with Miles and McLaren crossing the finish line in a dead heat with Hutcherson close behind in 3rd place. Photos at the time appear to show McLaren surging ahead at the final moment, but the checkered flag is actually waved some distance from the final finish line, which was being monitored by newly installed IBM electronic time keeping devices. The photo finish was intact. As the cars approached the victory circle, Ken Miles and fellow driver Denny Hulme who hanging out of the passenger side door, were surprised when they were waved off to allow McLaren and Amon to the victory podium. Both were crestfallen when they learned of the changed ACO rule interpretation, but Ken Miles had the most to lose. He would have been the first driver to win Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans in the same year. In an interview a few months after the race he was philosophical, noting once again that he worked for Ford and would accept whatever outcome occurred.
This victory was a culmination of three years of engineering, design, and research to develop a winning car and winning team. Motorsport racing requires a combination of engineering, artistry and intuition from the drivers. With the Mark II all three elements were in play. Ford Motor Company engineering did tremendous work on the elements of the car and many were highlighted in papers to the Society of Automotive Engineers, while the stellar teams of Shelby American and Holman & Moody provided the artistry to turn the cars into unbeatable racing machines, and the drivers provided the vision and courage to navigate the difficult courses.