Ford v Ferrari – The Battle of 1966
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantEngland
being crowned world champions on home soil thanks to a Geoff Hurst hat-trick
and Cassius Clay defending his world heavyweight title five times within a
12-month period weren’t the only great sporting moments to grace 1966. In fact,
American manufacturers Ford were about to do something special in France — something,
that for motorsport fans, will never be forgotten.
Here, with
Lookers, who offer Ford
Servicing, in Doctor Who style
fashion we rewind the clock back 53 years to visit Le Mans, embracing one of
the greatest motor-sport events to ever occur.
The background
Back in the
early 60s, rumours began to circulate that Italian engineer, Enzo Ferrari, had,
in the words of Andrea Bocelli, made it his Time
to Say Goodbye. Henry Ford II set out on a mission to enter the racing
market and acquire the Italian manufacturer. Unfortunately for the American,
months of deals, which looked certain to materialise, bared no fruit.
Henry then
knew the only way to re-cooperate losses inflicted by the Italians was to hit
them where it hurt — by attacking their endurance championship domination at Le
Mans.
After
investing what was estimated at $10 million in the challenge, Ford were
restricted in the sense they didn’t have racing expertise. Unlike the Italians
who were born racers, Ford were relatively inexperienced in the area. Enter Roy
Lunn, a British engineer, who over a life spanning 92 years (1925-2017),
cemented his position into the automotive hall of fame, thanks to sheer revolutionary
ingenuity.
Roy was the
head-honcho at Ford’s advanced vehicle department, and just months after Ford
arrived back from Italy with no deal, he was able to present the mid-engine
GT40. It remains as not only one of the American manufacturer’s, but the world’s
most incredible engineering project to date. Teaming up with the small
Brit-based racing team, Lola, who had created the Mk6 GT prototype, Ford had found
their machine to win the Le Mans.
Carroll
Shelby, a retired racer, had been welcomed on board. With him, he brought his
Cobra engineering prospectus, replacing a 4.2-litre engine with a 7.0-litre. The
initial success of the GT40 wasn’t to be without technical hitches, however.
Maxing out at 200mph wasn’t an issue for the V8 — stopping it from doing a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the other
hand, was. The powerful mid-engine vehicle with an unstable aero package proved
costly.
The race
season throughout 1965 failed to muster any real attack in the fist-fight
against Ferrari, as DNFs at a series of events for Ford, including the 24-hour
endurance race, meant the Maranello based outfit had claimed its fifth Le Mans
in a row.
The big year
1966 was
going to be a different year though. The year that Ford had worked so
desperately for.
Arriving to
the city in the North-West of France, this was the most organised Ford Racing
had ever been. They had brought a sword to a fist-fight. Ferrari on the other
hand, had become complacent — only entering two cars.
Both
Ferrari cars had retired by lap 227, the latter of the two suffering a water
leak in the engine, finishing 47 laps before the finish. Despite the fact the
two Ferraris were out, Ford hadn’t won the battle just yet. By the final
pitstop, Ford were taking grip of Le Mans and their preparation shone. The
Americans had arrived with eight cars, and by the final pit-stop, they had the
1-2-3 Henry Ford could only have dreamt off.
Henry was
desperate to rub the salt into the wounds of the Italians however, and
commanded that the drivers cross the line together, to create the perfect photo
finish for Ford that would, without doubt, create history.
The three
Ford GT40 Mk2s negotiated by Bruce McLaren/Chris Amon, Denny Hulme/Ken Miles,
and Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson respectively, crossed the line in almost
perfect synchronisation.
The race
report for the day signed off:
“A lot of people said the Ford victory
showed you could win Le Mans if you poured in sufficient dollars, but anyone
who believed this had no idea of the fantastic amount of work put into the
project from the time of the arrival in France, let alone in America.”
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Created on Dec 3rd 2019 02:59. Viewed 310 times.