Le Mans 1966
June 18th 1966. Carroll Shelby stood in the dugout with his crew as Henry Ford II watched the race in a suite with investors who put thousands of dollars into the Ford GT40. Ford's success depended on this race. They were set to follow a game plan; Dan Gurney, in the #3 Ford, would set the pace as the other two drivers, Ken Miles (#1 Ford) and Bruce McLaren (#2 Ford) would follow.
Start at Le Mans, 1966, dailysportscar.com.
The Fords fell behind into the middle of the pack. Six hours into the race, Ferrari led the pack in the first two slots. Early in the morning the most threatening Ferrari, the 330 P3, driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Richie Ginther, had a broken gearbox and was out. Ford's cars were running 1, 2, 3 and all of the frontline Ferraris were out. The closest one was in 5th, many miles behind them.
With about two hours left, it was clear Ford won the battle against Ferrari. Leo Beebee, Vice President of Ford, decided that all the Fords should finish at once. The three cars were riding in a tight pack towards the finish line, and crossed the finish line together. Mclaren was the winner by a technicality, Gurney got second and Miles was third. Ford’s win ended the war with Ferrari.
Le Mans winning podium with Henry Ford II, 1966, MotorSportsImages.com.
Newspaper headlines the day after the win, 1966, newspapers.com
"Le Mans in 1966 was the first sporting event in Europe ever broadcast live in America. That's how important it was, at the time. Reports on the progress of the race appeared not in the New York Times' sports section, but on the front page. That says a lot about how important it all was at the time. But the effect of these great Le Mans victories has been felt more and more through time. Ford went back to Le Mans and won again on the 50th anniversary of 1966, with an all new GT race car. Ford's Le Mans success in 1966 is regarded by many today as the climactic moment of the Golden Age of Motor Racing."
- A.J. Baime, author of Go Like Hell