How Ford Won Le Mans
![The Ford Gt40 Mk Ii That Shouldn T Have Won Le Mans In 1966 Heads](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/33/18/5433180c9557e8cdfb8bb2a81b9ff313.jpg)
It was fifty years ago that ford scored its first 24 hours of le mans victory bringing ferrari s dominance to an end with a conclusive 1 2 3 sweep.
How ford won le mans. Ford lucked into that distinction when the organizers of the 24 hour race. It was a repeat of the american carmaker s triumph at the 12 hours of sebring three months earlier. However two dramatic events eclipsed the sporting achievements in sebring that year. Ford gt40 mk ii front.
The 1966 24 hours of le mans was the 34th grand prix of endurance and took place on 18 and 19 june 1966. Henri pescarolo who went. It has been more than 50 years since the ford gt40 mk. First unveiled to the media at le mans last year the ford gt s le mans victory comes 395 days after the car turned a wheel for the first time on may 20 2015 at calabogie motorsports park in canada.
It was also the debut le mans start for two significant drivers. A good chunk of james mangold s ford v ferrari is devoted to a diligent recreation of the 1966 24 hours of le mans race and it all leads to a climax that if you don t know anything. It was also the seventh round of the 1966 world sportscar championship season this was the first overall win at le mans for the ford gt40 as well as the first overall win for an american constructor. Ford dominated the le mans 24 hours race in 1966 winning it for the first time and taking all the podium places with its updated mkii and stellar driver line up but instead of euphoria on the podium chris amon and bruce mclaren who were classified first were strangely subdued.
68 gt won the gte pro class beating long time rival ferrari in ford s. Ford only hoped to win le mans not to go down in history as the perpetual holder of its all time performance records. This car took second place overall all three top finishers were ford gt40s in the 1966 24 hours of le mans the 1 car was driven by ken miles and denny hulme and together with the 2 car driven by bruce mclaren chris amon 1st overall and 5 car driven by bucknum hutcherson 3rd overall gave ford its first victory in a 24 hour race. The pair had inherited victory from fellow ford driver ken miles in car no1 who had earlier pulled out a lead of.
History repeated itself for ford motor co. Screenshot via ford performance it was 50 years ago to the day that ford finished 1 2 3 at the 24 hours of le mans in france. The 1966 victory has gone down in history but on sunday ford came. On the 50th anniversary of its podium sweep at le mans.