Topic: LE MANS CLASSIC TRIBUTE MARKS MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY OF FAMOUS FORD GT40 VICTORY

[Otto Puzzell]

"40 years ago, Ford made motorsport history at the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race. That event was a momentous result for Ford Motor Company, and history has shown that it has become one of the most important chapters in the saga of the world's most famous endurance race. This year, at the Le Mans Classic 2006, today's Ford is saluting the heroes and unsung heroes of that day, and the incredible legacy of a car that captured the imagination of generations of enthusiasts – the Ford GT40."

John Fleming
President & CEO
Ford of Europe

Le Mans, France, June 2006 – This summer marks an important anniversary for fans of motorsport and the Blue Oval. It is the 40 th anniversary of Ford's historic 1-2-3 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the famous Ford GT40. This anniversary will be celebrated in style at the 2006 Le Mans Classic event on July 8 and 9.

On Sunday, June 19, 1966, a trio of sleek Ford GT Mark II endurance racers crossed a rain-soaked finish line at the famous La Sarthe circuit in Le Mans , convincingly achieving Ford's goal of beating Ferrari to the crown jewel of international racing success. The accomplishment not only established Ford's international motorsport credentials but has left an amazing legacy that has refused to diminish over the years since.

Today that legacy rests in the hands of enthusiasts that include the proud European owners of a new Ford GT supercar inspired by the original Ford GT40, owners of highly valuable original GT40 road and race cars, many of which still compete in historic racing events around the world, many owners of GT40 replicas, and fans of one of the most exciting periods of motorsport history.

Marking the 40th Anniversary at Le Mans

A special observance to mark the anniversary of the historic Ford victory is planned at this year's Le Mans Classic, scheduled for July 7-9 at the famous circuit. Ford will present the 1966-1971 grid at this year's running of the bi-annual event, which has quickly become one of the leading vintage-racing occasions in Europe .

Six grids divided into decades from 1923 to 1979 will participate in the 2006 Classic. The 1966-71 grid, sponsored by Ford, appropriately embraces the GT40 – winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 – and its contemporary competitors.

"This is a very special anniversary because the Ford GT has given us such a legacy," said John Fleming, President and CEO, Ford of Europe. "Our support of this year's Le Mans Classic is a fitting way to add our voice to the outpouring of enthusiasm and admiration for the car and for those who made that famous 1-2-3 finish possible."

A strong collection of historic GT40 race cars is expected to be at Le Mans for the Classic, and many will compete in the race, including the original second- and third-place cars from the 1966 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The race is also expected to attract a strong contingent of GT40 competitors from its historic nemeses, Ferrari, Porsche and other important marques, plus examples of the Ford Mustang, itself a formidable competitor in the late 1960s.

To ensure the 2006 event is particularly memorable, John Fleming will present a special one-time trophy to the winning car in the 1966-71 grid, regardless of whether a GT40 is the ultimate winner.

International Victory for the Blue Oval

Seen as the American challenge to Ferrari, the Ford GT40 was a truly international project which underscored the determination and global ambitions of Ford Motor Company and its Chairman, Henry Ford II. Its name was derived from a simple fact – the sculpted and purposeful endurance racing car stood just 40 inches tall.

Mr. Ford, grandson of Henry Ford, was at Le Mans that fateful day in 1966 to see his cars make history.

The powerful, seven-litre V8-powered Ford racers were not guaranteed victory that day. GT40s had competed in 1964 and 1964, showing incredible potential but being dogged by mechanical issues that knocked them out of contention. Yet Ford and legendary names of motorsport – including the creator of the Shelby Cobra, Carroll Shelby – teamed to come back in 1966 with a vengeance. A new version of the GT40 – the Mark II – was entered for the 1966 race.

Having already won the 1966 Daytona and Sebring endurance races in America , Ford was confident of breaking its Le Mans jinx. More than a dozen Ford GTs were entered, driven by such famous pilots as Bruce McLaren, Dan Gurney, Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Guy Ligier, Peter Revson and Jacky Ickx.

After the trials of 24 hours, including mechanical breakdowns and inevitable crashes, three Ford GTs were leading the field. The victory went to Shelby American's black No. 2 car, driven by McLaren and Chris Amon. It edged another Shelby entry, the light blue No. 1 car of Ken Miles and Denny Hulme. Third place went to Holman Moody's gold No. 5 car, driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson.

Ford GTs would go on to win Le Mans the next three seasons and score victories at other important international races. Today, 40 years later, the GT40 is still going strong. It still evokes excitement at motorsport events. It remains a vivid reminder of those heady days of Ford racing.

Bringing the Winners Back Together

Given the significance of the anniversary, Ford of Europe is bringing the privately-owned winning Ford GT Mark II from 1966 all the way from the USA to attend the 2006 Le Mans Classic. It is set to be the first time in 10 years that all three of the Ford 1966 1-2-3 finishers will be seen together at Le Mans .

The black No. 2 Ford GT Mark II is now owned by an American collector. It will be reunited with the second- and third-place cars from 1966 – both of which are expected to be competing in the Le Mans Classic – at the event.

The presence of the winning car makes it possible for Ford and the Le Mans Classic 2006 organisers to recreate the famous 1966 finish for a special photo opportunity for race fans. It is a way for Ford to support the lasting outpouring of enthusiasm for the Ford GT40 long after its involvement in frontline motorsport came to an end.

The photo opportunity will take place prior to the start of the race on Saturday, 8 July.

A Loyal Following

Ford's activities at the Le Mans Classic are intended to complement a massive wave of enthusiasm for the anniversary among loyal Ford GT40 and classic motorsport aficionados.

"At the forefront are the efforts of the owners of historic GT40 owners themselves," Fleming said. "To them, owning a genuine GT40 is a privilege, an obligation to history and a not insignificant financial burden in maintaining a 40-year-old racing car in competitive condition."

Joining the celebration will be many owners of the new Ford GT, the rare 21st century supercar inspired by the original Ford GT40. Sold by Ford to just 101 customers in Europe , and developed as a result of Ford's global centennial celebrations in 2003, the new Ford GT carries the key strands of the DNA of the Ford GT40 forward for new generations. A convoy of Ford GT owners from Britain , Germany , Switzerland and France is expected to attend the event, along with owners who have independently imported Ford GTs to Europe .

Off the circuit, the Le Mans Classic 2006 is expected to draw the owners of scores of GT40 replicas as well. Thanks to the efforts of specialist manufacturers, even today enthusiasts can get a taste of the GT40 zeitgeist through building and owning a replica, some of which are astonishingly true to the design and construction of the original cars.

Ford of Europe will also participate with its own roadgoing GT40 Mk III, chassis number M3/1107, which has been in Ford's hands as a press demonstrator since new in 1969. It is one of only seven GT40 road cars ever built.

John Fleming said: "The legacy of the GT40 lives on. It's not in Ford's hands any more but we're still proud of what the GT40 achieved, and how it lives on. For us, looking back, it's significant on so many levels, not least of which is today's owner body of its spiritual successor, the Ford GT. But even more important is what the GT40 originally demonstrated – when Ford sets its mind to something, don't count us out."

[lynxd67]

Adrian Newey (boss of the Red Bull F1 team) showed his own way of celebrating the glorious wins of the GT40..........

[Otto Puzzell]

Oops!

[lynxd67]

And for those of you who like moody shots, here is the start of grid 5 (GT40 etc.) at 10pm and another shot taken at 11pm of a Maserati and (I think) a GT40 going into the chicane at the Dunlop Bridge after the pit straight. Sorry about the grainy nature but shooting at this time of night needs a high ISO setting but then again it adds to the atmo I feel.

[Ultra]

Thanks for sharing these great shots!!!!

Please, I know you have a deep well, share some more with us!  Karn and I would love to take a bunch of your LeMans photos and do a feature article on the great race.  Any contributions you can make would be fantastic!

 

[lynxd67]

Goodness me, where do you want me to start? I was a member of the club that got Goodwood restarted, and at the inauguration at Lord March's house, a celebration he threw especially for us in November 1997, we were royally thanked when, after a fantastic firework display which finished in a roaring crescendo, there was silence and then the spine tingling wail as a dozen V12 Ferraris came up the hill to greet us. Unforgettable. The following year the Goodwood revival was launched and as always, the priest blesses the track and the event on the friday. Ray Hannah, who sadly died last year, was circulating in his Spitfire, and rumours started to circulate. Remember how pilots celebrated in the 2nd world war? Well, Ray decided to do the same and the result was the photo shown here. You'll see people ducking down!

I have about 10,000 photos of Goodwood, Castle Combe, Monte Carlo, Le Mans and so on, mostly of old cars. I own Jaguars mysaelf and have been fanatical about them for years, so you'll understand the name I use here - I have two Lynx D types one long and one short nose. I have shots of  so many makes of cars and really I'd like to ask you what you want me to post since it would be better to target certain things than to just post away. The second photo gives the way they race at Goodwood, no matter what cars (a Jaguar MkVII here, 1953) and the third from 2004 shows the style of the event. I have photos of the Daytona 24 hr 1992 when I was there, the fabulous collection of Walter Hill in Florida - frankly so many photos that I need guidance. Do you want photos, most of you being over that side of the pond, of the Barratt Jackson auctions for example? I have hundreds from there.HELP!

[lynxd67]

Hell, I'll be selfish and post one of me too for the moment, just so you can see where I am coming from. Here I am at Woodcote bend Goodwood at about 10.5/10ths really on the edge. This car has tied down track suspension but still leaning just the same, 325bhp and 400 lb/ft of torque in a one ton package. 0-60 is 5.5 and top speed, depending on the rear axle could be as much as 190mph but I reckon it would take off at that speed. I have been speed checked on the Le Mans circuit at 165 though.

[lynxd67]

Sorry - photo too large. I forgot to mention Laguna seca, sears Point, and who can forget  Bathhurst in Australia - Conrod straight has to be seen to be believed.

[Rich]

OMIGOD.

What absolutely fabulous shots.....

Pleasure to have your contribution here lynx.......

r

EDIT:  The "moody shot" of the night is just the type of shot I love to see.  Have said it before, but I believe the cars raced in the era depicted at Goodwood were truly the "golden" ones; modern race cars, of whatever series, have been homogenized by the wind-tunnel sirens so that styling differences are oftentimes reflected only by color or fin choice.  IOW:  Great shit.

[Ultra]

You are asking me what I want you to post.......... 

I want us to host every photograph in your collection. 

No, really, I want to host every single photo you are willing to share. 

If you are willing, we will host them all for you.  Creating and discussing with you the themes to use, and shaping those themes with pages telling the stories of the photos and links to it all directly off of our main page.  It would please me greatly if we could archive your photos in such a manner.  If you are willing to do this with us, you can upload them as you have been here, create a thread of your own to upload them to, or we can make ftp or other types of arrangements.  It matters not to me.  I want to see and share them all.  If that is more than you can stomach for now, whatever you will share, we will all relish.

As an aside, I too like the shots at dusk.

[Boxer2500]

Well, I just found a couple months' supply of new desktop backgrounds. As an aspiring amateur shutterbug, I'd love to see what else lynx has in his portfolio.

[lynxd67]

A slight correction Rich. The two "moody" photos were taken at this years Le Mans Classic on the Saturday evening. The photo of Conrod straight needs, I feel, no explanation as to how it got its name but how I came to take the shot is a bit of fun. The circuit is also, on normal days, a service road to the houses there around the circuit, and anyone can just arrive and drive around. The other name of the circuit is Mount Panorama since there is 500 ft from the finishing line up to the top of the circuit, ending on the downward part with this enormous drop towards the Dunlop bridge. Cars have over revved so much here as you can guess! On returning my hire car they complained that the tyres were well used and I blamed the Australian roads, but I do wonder if about a dozen circuits might have had something to do with it!

[Rich]

I would imagine my usage of proper editing, punctuation, and writing skill would have precluded your need for a correction, lynx!  I saw that they were more modern pics, but liked the atmospheric of them.  Then I went on, w/o paragraph split, to add the comment about the golden cars.  Whatever, your posting of what is apparently a treasure trove of excellent shots remains a great addition to this site.  Glad to have you here.

Just curiously, given that the missus and I have spoken frequently about going to Goodwood before it's gone for whatever reason (things like that, in my experience, have rather suddenly ceased and left me longing), could you provide some details on the experience in and of itself?  Realizing you have/had access as we likely wouldn't, what's it like for the common (or not so common!) man to be there?  Is it kind of a disorganized, circus-like environment?  Are the crowds oppressive?  Or is it a bit more dignified and orderly, like I envision it to be (remembering that I also envisioned TVR's to be well-built engineering tours de force!).  Just some more details would be fun to read about, if you get the time.

thx

r

[Stephen M]

Stunning photos, lynx, simply stunning. 

The one of the Spitfire is particularly amazing.  This thread makes me want to:

1) Go through all my old photos and scan the good ones for online distribution

2) Spend more effort on taking in all things automotive, while I'm still young...ish. I've never been to LeMans, or Indy, or Goodwood...the list goes on. These pics are inspiring. Well done.

-Stephen M

[lynxd67]

I am humbly put in my place Rich! Goodwood is sold out at the end of May normally, and the problem for you people that side of the pond is the value of the dollar against the pound at the moment. The three day ticket costs about $130 nowadays and Friday is without doubt the best day to go with maybe 30,000 spectators but even the Friday is taking off. Saturday there are about 45,000 but Sunday it is full at about 60,000 and you really need to get to where you want to go and stake you claim for the day or else you are looking over others shoulders at the racing. The racing I'll cover in another article when I have the time, but since it is winter now I have the time. As regards accomodation, it would be best to talk to me and I can find bed and breakfast not too dear but the hotels are booked year on year, like Le Mans and the Le Mans Classic and it's dead men's shoes I'm afraid. I book for many people who come from Australia and South africa for both events though so know a few places about an hour's drive from the circuit. Should you ever wish to come to the Le Mans Classic I can though promise you a hotel at 400 yds from the circuit and a very good time.

You won't have access to the pits at Goodwood because that is reserved to members but in ordinary dress (Tshirt and shorts if you wish) you will have access to all other parts of the circuit. Goodwood is exceptionally well organised, from the access (roads closed in a one way fashion) to parking and access. The areas are split up with shops and boutiques plus car manufacturers etc. in on place and in the centre of the circuit the garages, pits, aerodrome and so on I have talked about in my last article. At various points around the circuit there are food stalls and drinks places so once installed you don't have to budge much if you don't want to.

The Le Mans Classic is less strict although they have upped the security level over the years since the first event in 2002 and tickets are much less dear than Goodwood. The beauty of this event is that it carries on continuously from Friday evening practice through to the finish on Sunday afternoon so you can come and go as you please. Each car has three one hour races since it is broken up into years - no point having a Porche 917 on the track at the same time as a Bentley 1929 really. The Le Mans track is 8 miles long since we use main roads which are closed off for the event and you can't get everywhere but there are spectator viewing points at most of the important bends such as Arngae, Indianapolis and Mulsanne. You'll need a car to get around though.

Anyone coming over would be sure of a great welcome here and rather a large party around the pool on the Friday night - we were 70 this year or thereabouts. Get together and work out if some of you want to come to either and I'll sort out the tickets and the accomodation but I need plenty of notice. The next Le Mans Classic is in July 2008.

Once again, my apologies for the misunderstanding. Here is a photo I took of the Classic two years back  of two D types on the Mulsanne straight to recompense.

[Ultra]