The decision to end the race in a manner that would solidify Ford’s growing racing supremacy and openly display Ferrari’s strength as a track leader was made in the pits with Ford now poised to dethrone Ferrari. In order for three Ford cars to cross the finish line at once, Leo Beebe, then-director of Ford racing, came up with the idea of staging a dead heat by having the leading teams slow down and pull alongside one another.
Despite being informed by track officials that a dead-heat stunt win like the one intended would not be possible owing to the race’s staggered start, Beebe persisted, and the vehicles crossed the finish line side by side. Ford had finally defeated Ferrari in front of a large audience.
Ford won every podium position in 1966 at Le Mans after traveling more than 3,000 miles at an average pace of almost 130 mph. The Miles crew came in a little bit behind the McLaren squad after slowing down to account for the Ford finish decision. In the event that they had arrived simultaneously as anticipated, McLaren would have won despite starting the race a few positions behind Miles and covering a little more ground overall.
“Regrettably, Ken Miles, who passed away subsequently, didn’t take first place that year. To be honest, I struggled a lot with that “Hemmings quotes Beebe as saying that the decision to have a dead heat was made. “He was, however, a daredevil, so I drew him in and essentially arranged the end of that race, with the numbers one, two, and three. I called Ken Miles in and kept him back out of concern that the drivers would collide. All it takes is one fortunate mishap to wipe out all of your investment.”
Two months after the Le Mans race, Miles lost his life while testing the new Ford GT40 at Riverside International Raceway in Southern California. His car abruptly flipped and burst into pieces as he neared the back straight of the race at full speed, ejecting Miles, who perished instantly.
Ford’s convincing victory over Ferrari in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans has not been subject to speculation despite decades of heated debate over the decision to conclude the race in such a carefully orchestrated manner. Ford would return to Le Mans in 1967, 1968, and 1969, capitalize on its investment and podium finish, and win the event once more in each year.
In This Article...
The Ford v Ferrari film, featuring Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, brought the tale of Ken Miles, Carroll Shelby, and Ford’s GT40 defeating Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 to the attention of the world. But what was the actual sequence of events that led to what happened?
As you might anticipate from a Hollywood movie, the plotline strayed from reality a bit. What portions of the movie are therefore accurate, and what details were exaggerated for artistic and dramatic effect? Check out the second in a series of videos covering the actual race and the movie in the one up top (part 1 can be viewed below).
At a race in California, did Ken Miles actually throw a wrench at Shelby? Has he ever thrown a punch at him in public? Was Ford management sabotaging Miles after he had a multiple-lap lead at Le Mans because they wanted their other drivers to win? At the finish line, what actually transpired? What did the actual podium scenario look like?
Using exclusive footage from Motorsport.tv’s Le Mans archive and images from Motorsport Images, we tell the story of what actually happened with interviews with a number of motorsport experts, including Miles’s son Peter, who was a young boy when all the real-life drama unfolded. Tom Kristensen, a nine-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, serves as the narration.
Who prevailed in the 1966 Ford vs. Ferrari race?
The actual world Le Mans ’66 came to a thrilling conclusion with a historic result as all three Ford vehicles tied for first place when they passed the finish line.
Who won the Ford vs. Ferrari battle?
Ford suffers another setback as Ferrari’s new 330 P4 destroys its GT40s in the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours, taking the race in a humiliating 1-2-3 finish, only months after Miles died in testing.
However, Shelby has the solution in the form of a brand-new, American-made vehicle named the Mark IV. It gets its revenge at the next year’s Le Mans with famous drivers Dan Gurney and AJ Foyt after a fantastic race that features a time when the leaders come to a stop out on the course in the most strange stand-off in motorsport history!
Why didn’t Ford win the 1966 Le Mans?
The image of a showy Ford victory was fantastic publicity since Ford executives had told the drivers of all three cars to cross the finish line together. That required creating a tie for first place because the first two cars were competing on the same lap. Eleven laps later, the #5 in third place.
The #1 was in front as the race approached its final hour. On the 347th lap, Ken Miles took over the controls. The #2 car, which had already refueled and wouldn’t require another pit stop, trailed him by 34 seconds. According to Carroll Shelby’s instructions, he was running 4-minute laps. The #2 was occasionally going quicker than 3:54. As a result, as of lap 351, the two vehicles were side by side and remained so until the finish. Who was first, though?
According to the legend, there was a brief uproar when the race commentator, whose view of the finish line was less than optimum, declared the #1 the winner. Race Heritage & Museum Director Fabrice Bourrigaud continues the narrative: It was nearly difficult to win a photo finish. You must keep in mind that it was raining and that the low clouds made visibility nearly nonexistent. Only a few centimeters of the finish line are thick. Drivers have a small field of vision and are basically seated at track level. To pull off a prank like that wasn’t the best use of any of those. As the final straight approached, Car #1 had a tiny lead. Has Miles slowed down while waiting for McLaren? Has McLaren picked up speed to catch up? Is that how the #2 gained an advantage? Or was it a calculated action to secure a victory? a
Whatever the situation, Miles and Hulme (#1) led the race by 34 seconds with an hour to go, a lead that would have been challenging to close under normal circumstances. The #2 had previously led the race for four hours. Everyone eventually followed the rules. Professional drivers followed instructions, and officials followed the rules.
The Ford vs. Ferrari rumor: is it true?
James Mangold directed the true story-based film Ford vs. Ferrari. The movie is about a 24-hour endurance event that occurred at the 1966 Le Mans race. A team of auto engineers engaged by Ford to develop a racing that can outperform a Ferrari sports vehicle at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France is the center of the movie’s plot. Carroll Shelby, a pioneer in the automotive industry, and British race car driver Ken Miles are in charge of the Ford team. Carroll Shelby is portrayed in the movie by Matt Damon, while Ken Miles is portrayed by Christian Bale, who also plays Batman.
What specific details in Ford v. Ferrari are untrue?
Even while we wish it were true, it just never did. Henry Ford II bursts into a mixture of sorrow and hilarity when Carrol Shelby takes him for a joyride in his creation in the movie. It is portrayed as being a part of a scheme to get Miles a seat in the 1966 Le Mans race. However, as we already established, Ford didn’t object to the British driver participating, thus the incident was needless.
The president of one of the biggest automakers in America being taken for a joyride in a race vehicle without a helmet is also quite unusual. Back then, safety restrictions were somewhat lax but not so lax.
There is no evidence that this scene ever occurred, which puts the icing on the cake in terms of facts. You’d think someone would have noticed if Henry Ford II jumped into a GT40.
What did Henry Ford hear from Enzo Ferrari?
Tell your pigheaded employer that all of his, eh, pompous executives are worthless sons of whores, said Ford Italian Translator Gary. Italo Ferrari Inform him that he is not Henry Ford
Who actually prevailed at Le Mans in 1966?
At Le Mans, Bruce McLaren. On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Bruce McLaren’s victory at Le Mans, it is important to remember that the driver of a works Ford competed in the race eight times, winning at his sixth try in 1966.
Shelby allegedly made Ford cry.
11 Henry Ford II Cried When He Saw The Speed And Power In the film, Shelby seizes Beebe and drives Henry Ford II away in the prototype to demonstrate the GT40’s capabilities. In the film, Henry Ford II sobs as a result.
Whose Ford GT40 won the Le Mans race?
The GT40 was painstakingly restored over a 15-year period by its current owner Rex Myers, and it was finished in time for the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it came in second in the Postwar Sports Class.
Did Ken Miles triumph in the 1966 Le Mans?
Ken Miles, a British native, was a talented race car driver and engineer. Miles became interested with Ford’s GT racing program through his work for Carroll Shelby. In 1966, Miles finished second at Le Mans and claimed victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona. Later that year, while testing Ford’s J-Car, Miles was killed in a collision.
Why didn’t Ken Miles win the 1966 Le Mans?
At the conclusion of the film, he perishes in a fatal accident after being defrauded of a victory at Le Mans due to an ineffective PR strategy.
Who is the owner of Ford?
Ford Motor Company, also known simply as Ford, is a global American automaker with headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford formed it, and on June 16, 1903, it became a legal entity. Under the Ford brand, the corporation sells cars and commercial vehicles, and under the Lincoln premium brand, it sells luxury vehicles. Ford also owns the Brazilian SUV producer Troller, an 8% share in the British automaker Aston Martin, and a 32% stake in Jiangling Motors in China. Additionally, it has joint ventures in Turkey (Ford Otosan), China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), and Russia (Ford Sollers). The Ford family controls the corporation, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange; they hold a minority stake but the majority of the voting rights.
With the use of intricately engineered production processes typified by moving assembly lines, Ford created techniques for large-scale automobile manufacturing and management of an industrial workforce. By 1914, these techniques were referred to as Fordism around the world. Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover, its erstwhile UK divisions, to Tata Motors in March 2008 after purchasing them in 1989 and 2000, respectively. From 1999 to 2010, Ford was the owner of the Swedish carmaker Volvo. Since 1938, Ford has sold entry-level luxury vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East under the Mercury brand, which was discontinued by Ford in 2011.
Based on 2015 car production, Ford is the fifth-largest automaker in the world (after Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and General Motors) and the second-largest automaker with a U.S. base (behind General Motors). Ford was Europe’s fifth-largest automaker at the end of 2010. The corporation went public in 1956, but the Ford family still holds 40% of the voting rights thanks to special Class B shares. Despite facing financial difficulties during the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the company—unlike the other two main US automakers—did not require government assistance. Based on global revenues of $156.7 billion in 2017, Ford Motors, which has since returned to profitability, was listed as the eleventh-ranked American firm overall in the 2018 Fortune 500 list. Ford produced 5.532 million cars in 2008 and employed roughly 213,000 people across 90 plants and sites in different parts of the world.