With this being Lemans weekend, I thought it was good timing to do a little retrospective on the big race in 1965.
We all know the spectacular finish for Ford in 1966...not as much is written about the disaster for Ford that was Lemans in 1965.
Perhaps the title of this article should be:
"...If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all."
By this month in 1965, it was turning out to be a good year for the Cobra and Shelby American. Victories abounded in both the U.S. and on the international scene.
The successful debut of the Daytona Coupe in the prior season finally gave the Cobra team a fighting chance on the long, tough European circuits.
As if the plate wasn't full enough at Shelby American, two months after the Le Mans race of 1964, Ford hired Carroll Shelby to take control and manage the GT-40 racing program.
After they put Shelby in control, Ford Advanced Vehicles focused more on making the production models of the car, and Shelby and Alan Mann tended to the race program.
The International season was rolling along with dominant showings by the Cobras in Europe, with victories at Monza, Goodwood, Nurburgring among others, coupled with some hard luck in the Ferrari camp.
It looked good for Shelby's shot at the Manufacturers Championship this year.
Lemans was the ultimate endurance competition, and still is today. About 8.5 miles of road circuit, with a killer straightaway.
Here is the map as it was in 1965.
As speeds got dangerously fast, some changes were made to the circuit over the years that followed, specifically some kinks in the Mulsanne straight.
Here is the circuit today... a few changes and some paid "naming-rights"
In fact, a win at Lemans in 1965, with it's highly factored points score, could clinch it for the Shelby team.
I think with that in mind...the possibility of celebrating the championship win at the world's most famous endurance race was a P.R. opportunity for Ford that couldn't be passed up.
Ford decided to attack Lemans with a massive effort, literally throwing everything they had at the race.
They entered a total of 11 cars, run be several teams...the roster of drivers they brought to Lemans was a Who's Who of Shelby racing.
Shelby-American and Ford staged an assault on Le Mans with two 427 GT-40 Mark IIs, four 289 GT-40 Mark Is, and five of the six Cobra Daytona Coupes. They had found that the open roadster Cobras just couldn't make the sustained speeds necessary to be competitive at Lemans, so...Coupes-only this year.
This was a battle they did not want to lose.... and, like the World Series final game, where both teams have champagne in the locker room, I am sure Ford was prepared to celebrate their dominance with a successful finish.
....but, it just wasn't meant to be on that weekend.
A quick peek at the finish....of the 11 cars that started, 10 dropped out of the race. Only one lonely coupe limped across the finishline in 8th position, with the rods knocking over the crowd noise.... running the final laps with no oil pressure
...more
Last edited by computerworks; 06-16-2007 at 10:40 AM..
GT-40 s/n1005, #6, Scuderia Filipinetti / Shelby American
GT-40 s/n1004, #7, R.R.C. Walker Racing Team / Shelby American
GT-40 Roadster s/n109, #15, Ford of France
And who was suited up to drive this armada?
Jack Sears
Jerry Grant
Dan Gurney
Bob Johnson
Tom Payne
Peter Harper
Peter Sutcliffe
Allen Grant
Richard 'Dick' Thompson
Jack Sears
André Simon
Phil Hill
Chris Amon
Richie Ginther
A.J. Foyt
Jochen Neerpasch
Sir John Whitmore
Richard Attwood
Ken Miles
Bruce McLaren
Bob Grossmann
Herbert Müller
Ronnie Bucknum
Innes Ireland
Bob Bondurant
Umberto Maglioli
Chris Amon
Maurice Trintignant
Guy Ligier
Jo Schlesser
André Simon
Frank Gardner, AUS
Alan Rees
...plus the hundreds of mechanic, support and administrative personnel
They were serious about this one.
...more
Last edited by computerworks; 06-16-2007 at 10:42 AM..
A few short months prior, Shelby had started building a 427 version of the GT-40.
Some in the USA thought that to beat Ferrari in the Prototype class, the large 427 engine from the Galaxie would be necessary in an improved Ford GT chassis.
On a purely experimental basis Shelby was entrusted with the responsibility to install the 427 in a GT40 and to enter it in Le Mans, virtually untested.
The Ford GT was ultimately renamed the Ford GT40 Mark II. It suffered from the very start with transmission problems.
In fact, since there was no gearbox available to cope with such torque, Ford would have to build one: the Kar Kraft T44.
The MKII ran into big problems concerning its brakes, tires and aerodynamics. It would be fitted with wings and flaps for stability purposes.
...more
Last edited by computerworks; 06-16-2007 at 10:42 AM..
At 4pm local time, the flag was dropped and the 24 hour race began. There is nothing more exciting than the old-style Lemans start....
The drivers ran across the track to their cars and they all started at once... pandemonium.
Here it is...the start of the 1965 Lemans on film...a great rare film clip...
Then... sadly, it began...
After 2 hours of the race, the Ford GT40 Roadster, #109, blew it's gearbox.
After 3 hours of the race, the Ford GT40, #1004, blew a head gasket.
Within minutes of that, the Ford GT40, #1005, also blew a head gasket.
In the next hour, the Ford GT 40 Mk II (one of the two 427 cars), #106, blew a gearbox.
After 6 hours of the race, the Ford GT40, #1006, blew a head gasket too.
After 7 hours of the race, the Ford GT 40 Mk II (the other 427 car), #107, blew a gearbox.
That's it for the GT-40s... finito. Before midnight all the GT-40s had dropped out of the race. Clearly Phil Remington had his work cut out for him when they got back to California.
The Daytona Coupes all were running strong up to this time...but now it was time for the cloud of bad luck to move over to the CSX cars.
CSX2601 blew it's clutch at the 10th hour of the race... and shortly after that, CSX2602 limped into the pits with...guess what? ...a blown head gasket.
At 4 a.m., the famous CSX2287 was sidelined with yet another blown head gasket.
Shortly after dawn, in the 15th hour of the race, CSX2286 lost oil pressure and was done.
As the race approached its final hours, all that was left of the Ford flotilla was CSX2299, driven by Jack Sears and Dick Thompson.
They would cross the finishline at the 24 hour mark in 8th position overall, with the engine knocking violently due to failing oil pressure.
They did earn a Class Winner trophy for the GT 4001 - 5000cc class for their efforts.
Unfortunately, that year's Lemans would be a bitter failure even though Ford again set the best lap time and best maximum speed...
Ferrari celebrated its 7th consecutive victory that weekend, which had to be humiliating for Ford, as they packed up the champagne for another day.
That day was to be the following year, you know....the famous 1-2-3 finish by Ford.
...but that's another story.
Hope you enjoyed this one.
-ron
Last edited by computerworks; 06-16-2007 at 10:52 AM..
This Month in Cobra History - June 1965
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