24h Le Mans
24 HOURS CENTENARY – THE LE MANS EXCEPTION ⎮ From 1966 to 1969, the race saw stunning improvements in performance levels, a prelude to upheavals that would change the face of motorsport. Cinema and music of that period were experiencing their own revolutions amidst global political and social unrest. Here is a special look back at an extraordinarily rich era in history.
Initiated in 1964, the Ford-Ferrari duel reached its peak in 1966 and 1967, namely thanks to an escalation in performance levels never before seen at Le Mans.
In 1964 and 1965, Phil Hill (a three-time winner with Ferrari) cut Ford's own lap record by almost 12 seconds (03:49.2 then 03:37.5). Two years later, Denny Hulme and Mario Andretti became the first to clock laps in less than three and a half minutes, with an identical time of 03:23.6 (at an average 238 kph), beating by seven seconds the record set the previous year by Dan Gurney (03:30.6). Pole position dropped from 03:30.6 (Dan Gurney) in 1966 to 03:24.4 (Bruce McLaren) in 1967.
In 1966, Ford pulled off a breathtaking hat trick as all the factory Ferraris were forced to retire. The next year, the Italian marque gave the American giant a run for its money, but Ford scored its second win in a row ahead of two Ferrari 330 P4s. Crossing the 5,000 kilometer mark for the first time, American duo Dan Gurney/A.J. Foyt triumphed with a four-lap lead over Ludovico Scarfiotti/Mike Parkes.
As protests against the Vietnam War were spreading across America, the 24 Hours too was affected by social and political strife in early 1968. For the first time since 1936 the race was not held in June, but wasn't outright cancelled as it had been 32 years earlier. On 29 September 1968, the 36th 24 Hours ended in a third consecutive victory for Ford thanks to Belgian driver Lucien Bianchi and Mexican driver Pedro Rodríguez. With its sky blue and orange Gulf Oil livery, that Ford GT40 became a symbol of the new face of motorsport with 1968 marking the approval of non-sporting sponsorship and advertising on cars.
The following year, a protest of sorts was held on the track itself at the 24 Hours. In disapproval of the dangerous Le Mans-style start wherein drivers sprint toward their cars, Jacky Ickx walked across the track, started dead last and snatched the win in the last lap of the race. After a final and modified Le Mans-style start in 1970 wherein drivers were already strapped in their cockpits, the procedure was changed in 1971 to the rolling start we know today.
The first spoilers were introduced on racing cars during the 1966-1969 period. In 1967, American constructor Chaparral presented its 2F fitted wtih a huge fin, adjustable from the cockpit to optimise downforce in straights and corners. The prototype was also equipped with an automatic gearbox rarely used during races at that time.
Two years later, the Porsche 917 pushed the envelope even further. In addition to significant weight gain due to the use of aluminum for its asymmetrical tubular frame, the car was shaped for maximum top speed. Its rear bonnet was equipped with small, adjustable mobile fins and also housed the marque's first 12-cylinder engine.
Car racing figured quite prominently in film during the 1966-1969 period thanks to the release of Grand Prix, Winning and Le Mans. The first two covered the 1966 Formula 1 season and the 1968 Indianapolis 500, respectively. Preproduction on the third kicked off in 1969 when its producer and star Steve McQueen scouted for locations during the 1970 24 Hours.
As Ford secured its first two wins at the 24 Hours in 1966 and 1967, two directors were pushing the boundaries of filmmaking on both sides of the Atlantic. After reinventing the western in 1964 and 1965 with the help of Clint Eastwood, Italian director Sergio Leone released his first two big hits (with operatic scores by Ennio Morricone): The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 1966 and Once Upon a Time in the West two years later. Also in 1968, American director Stanley Kubrick released the science fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, one year before man walked on the moon. Meanwhile, with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, his compatriot Arthur Penn and actors Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty shattered the Hays Code which until then had governed the representation of violence and eroticism in American cinema.
At the same time, an up-and-coming generation of filmmakers was preparing to make their marks on the 1970s, namely George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Before Robert de Niro and Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman was the first actor to emerge in this "new Hollywood" thanks to his performance in The Graduate in 1967 in which he plays a student involved with a middle-aged woman, inspiring one of Simon & Garfunkel's most famous songs, Mrs. Robinson.
Between 1966 and 1969, a new generation of musicians born during WWII arrived on the scene, pushing the limits of rock forever.
After recording three albums in less than two years (Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold as Love in 1967, Electric Ladyland in 1968) and giving two iconic stage performances (at Monterey in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969), Jimi Hendrix redefined guitar playing for all time, influencing both rockers and jazzmen. Thanks to composer/trumpet legend Miles Davis and groups like Chicago and King Crimson, rock and jazz blended to create a new electric and improvisational sound.
The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds in 1966 and the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, two major albums in their respective discographies. Also in the late 1960s, The Who recorded the hit rock opera Tommy while bands like Cream and Led Zeppelin were mixing the blues and hard rock.
The special nature of this exceptional era was revisited in 2019 by filmmaker James Mangold in his film Le Mans 66, a look back on the birth of the Ford-Ferrari duel, from 1963 until the American marque's first win in 1966. That iconic face-off was an ideal prelude to one of the most significant periods in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 20th century.
PHOTOS (Copyright - ACO Archives): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: the start in 1966; the winning Ford in 1967 with driver A.J. Foyt (at right wearing helmet), winner for his rookie participation; joy after the chequered flag at the pit straight side lane, with the Ferrari of Ludovico Scarfiotti (seated on the car)/Michael Parkes; Lucien Bianchi (wearing helmet)/Pedro Rodríguez (holding Champagne bottle), the winners in 1968 (#9); the 1966-1969 period saw the arrival of mobile spoilers namely on the Chaparral 2F (#7) in 1967 and Porsche 917 in 1969 (#14); the start in 1968 postponed until September; the Ford of New Zealander duo Chris Amon/Bruce McLaren prior to the race in 1966.
