New Zealanders Chris Amon, aged just 22 at the time, and Bruce McLaren drove their Ford GT40 Mk II to victory. In this second instalment, he recalls the 1966 24 Hours and says how sports prototypes have changed over the last fifty years.

What happened at the finish?
The idea was that the leading GT40s would cross the line together but in practice it wasn’t possible to have a dead heat. We weren’t sure who had won initially.

What was the toughest part of the race for you?
Back in those days the top speed of the GT40 was 100 mph more than some of the other cars on the track so it could be quite hairy especially at night in the rain with mist hanging in the air, bearing down on these cars when you couldn’t see much. I found driving at dawn and dusk especially tricky because the light was so poor. Another thing was the cars back then chucked out quite a lot of oil so as the race went on, and the rain came down, it got very slippery. Our throttle was also sticking a bit which isn’t what you needed going into a corner.

Did you get any sleep?
I didn’t get any. We were stopping every hour and a half for fuel and we weren’t allowed to drive for more than four hours at a time. Bruce could sleep anywhere at any time but I couldn’t. I would take a shower when I got out of the car and change my overalls because you would get drenched in sweat driving the GT40. I also had some interesting conversations with Henry Ford II and his wife Cristina, during the night.

Tell us about the podium celebration at the end?
I have to admit I was only 22 at the time and I was overawed by the situation. Henry was on the podium and I believe his wife was also there. I can’t remember exactly what was said but it was a very joyous occasion.

So which is toughest – Le Mans 1966 or Le Mans 2016?
It’s difficult to say because the speed differential was higher in my day and the cars didn’t provide as much protection.  The circuit was also more dangerous. Our cars didn’t have power steering or paddle shift gear boxes so they were physically very demanding to drive. You would get huge blisters on your hand from changing gear. Another thing was you really had to manage the brakes because at the end of the Mulsanne Straight they would be cold and then subjected to tremendous heat as you slowed from 220 mph. There was a real risk the discs could crack. It was certainly more dangerous in my day but if you wanted to race, that was the deal. I think today’s drivers are subjected to much higher G-forces and they also have to manage different settings in the car so they have more to think about during the race. At the end of the day, endurance racing is the ultimate test for man and machine and that hasn’t changed a bit in the last 50 years.

Was that win the highlight of your racing career?
At the time I was probably more interested in F1 than sports car racing. It’s been said that I was an unlucky F1 driver because I should have won a lot of races but the fact is many of my contemporaries were killed in F1 so I think I’m lucky to still be around. There’s no question that winning Le Mans with Ford was a very special moment in my career.

What would a Ford victory mean to you in 2016?
I would be delighted for Ford. I won with Bruce and he wasn’t with us for much longer after that race so it would be especially poignant for me personally to see history recreated. I wish the team all the best.

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY 19 JUNE 1966, PODIUM. Bruce McLaren (left) and Chris Amon (right) either side of Henry Ford II, who was there to watch his cars achieve their historical 1-2-3 win after lowering the flag to start the race 24 hours earlier.