24h Le Mans
The 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans marked the climax of the Ford-Ferrari duel sparked three years earlier, and both manufacturers were at the top of their game for that year's edition. Here is a look back at a few stories in the wake of the titanic duel, unfortunately missing one of the greatest drivers of the era after his passing just before the 1967 24 Hours.
Death - The best performance of the preliminary testing sessions (now referred to as Test Day) April 8-9, 1967 was achieved with the Ferrari P4 by Lorenzo Bandini. In 3'25.5 (average of 235 km/h), he even shaved off five seconds from the record established by Dan Gurney (Ford) in-race in 1966. But on May 7th, the Italian driver had an accident at the Grand Prix of Monaco coming out of the tunnel in second position on the heels of eventual winner Dennis Hulme. He passed away as a result of his wounds three days later. Four years earlier, in 1963, he and his fellow countryman Ludovico Scarfiotti comprised the only 100% Italian driver line-up to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Ferrari.
Ford and its windshields - During qualifying at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Ford Mk IVs fell victim to a random epidemic of cracked windshields. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Ford chartered a Boeing 707 to bring replacements directly from the U.S. What's more, to avoid any possibility of in-flight damage, the seven windshields traveled first class under the watchful eye of two engineers!
Chris Amon, from Ford to Ferrari - Winner at the 24 Hours the year before in a Ford Mk II with his fellow countryman Bruce McLaren, New Zealander Chris Amon joined Ferrari in 1967. He was forced to retire during the night thanks to a flat tire in the Dunlop turn. Unable to change it out trackside (at the time prototypes were equipped with a spare tire) after breaking his wrench on a lug nut, he tried to take his Ferrari back to the pits, but the flat tire tore a feul line and started a fire. To escape the flames, Chris Amon managed to sprint to a track marshal post.
Poker face at the Tertre Rouge - When the #21 Ferrari climbed to second position after a three-Ford accident at the Tertre Rouge, Michael Parkes - despite his five-lap deficit - decided to be a thorn in Dan Gurney's side. But the American decided to stop at Arnage and let the Brit overtake him...who then at his turn decided to stop but took off again first, immediately followed by Gurney who overtook him a few laps later!
Click below for the first installment in this series:
24 Hours of Le Mans 1967 (1) - Ford and Ferrari, the final duel
Photo: Finishing second, Ludovico Scarfiotti (seated in the car), Michael Parkes (at the wheel) and their Ferrari pulled out all the stops against the winning Ford the moment they were given the green light to go on the offensive. Their stunning performance saved face for Ferrari, amidst the well-deserved and knowing recognition of the crowd, estimated at more than 300,000 spectators.
