Alan Mann, who contributed so much to the success of Ford in the sixties, sadly passed away on the 21st March 2012.
Born in 1936, he emerged as a driver in 1962 and then made his name as a team manager and car preparer. His organization based in Byfleet in Surrey became an official Ford team in 1964 and won the Tour de France with a Mustang. In 1965 they took the World GT Championship title with Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. They won the 1965 European touring car championship with a Ford Lotus Cortina, and the British Touring Car Championship with a Falcon in '67 and Escort in '68. The team contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 with two MK 2 Ford GT 40, one in the hands of Graham Hill and Brian Muir and the other driven by Sir John Whitmore and Frank Gardner. 1969 the team returned to Le Mans with a GT40 Mk1 driven by Malcom Guthrie and Frank Gardner. His team ceased operations in 1969 but was reborn in 2004 for historic racing.