24h Le Mans
With the success of the worldwide release of the film "Le Mans 66" ("Ford v Ferrari") in November, and the exhibition dedicated to the movie and that year's running of the race at the 24 Hours Museum, let's take a look at some interesting key figures from from Le Mans on 18-19 June 1966.
27 – The total number of Fords and Ferraris on the starting grid at the 34th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with 13 cars for the American manufacturer and 14 for the Italian marque, amounting to nearly half of the 55 competitors in the race. Only three Fords and two Ferraris made it to the checkered flag.
3 – The three Fords at the finish pulled off a hat trick, with in order Chris Amon-Bruce McLaren (winners), Ken Miles-Denny Hulme (second) and Ronnie Bucknum-Dick Hutcherson (third).
25 years old – The average age of Bruce McLaren (28) and Chris Amon (22) when they won in 1966. McLaren was born on 30 August 1937 and Amon on 20 July 1943.
201.795 kph– The average speed of the winning driver line-up, with 360 laps completed and 4,843.090 kilometers covered. Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren became the first winners at the 24 Hours to do so at an average speed over 200 kph.
8 – Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren both participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times. For Amon, the win in 1966 was the only time he crossed the finish line in all eight starts, while McLaren went on to finish fourth in 1967, with Ford again but teaming up with American driver Mark Donohue.
17 – The number of previous and future winners at the start in the 1966, boasting 28 wins between them: Chris Amon, Richard Attwood, Lorenzo Bandini, Lucien Bianchi, Masten Gregory, Jean Guichet, Dan Gurney, Hans Herrmann, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Jacky Ickx, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Bruce McLaren, Henri Pescarolo, Jochen Rindt, Ludovico Scarfiotti and Nino Vaccarella.
3 – Second at the 1966 24 Hours, Ken Miles and teammate Denny Hulme both participated in the race three times, in 1955-1965-1966 and 1961-1966-1967, respectively.
230.103 kph – Dan Gurney's (#3 Ford) average for his new pole position and in-race lap records, achieved stunningly in identical times (3:30.6).
29 – The racing number of the highest classed Ferrari: the 275 GTB/C fielded by British importer Maranello Concessionaires, finishing eighth overall and in first place in its class thanks to Piers Courage and Roy Pike.
4 – Four of the five factory Porsche 906s made it to the checkered flag, in fourth (Jo Siffert-Colin Davis), fifth (Hans Herrmann-Herbert Linge), sixth (Udo Schütz-Peter de Klerk) and seventh (Günter Klass-Rolf Stommelen) places.
62 – The racing number of the highest classed French car, the Alpine A210 driven by Henri Grandsire and Leo Cella, finishing ninth overall.
0 – None of the three new Ferrari 330 P3 prototypes crossed the finish line. They were driven in 1966 by Michael Parkes-Ludovico Scarfiotti (#20), Lorenzo Bandini-Jean Guichet (#21) representing the factory, and Pedro Rodriguez-Richie Ginther (#27) representing the NART, the team of American importer Luigi Chinetti. A highly respected driver/engineer, Michael Parkes was involved in the design of the 330 P3.
PHOTO (Copyright - ACO/ARCHIVES): LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SATURDAY 18 JUNE 1966. The start at the 34th running of the 24 Hours, with in the foreground Ken Miles (#1 Ford) as well as future winners Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren (#2). Also pictured are the Ferrari 330 P3s of Pedro Rodriguez-Richie Ginther (#27) and Lorenzo Bandini-Jean Guichet (#21).
