The 1966 24 Hours Le Mans infamously ranks as one of the most controversial finishes in the history of racing. Memorialized in Hollywood’s “Ford vs. Ferrari,” the ‘66 Le Mans pitted the blue bloods of racing against the underdog Americans. Ford stole the show, taking the top three spots. However, declaring the winner between the three paradigm-shifting Ford GT-40s wasn’t as simple as who crossed the finish line first.
One of the most controversial finishes in all of racing history. (autoweek)
The prestigious 24 Hours Le Mans race remains the oldest endurance sports car racing. That also entails a set of archaic rules, written in French. To further complicate things, Ford Motor Company executives battled over who should win for reasons beyond the race track. This is the controversial finish of Ford vs. Ferrari as told by those who were there.
Multiple Ford Teams
Ford went 1,2,3 but that far from settled it.
When racing for 24 hours consecutively, something often goes wrong. That is why large racing teams like Ford or Ferrari field more than one car in renowned races like Le Mans. In 1966 three teams represented the American car manufacturer: Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson, and favorite Ken Miles along with Denny Hulme. Miles had just come off victories at Sebring and Daytona with the scorching GT-40.
Slow Start For Miles
The No. 1 Ford GT40 of Ken Miles and Denny Hulme sits behind the No. 2 Ford GT40 driven by Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren.
(autoweek)
The brash Englishmen, Miles, measured his race from the start, “I took my time at the start and did up my belts, something the faster starters failed to do. I was away with the Chaparrals and tried to stay out of harm’s way. Driving into the late afternoon or early morning sun is a bloody nuisance; you can’t see anything, it absolutely blinds you.”
Fellow Ford driver Dick Hutcherson saw the famous French track as more of a deathtrap than an inconvenience. ”Ken Miles and them guys drove those cars faster in the rain than they did in the dry, but I’d never driven a race in the rain before. There were times when I was runnin’ down the Mulsanne, in the rain, at night, at over 200 mph, where I thought what the fuck am I doing here.”
Good Position
Mechanical failure can easily end a racers day.
Despite a faulty door, Miles found himself in a solid position after some nimble racing. Ford crew chief, Charlie Agapiou, characterized Miles’ tactics: “There was some talk in the pits that Ford thought that Ken did not follow team orders. That was absolute bullshit. Ken followed his directions to the letter. When he pitted on the first lap in order to fix the door, Ken lost several places. After returning to the race, he had to go like hell.”
Executive Meddling
The incredible Ford GT40 changed racing. motorsportmagazine
As Miles’ long time friend and crew chief Charlie Agapiou said, “Ford didn’t want Ken to win at Le Mans. They wanted the headlines to read Ford Wins Le Mans, not Miles Becomes The First to Sweep Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans. Ken told me that, in spite of any Ford decision, he wasn’t going to finish second.”
The man behind the meddling was Ford Executive Leo Beebe, determined to keep Miles out of the headlines. As he saw it, “I wanted Ford to win. We called Ken in and slowed him down so that Bruce and Chris would win. I think that they deserved to win. They ran a good race and did what we had told them to do.”
Blanket Finish
The GT40 went faster than anything ever made by Ferrari at the time.
With Ford’s victory at hand, meddling executives entered the fray. As driver Chris Armon said, “I remember when I came in for our last pit stop and Bruce told me that Ford wanted to do a blanket finish, I said ‘ Who is supposed to win?’ Bruce said ‘I don’t know, but I’m not going to lose.’”
Carroll Smith, Shelby American Race Team Manager, recalled Miles' reaction in pit lane, “I could tell that something was up regarding the finish but I wasn’t advised of what that decision was. We all wanted Ken to win Le Mans after his successes at Daytona and Sebring because he would have been the first to win all three of those races in one year. I don’t know what they told Ken during that final pit stop, but he wasn’t very happy as he entered the car to finish the race. I leaned over and told him ‘I don’t know what they told you, but you won’t be fired for winning Le Mans. He would never talk about it after the race was over and we were the best of friends.”
Shelby Racing
The brain trust behind the GT40, Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby (alternateending)
Carroll Shelby, the brains behind the peerless GT-40, took the blame for the manipulated finish. “In 1966, Ford didn’t cost Ken Miles the race at Le Mans, I did, and I regret it to this day. Leo Beebe came up to me and said ‘ Who do you think should win the race?’ I thought, well hell, Ken’s been leading for all of these hours, he should win the race. I looked at Leo Beebe and said ‘What do you think ought to happen Leo?’ He said ‘ I don’t know, I’d kind of like to see all three of them cross the finish line together.’”
“Leo Beebe did not tell me what to say or do so I said: ‘Oh hell, let’s do it that way then,’ not knowing that the French would interpret the rules the way that they did. Ken should have won the race, and in most everyone’s mind, he did win the race. That was my fuck up, I take full responsibility for it, and I’m very sorry for it because, as you know, Ken was killed at Riverside two months later. Every time you go racing, you put your reputation on the line.”
Controversial Call
Miles died just months after the gutting loss, testing a new Ford.
French officials decided that because the Ford finished so close, the car that started furthest back technically covered the most ground. Even to the bitter end Miles and Co. still thought they covered the most laps. Agapiou remembered the bitter taste of a victory stolen, “We thought we had won and we attempted to push the car to the victory stand. The French officials stopped us and said that we didn’t belong there, that we’d finished second. Ken was sitting in the car and said to me ‘I think I’ve been fucked’. We were all under the distinct impression that, despite the finish, that we were a lap ahead at the end.”
