---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Text from SEO editor (eventually edited by the user, maximum line-length 125 for better readability) 2. Text from SEO editor (eventually edited by the user, full line-length, for easy copy&paste) 3. AI-Generated text, with source annotations 4. AI-Generated text, without source annotations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version #1 - Current version from SEO Editor, less line-width ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 1966 Le Mans Eyewitness This weekend, much has been made about the 50th Anniversary of Fords famous win in Le Mans of 1966, the Le Mans 1966. If you are at all interested in your motorsports history, you will have almost certainly heard the story, or some version thereof. While this is truly one of the most iconic fights in the history of motorsport, there is a lot more to the contest than merely the grudge match between the two businessmen. The 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours also saw the debut of one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the sports racing circuit. Although he did not finish the race, Jacky would ultimately go on to be one of the more successful drivers in this races history (winning the inaugural race with the Ford GT40 in 1969). It would be another 50 years before a Ford GT40 was resurrected to make another run at the European track. The Ford GT40 eventually achieved the success expected from it, with Ford running roughshod over Ferrari at the most prestigious endurance race in Fords history. With Ferraris 330 P3s acrimonious defeat mirroring that of Fords prototype car from the year before (and salt being rubbed in Fords formation finishes), The Ford-Ferrari war entered a culminating stage. Against all expectations--and turning this "three years to win" rule on its head--the McLaren F1 came out victorious at the first attempt. Back in the pits, victory guaranteed, much was made of the question of whether Hill/Amon or Denny Hulme should have won. McLaren and Miles were told that they would be running in a dead heat, with either one being declared winner. It was not a dead heat as the Ken Miles #1 car was two places clear of the #2 McLaren/Amon car on the grid, so the #2 car had gone the furthest over 24 hours to become the winner. A large number of sources claim the dead heat went awry due to an odd ACO ruling, which saw car 2 travel farther. What nobody is told is that ACO changed the ACOs mind -- and told Ford officials -- that the dead heat was not possible. There was some understandable doubt about this, since the ACO had originally said a dead heat was possible, when asked late in 1966, but later told Ford the distance rules would not allow one. Bruce suggested that instead, Ford should have tried to set up a dead heat, with the cars crossing together, and with a third-placed car also on the grid. Bruce ended up crossing the line one length ahead of Ken Miles. Dedicated to the programme, Miles did...and so handed victory to Bruce McLaren, a Shelby-American teammate, and Chris Amon, who started the race from eight metres behind on the grid. Ken Miles would have had little choice but to speak up, had he thought that he was one lap clear of Bruce McLaren. The new rotors were fitted, and the race was away to a stint from Miles, who was still laps ahead of McLaren. They took third place on lap 10, trading lead from 16th to Denny Hulme. After the 1961 world champion Phil Hill stopped at the first lap complaining of an incorrect ignition, they dropped down to 44th place for the opening hour, but recovered to fourth place before a gearbox failure stopped them for 14 hours. At 18:30, the lead lap was led by just Miles and Gurneys Fords, with NARTs first Ferrari (#64) also in. Mike Parkes was in sixth place, just ahead of Bonnier, who was already lapped by Jim Halls Texan-based Chaparral 2D. After a faulty set of transaxle rods had derailed Fords efforts, Ferrari took a 1-2-3 with the Ferraris next weapon, and returned the favour to Fords winning lineup. The new 911 GT ran well, finishing 14th, starting the long successful streak. Holman & Moody, a successful NASCAR racing team with Ford, would also field a further trio of GT40s as back-ups, namely those of Mark Donohue/Paul Hawkins, Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson, and Lucien Bianchi/Mario Andretti. Working with manufacturers also exposed Bruce to top managers and engineers at the time, which boosted his racing education, and helped make his own team into a successful one, which became its own team. In 1966, Ford would officially bring home first, second, and third places in Ford GT40s; thereby, allowing them to eventually defeat their competitors. Furthermore, David Hodges, in 1998s edition of Ford GT40, commented that there was a movement in the United States during the 1990s for 1966 Le Mans results to be changed, due to this exact motive. It is often said that a new manufacturer needs three attempts before they can win Le Mans, and this is certainly true for Ford. In fact, its record six Le Mans victories was not broken until 2005, when Tom Kristensen finally overtook this long- standing feat. The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, held between 18-19 June 1966. Films from the end of the race confirmed the cars were nearly perfectly positioned next to each other when approaching the pits, and then as they reached the men in flags, some distance away, the gaps between them increased. On the exit lap, Spoerry lost grip and spun on Esses, wrecking the car. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version #2 - Current version from SEO Editor, for copy&paste ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # 1966 Le Mans Eyewitness This weekend, much has been made about the 50th Anniversary of Fords famous win in Le Mans of 1966, the Le Mans 1966. If you are at all interested in your motorsports history, you will have almost certainly heard the story, or some version thereof. While this is truly one of the most iconic fights in the history of motorsport, there is a lot more to the contest than merely the grudge match between the two businessmen. The 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours also saw the debut of one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the sports racing circuit. Although he did not finish the race, Jacky would ultimately go on to be one of the more successful drivers in this races history (winning the inaugural race with the Ford GT40 in 1969). It would be another 50 years before a Ford GT40 was resurrected to make another run at the European track. The Ford GT40 eventually achieved the success expected from it, with Ford running roughshod over Ferrari at the most prestigious endurance race in Fords history. With Ferraris 330 P3s acrimonious defeat mirroring that of Fords prototype car from the year before (and salt being rubbed in Fords formation finishes), The Ford-Ferrari war entered a culminating stage. Against all expectations--and turning this "three years to win" rule on its head--the McLaren F1 came out victorious at the first attempt. Back in the pits, victory guaranteed, much was made of the question of whether Hill/Amon or Denny Hulme should have won. McLaren and Miles were told that they would be running in a dead heat, with either one being declared winner. It was not a dead heat as the Ken Miles #1 car was two places clear of the #2 McLaren/Amon car on the grid, so the #2 car had gone the furthest over 24 hours to become the winner. A large number of sources claim the dead heat went awry due to an odd ACO ruling, which saw car 2 travel farther. What nobody is told is that ACO changed the ACOs mind -- and told Ford officials -- that the dead heat was not possible. There was some understandable doubt about this, since the ACO had originally said a dead heat was possible, when asked late in 1966, but later told Ford the distance rules would not allow one. Bruce suggested that instead, Ford should have tried to set up a dead heat, with the cars crossing together, and with a third-placed car also on the grid. Bruce ended up crossing the line one length ahead of Ken Miles. Dedicated to the programme, Miles did...and so handed victory to Bruce McLaren, a Shelby-American teammate, and Chris Amon, who started the race from eight metres behind on the grid. Ken Miles would have had little choice but to speak up, had he thought that he was one lap clear of Bruce McLaren. The new rotors were fitted, and the race was away to a stint from Miles, who was still laps ahead of McLaren. They took third place on lap 10, trading lead from 16th to Denny Hulme. After the 1961 world champion Phil Hill stopped at the first lap complaining of an incorrect ignition, they dropped down to 44th place for the opening hour, but recovered to fourth place before a gearbox failure stopped them for 14 hours. At 18:30, the lead lap was led by just Miles and Gurneys Fords, with NARTs first Ferrari (#64) also in. Mike Parkes was in sixth place, just ahead of Bonnier, who was already lapped by Jim Halls Texan-based Chaparral 2D. After a faulty set of transaxle rods had derailed Fords efforts, Ferrari took a 1-2-3 with the Ferraris next weapon, and returned the favour to Fords winning lineup. The new 911 GT ran well, finishing 14th, starting the long successful streak. Holman & Moody, a successful NASCAR racing team with Ford, would also field a further trio of GT40s as back-ups, namely those of Mark Donohue/Paul Hawkins, Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson, and Lucien Bianchi/Mario Andretti. Working with manufacturers also exposed Bruce to top managers and engineers at the time, which boosted his racing education, and helped make his own team into a successful one, which became its own team. In 1966, Ford would officially bring home first, second, and third places in Ford GT40s; thereby, allowing them to eventually defeat their competitors. Furthermore, David Hodges, in 1998s edition of Ford GT40, commented that there was a movement in the United States during the 1990s for 1966 Le Mans results to be changed, due to this exact motive. It is often said that a new manufacturer needs three attempts before they can win Le Mans, and this is certainly true for Ford. In fact, its record six Le Mans victories was not broken until 2005, when Tom Kristensen finally overtook this long-standing feat. The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, held between 18-19 June 1966. Films from the end of the race confirmed the cars were nearly perfectly positioned next to each other when approaching the pits, and then as they reached the men in flags, some distance away, the gaps between them increased. On the exit lap, Spoerry lost grip and spun on Esses, wrecking the car. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version #3 - AI-Generated text, with source annotations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1966 Le Mans Eyewitness This weekend, much has been made about the 50th Anniversary of Fords famous win in Le Mans of 1966, the Le Mans 1966. If you are at all interested in your motorsports history, you will have almost certainly heard the story, or some version thereof. [Sources: 3, 4] While this is truly one of the most iconic fights in the history of motorsport, there is a lot more to the contest than merely the grudge match between the two businessmen. The 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours also saw the debut of one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the sports racing circuit. Although he did not finish the race, Jacky would ultimately go on to be one of the more successful drivers in this races history (winning the inaugural race with the Ford GT40 in 1969). [Sources: 1] It would be another 50 years before a Ford GT40 was resurrected to make another run at the European track. The Ford GT40 eventually achieved the success expected from it, with Ford running roughshod over Ferrari at the most prestigious endurance race in Fords history. With Ferraris 330 P3s acrimonious defeat mirroring that of Fords prototype car from the year before (and salt being rubbed in Fords formation finishes), The Ford-Ferrari war entered a culminating stage. [Sources: 1, 2, 6] Against all expectations--and turning this "three years to win" rule on its head--the McLaren F1 came out victorious at the first attempt. Back in the pits, victory guaranteed, much was made of the question of whether Hill/Amon or Denny Hulme should have won. McLaren and Miles were told that they would be running in a dead heat, with either one being declared winner. [Sources: 0, 5] It was not a dead heat as the Ken Miles #1 car was two places clear of the #2 McLaren/Amon car on the grid, so the #2 car had gone the furthest over 24 hours to become the winner. A large number of sources claim the dead heat went awry due to an odd ACO ruling, which saw car 2 travel farther. What nobody is told is that ACO changed the ACOs mind -- and told Ford officials -- that the dead heat was not possible. [Sources: 3, 5] There was some understandable doubt about this, since the ACO had originally said a dead heat was possible, when asked late in 1966, but later told Ford the distance rules would not allow one. Bruce suggested that instead, Ford should have tried to set up a dead heat, with the cars crossing together, and with a third-placed car also on the grid. Bruce ended up crossing the line one length ahead of Ken Miles. [Sources: 0, 3] Dedicated to the programme, Miles did...and so handed victory to Bruce McLaren, a Shelby-American teammate, and Chris Amon, who started the race from eight metres behind on the grid. Ken Miles would have had little choice but to speak up, had he thought that he was one lap clear of Bruce McLaren. The new rotors were fitted, and the race was away to a stint from Miles, who was still laps ahead of McLaren. [Sources: 3, 5, 7] They took third place on lap 10, trading lead from 16th to Denny Hulme. After the 1961 world champion Phil Hill stopped at the first lap complaining of an incorrect ignition, they dropped down to 44th place for the opening hour, but recovered to fourth place before a gearbox failure stopped them for 14 hours. At 18:30, the lead lap was led by just Miles and Gurneys Fords, with NARTs first Ferrari (#64) also in. [Sources: 0, 6] Mike Parkes was in sixth place, just ahead of Bonnier, who was already lapped by Jim Halls Texan-based Chaparral 2D. After a faulty set of transaxle rods had derailed Fords efforts, Ferrari took a 1-2-3 with the Ferraris next weapon, and returned the favour to Fords winning lineup. The new 911 GT ran well, finishing 14th, starting the long successful streak. [Sources: 6] Holman & Moody, a successful NASCAR racing team with Ford, would also field a further trio of GT40s as back-ups, namely those of Mark Donohue/Paul Hawkins, Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson, and Lucien Bianchi/Mario Andretti. [Sources: 6] Working with manufacturers also exposed Bruce to top managers and engineers at the time, which boosted his racing education, and helped make his own team into a successful one, which became its own team. In 1966, Ford would officially bring home first, second, and third places in Ford GT40s; thereby, allowing them to eventually defeat their competitors. Furthermore, David Hodges, in 1998s edition of Ford GT40, commented that there was a movement in the United States during the 1990s for 1966 Le Mans results to be changed, due to this exact motive. [Sources: 0, 1, 3] It is often said that a new manufacturer needs three attempts before they can win Le Mans, and this is certainly true for Ford. In fact, its record six Le Mans victories was not broken until 2005, when Tom Kristensen finally overtook this long-standing feat. The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, held between 18-19 June 1966. [Sources: 0, 1, 6] Films from the end of the race confirmed the cars were nearly perfectly positioned next to each other when approaching the pits, and then as they reached the men in flags, some distance away, the gaps between them increased. On the exit lap, Spoerry lost grip and spun on Esses, wrecking the car. [Sources: 3, 6] ##### Sources ##### [0]: https://www.mclaren.com/racing/inside-the-mtc/bruce-mclaren-24-hours-le-mans-2119660/ [1]: https://www.hotcars.com/le-mans-1966-what-was-special/ [2]: https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a2155206/le-mans-1966-heres-what-it-actually-looked/ [3]: https://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/06/17/le-mans-1966-the-golden-mystery.html [4]: https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/the-story-ford-1966-le-mans-victory [5]: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sports-cars/le-mans/foul-play-fords-1966-le-mans-24-hour-photo-finish-yanks-le-mans-extract [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans [7]: https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/4077/watch-the-bittersweet-story-behind-the-ford-gt40s-1966-le-mans-photo-finish ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version #4 - AI-Generated text, without source annotations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1966 Le Mans Eyewitness This weekend, much has been made about the 50th Anniversary of Fords famous win in Le Mans of 1966, the Le Mans 1966. If you are at all interested in your motorsports history, you will have almost certainly heard the story, or some version thereof. While this is truly one of the most iconic fights in the history of motorsport, there is a lot more to the contest than merely the grudge match between the two businessmen. The 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours also saw the debut of one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the sports racing circuit. Although he did not finish the race, Jacky would ultimately go on to be one of the more successful drivers in this races history (winning the inaugural race with the Ford GT40 in 1969). It would be another 50 years before a Ford GT40 was resurrected to make another run at the European track. The Ford GT40 eventually achieved the success expected from it, with Ford running roughshod over Ferrari at the most prestigious endurance race in Fords history. With Ferraris 330 P3s acrimonious defeat mirroring that of Fords prototype car from the year before (and salt being rubbed in Fords formation finishes), The Ford-Ferrari war entered a culminating stage. Against all expectations--and turning this "three years to win" rule on its head--the McLaren F1 came out victorious at the first attempt. Back in the pits, victory guaranteed, much was made of the question of whether Hill/Amon or Denny Hulme should have won. McLaren and Miles were told that they would be running in a dead heat, with either one being declared winner. It was not a dead heat as the Ken Miles #1 car was two places clear of the #2 McLaren/Amon car on the grid, so the #2 car had gone the furthest over 24 hours to become the winner. A large number of sources claim the dead heat went awry due to an odd ACO ruling, which saw car 2 travel farther. What nobody is told is that ACO changed the ACOs mind -- and told Ford officials -- that the dead heat was not possible. There was some understandable doubt about this, since the ACO had originally said a dead heat was possible, when asked late in 1966, but later told Ford the distance rules would not allow one. Bruce suggested that instead, Ford should have tried to set up a dead heat, with the cars crossing together, and with a third-placed car also on the grid. Bruce ended up crossing the line one length ahead of Ken Miles. Dedicated to the programme, Miles did...and so handed victory to Bruce McLaren, a Shelby-American teammate, and Chris Amon, who started the race from eight metres behind on the grid. Ken Miles would have had little choice but to speak up, had he thought that he was one lap clear of Bruce McLaren. The new rotors were fitted, and the race was away to a stint from Miles, who was still laps ahead of McLaren. They took third place on lap 10, trading lead from 16th to Denny Hulme. After the 1961 world champion Phil Hill stopped at the first lap complaining of an incorrect ignition, they dropped down to 44th place for the opening hour, but recovered to fourth place before a gearbox failure stopped them for 14 hours. At 18:30, the lead lap was led by just Miles and Gurneys Fords, with NARTs first Ferrari (#64) also in. Mike Parkes was in sixth place, just ahead of Bonnier, who was already lapped by Jim Halls Texan-based Chaparral 2D. After a faulty set of transaxle rods had derailed Fords efforts, Ferrari took a 1-2-3 with the Ferraris next weapon, and returned the favour to Fords winning lineup. The new 911 GT ran well, finishing 14th, starting the long successful streak. Holman & Moody, a successful NASCAR racing team with Ford, would also field a further trio of GT40s as back-ups, namely those of Mark Donohue/Paul Hawkins, Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson, and Lucien Bianchi/Mario Andretti. Working with manufacturers also exposed Bruce to top managers and engineers at the time, which boosted his racing education, and helped make his own team into a successful one, which became its own team. In 1966, Ford would officially bring home first, second, and third places in Ford GT40s; thereby, allowing them to eventually defeat their competitors. Furthermore, David Hodges, in 1998s edition of Ford GT40, commented that there was a movement in the United States during the 1990s for 1966 Le Mans results to be changed, due to this exact motive. It is often said that a new manufacturer needs three attempts before they can win Le Mans, and this is certainly true for Ford. In fact, its record six Le Mans victories was not broken until 2005, when Tom Kristensen finally overtook this long-standing feat. The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, held between 18-19 June 1966. Films from the end of the race confirmed the cars were nearly perfectly positioned next to each other when approaching the pits, and then as they reached the men in flags, some distance away, the gaps between them increased. On the exit lap, Spoerry lost grip and spun on Esses, wrecking the car.