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·a brief history of the events
1969
Despite the fact that no solution was found to fix the unstability of the car, three 917s entered Le Mans. Two where Porsche team and the third was entered by the gentleman-driver John Woolfe. The Ahrens/Stommelen 917 qualified on pole.
Matra entered four cars: a new 650 roadster, a 630 coupe and two 630/650.
Ferrari made his come-back with the 3-liter 312.
Before the race Jackie Ickx had expressed to journalists that he considered the start procedure unsafe as it was not possible to fasten the seat belts properly. When the start was given, he slowly walked across the track to his GT-40 instead of running, then entered his car and locked the safety belt carefully before starting last.
Soon after the start the poor handling of the 917 and the inexperience of the driver resulted in a drama : John Woolfe had a fatal accident at the Maison Blanche with his private 917. He had not taken time to belt himself in, proving that Ickx was right.
Woolfe's crash had dislodged the gas tank from car. The burning tank was thrown onto the road where Amon's Ferrari 312 hit it. After an interruption the race was restarted. The 2 official 917s were put out of the race by clutch bell housing problems.
In a dramatic finish, Ickx managed to beat Hans Herrmann by a few seconds, as the Porsche 908 had brake problems.
The Ford GT40 was one of the most distinctive sports cars of all time. It was built to win long-distance sports car races, notably the Le Mans 24 Hour Race against Ferrari (who had won four in a row 1958-62). Henry Ford II wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. Initially there was an attempt to buy Ferrari, but after they backed away in 1963 Ford decided to produce its own car. To this end, Ford established a small subsidiary, Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough (England), working closely with the Lola company who had used Ford engines to great effect in racing. The resulting car was the GT40 (so named because its overall height was 40 inches) first produced in April 1964 and at Le Mans GT40s won four times straight from 1966 to 1969.
The original GT40 first raced at Le Mans in 1964 and was not very successful with all three cars retiring, but the experience gained then and in 1965 allowed the Mark II to dominate the race in 1966 with a 1-2-3 finish. The Mark IV won the following year (when four Mark IVs three Mark IIs and three Mark Is raced) and after a rules change re-engined Mark Is won the race in 1968 and 1969. Rule changes again in 1970 rendered the car obsolete.
The Mark III was a road-car only, of which 7 were built.
Jackie Ickx and Jackie Oliver won with the GT40 chassis 1075, the same car that had won the previous year, this was second time the same car had won two in a row; a Bentley Speed Six had done it in 1929 and 1930
they covered 372 laps and covered 4998 kms
anyway...here is car #6
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1969
Despite the fact that no solution was found to fix the unstability of the car, three 917s entered Le Mans. Two where Porsche team and the third was entered by the gentleman-driver John Woolfe. The Ahrens/Stommelen 917 qualified on pole.
Matra entered four cars: a new 650 roadster, a 630 coupe and two 630/650.
Ferrari made his come-back with the 3-liter 312.
Before the race Jackie Ickx had expressed to journalists that he considered the start procedure unsafe as it was not possible to fasten the seat belts properly. When the start was given, he slowly walked across the track to his GT-40 instead of running, then entered his car and locked the safety belt carefully before starting last.
Soon after the start the poor handling of the 917 and the inexperience of the driver resulted in a drama : John Woolfe had a fatal accident at the Maison Blanche with his private 917. He had not taken time to belt himself in, proving that Ickx was right.
Woolfe's crash had dislodged the gas tank from car. The burning tank was thrown onto the road where Amon's Ferrari 312 hit it. After an interruption the race was restarted. The 2 official 917s were put out of the race by clutch bell housing problems.
In a dramatic finish, Ickx managed to beat Hans Herrmann by a few seconds, as the Porsche 908 had brake problems.
The Ford GT40 was one of the most distinctive sports cars of all time. It was built to win long-distance sports car races, notably the Le Mans 24 Hour Race against Ferrari (who had won four in a row 1958-62). Henry Ford II wanted a Ford at Le Mans since the early 1960s. Initially there was an attempt to buy Ferrari, but after they backed away in 1963 Ford decided to produce its own car. To this end, Ford established a small subsidiary, Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough (England), working closely with the Lola company who had used Ford engines to great effect in racing. The resulting car was the GT40 (so named because its overall height was 40 inches) first produced in April 1964 and at Le Mans GT40s won four times straight from 1966 to 1969.
The original GT40 first raced at Le Mans in 1964 and was not very successful with all three cars retiring, but the experience gained then and in 1965 allowed the Mark II to dominate the race in 1966 with a 1-2-3 finish. The Mark IV won the following year (when four Mark IVs three Mark IIs and three Mark Is raced) and after a rules change re-engined Mark Is won the race in 1968 and 1969. Rule changes again in 1970 rendered the car obsolete.
The Mark III was a road-car only, of which 7 were built.
Jackie Ickx and Jackie Oliver won with the GT40 chassis 1075, the same car that had won the previous year, this was second time the same car had won two in a row; a Bentley Speed Six had done it in 1929 and 1930
they covered 372 laps and covered 4998 kms
anyway...here is car #6
ullhair
