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The 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 18 and 19 June 1966. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It was also the seventh round of the 1966 World Sportscar Championship season . This was the first overall win at Le Mans for the Ford GT40 as well as the first win for an American constructor in a major European race since ...
Tom Kristensen has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times, more than any other driver.. The 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 24 Heures du Mans) is an annual 24-hour automobile endurance race organised by the automotive group Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and held on the Circuit de la Sarthe race track close to the city of Le Mans, the capital of the French department of Sarthe.
In 1966 between two Ford GT40s [Note 12] Largest winning margin: 349.808 km: In 1927 between a Bentley and a Salmson: Highest average race speed by a winner: 225.228 km/h (140 mph) Audi R15+ TDI in 2010: Highest average lap speed (qualifying) 251.881 km/h (157 mph) Kamui Kobayashi with a Toyota TS050 Hybrid in 2017: Highest average lap speed (race)
Outside of Formula One, McLaren competed in nine editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1959 to 1969, winning in 1966 alongside Chris Amon in the Ford GT40 Mk II. He was also a two-time champion of the Canadian-American Challenge Cup in 1967 and 1969, driving his own M6A and M8B, and won the Tasman Series in 1964.
After the death of Walt Hansgen in a J-car while testing at Le Mans in April, Ford decided to shelve the J-car and focus on the proven Mk IIs. Little development was done for the rest of the 1966 World Sports Car Championship season. In August 1966, Shelby American resumed testing and development work with Miles as primary test driver.
Andretti competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in four decades. In 1966 he shared a Holman Moody Ford Mk II with Lucien Bianchi . They retired after their car dropped a valve at 10:30 pm. [ 55 ] In 1967 , during a 3:30 am pit stop, a mechanic inadvertently installed a front brake pad backward on his Ford MkIV.
At the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 906 placed 4-5-6-7 behind three Ford GT40 Mk IIs, outlasting all of the previously dominant V12-engined Ferrari Ps. [3] For the year of the car's debut in 1966, it achieved numerous victories. American-British race car driver Ken Miles took the 2.0-liter class in the Las Vegas Stardust and Laguna Seca USRRC ...
In 1966, thanks to his friendship with Hansgen, word quickly spread to the Ford Motor Company about the young driver. Ford immediately signed Donohue to drive one of their GT-40 Mk II race cars campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Holman & Moody racing team. Le Mans proved frustrating for Donohue.