Le Mans 1966 to 1969

1966

1966 was the year of the famous Ford GT40 1-2-3 finish. Ford put out a promotional film to celebrate this win which shows some great race footage. The winning GT40 "Mark II" cars were in the Prototype class, because they were modified beyond the limits of the homologated GT40 "Mark I" cars in the Sport class. There were a few GT class cars, namely the Ferrari 275 GTB's. Porsche scored an "S" class win with the 906 carerra. More importantly, a privateer 911 ran in its first LeMans, as the lone car running in the 2.0 litre GT class.

Cars #1 thru #8 were semi-works Ford GT40 Mark II's, although the cars were run by three separate teams. Carrol Shelby entered cars #1 - #3, NASCAR powerhouse Holman & Moody entered #4-#6, and gave Mario Andretti his first crack at Le Mans. The British Alan Mann team ran #7 and #8. With this eight car assault, Ferrari was pounded into submission.

GT40 Diecast

While the theme of LeMans 1966 was the "yanks" beating up Ferrari, many of the current GT40 models are Italian. Bang puts out a series of mediocre cars, and there is also the obscure "OXA" brand which features opening doors and hood. I have never seen one of these up close, but I have heard they slightly better than Bang. Eagle's Race put out a few from the old Jouef molds, using the same model numbers. They're even worse than the Bang items. Interestingly, Bang produces all of these except car #4 (which was driven by a young Mark Donohue). A good GT40 is the mega-expensive handbuilt Jouef 1969 winner.

IXO has turned the 1:43 scale GT40 world upside-down with their products, which have some of the best paint application I've seen. Definitely on a par with Minichamps.

Ferrari entries

Ferrari's big hope for 1966 was the P3, but they had only two SEFAC (Works) cars plus a semi-works N.A.R.T. entry. (As the American team had won Le Mans the previous year, they presumably got "front of the line" privliges for the new P3) There was a big labor strike in Italy early in the year that caused delays in steel and components. They had planned to match Ford's eight-car lineup, but had to let their customers settle for last year's cars...

Scuderia Filipinetti - typically Swiss politics?

This classic Swiss team expressed "neutrality" and had a foot in both camps, running both a Ford GT40 and a Ferrari 365 P2.

1966 Le Mans Classes

Name

FIA Class

Description

Subclasses

P

Group 6

Prototypes (No homologation minimum)

Over 2 Litre (Unlimited)

2-litre

Under 1.3-litre

S

Group 4

Sportcars (50 unit homologation)

Over 2-litre

Under 2-litre

GT

Group 3

Production GT Cars (500 cars/year)

 

Le Mans 1966 (Part of the International Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Prototype Class (FIA Group 6) Over 2-liter
Shelby American Racing
1 Ford GT40 Mk. II
Bruce McLaren
Chris Amon
2
P+2.0
Bang
7081
      Jouef
3019
      Oxa
002
2 Ford GT40 Mk. II
Ken Miles
Denny Hulme
1
P+2.0
Bang
7080
      Jouef
3039
      Oxa
001  
DNF Ford GT40 Mk. II
Dan Gurney
Jerry Grant
3
P+2.0
Bang
7082
      Oxa
003
Holman & Moody Racing
DNFFord GT40 Mk. II
Paul Hawkins
Mark Donohue
4
P+2.0
Oxa
004
3Ford GT40 Mk. II
Ronnie Bucknum
Dick Hutcherson
5
P+2.0
Bang
7092
   Jouef
3040
   Oxa
005
DNFFord GT40 Mk. II
Mario Andretti
Lucien Bianchi
6
P+2.0
Bang
7190
   Oxa
006
   Eagle's Race
1008
Alan Mann Racing
DNFFord GT40 Mk. II
Graham Hill
Brian Muir
7
P+2.0
Bang
7156
   Oxa
007
DNFFord GT40 Mk. II
John Whitmore
Frank Gardner
8
P+2.0
Bang
7093
   Oxa
008
DNFChaparral 2D
Phil Hill
Jo Bonnier
9
P+2.0
Minichamps
436 661409
DNFBizzarini GT Strada 530
Sam Posey
Massimo Natili
11
P+2.0
Spark
S0388 
DNF Ferrari 365 P2
Willy Mairesse
Herbert Müller
19
P+2.0
Best
9082
DNFFerrari 330 P3
Pedro Rodriguez
Richie Ginther
27
P+2.0
Bang
7306
   Brumm
R158 
Sportscar Class (FIA Group 4) Under 2-litre
Porsche Works Team
7 Porsche 906/6
Günther Klass
Rolf Stommelen
58
S 2.0
Quartzo
QLM041
Prototype Class (FIA Group 6) Under 2-litre
DNFMatra 620
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
41
P 2.0
Bizarre
BZ128
DNFMatra 620
Jo Schlesser
Alan Rees
42
P 2.0
Bizarre
BZ129
DNFMatra 620
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
Henri Pescarolo
43
P 2.0
Bizarre
BZ130
DNF Ferrari 206/S
Charlie Kolb
George Follmer
38
P 2.0
Art Model
082
Sportscar Class (FIA Group 4) Over 2-litre
DNF Ford GT40
Guy Ligier
Bob Grossman
15
S+2.0
Bang
456
   Box
8456 
DNF Ferrari 250 LM
Taf Gosselin
Eric de Keyn
28
S+2.0
Best
9094
Essex Wire Team
DNF Ford GT40
Skip Scott
Peter Revson
59
S+2.0
Bang
453
DNFFord GT40
Jochen Neerspasch
Jacky Ickx
60
S+2.0
Bang
7346
GT Class (FIA Group 3) Over 3-litre
8 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
Piers Courage
Roy Pike
29
GT+3.0
Best
9084
10 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
Pierre Noblet
Claude Dubois
57
GT+3.0
Best
9083
DNF Ferrari 275 GTB/4
Giampiero Biscaldi
Michel de Bourbon Parma
26
GT+3.0
Best
9102
GT Class (FIA Group 3) Under 2-litre
14 Porsche 911
"Franc"
Jean Kerguen
35
GT 2.0
Vitesse
332  

1967

Ford Mark IV

Ford showed up with the "Longtail" Ford Mark IV for 1967. While Foyt and Gurney won, Ferrari's were second and third. It wasn't the dominant formation 1-2-3 finish like the previous year, but at least two well-known American racers had won for Ford. Satisfied with outpacing Enzo, Edsel closed down the factory supported program but lent privateer support ot John Wyer.

The old Solido's come with markings for cars #1 red, #2 yellow, and #3 bronze, but color determines the proper decals to use. (Is there a #4 silver???)

Long list of class winners

Prototypes, unlimited Dan Gurney / A.J. Foyt Ford Mk IV
Prototypes 4001 - 5000cc Ludovico Scarfiotti / Mike Parkes Ferrari P4
Prototypes 1601 - 2000cc Jo Siffert / Hans Herrmann Porsche 907
Prototypes 1301 - 1600cc Jean Vinatier / Mauro Bianchi Alpine Renault
Prototypes 1151 - 1300cc Henri Grandsire / José Rosinski Alpine Renault
Sports Cars 1601 - 2000cc Vic Elford / Ben Pon Porsche 906
Sports Cars 1151 - 1300cc Marcel Martin / Jean Mesange Abarth 1300 GT
GT Rico Steinemann / Dieter Spoerry Ferrari 275 GTB

Sportscar class

In this era, the "Sportscars" class was for vehicles with a minumum production run of 50. These cars were derived from a road-legal base, and had engines up to 5.0 litres. This minumum number would be reduced to 25 for 1969 and would yield completely unintended consequences.

Prototype class

Prototypes had no production minimum, and less design constraints

Le Mans 1967 (Part of the International Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Holman & Moody Racing
Prototype Class Over 5-liter
Shelby American Racing
1 Ford GT40 Mark IV
Dan Gurney
A. J. Foyt
1
P 5000+
Solido
Retro Le Mans
2425
      Solido
100 Series
170  
      Solido
Racing
1928  

IXO
Racing

LMC004

4 Ford GT40 Mark IV
Bruce McLaren
Mark Donohue
2
P 5000+
Solido
Retro Le Mans
2426
      Solido
100 Series
170  

IXO
Racing

LMC009

DNF Ford GT40 Mark IIB
Paul Hawkins
Ronnie Bucknum
57
P 5000+
Eagle's Race
1139
      Jouef
1139  
      Bang
?  
J.W. Automotive
DNF Mirage M1
David Piper
Richard Thompson
14
P 5000+
Bizarre
?  
DNF Mirage M1
Jacky Ickx
Brian Muir
15
P 5000+
Bizarre
?  
Chaparral Cars
DNF Chaparral 2F
Phil Hill
Mike Spence
7
P 5000+
Solido
100 Series
169
      Minichamps
430 671407  
DNF Chaparral 2F
Bruce Jennings
Bob Johnson
8
P 5000+
Minichamps
430 671408  
Lola Cars/Team Surtees
DNF Lola T70 Coupé
Chris Irwin
Peter de Klerk
12
P 5000+
Best
9247  
Holman & Moody
DNF Ford GT40 Mark IV
Lucien Bianchi
Mario Andretti
3
P 5000+
Solido
Retro Le Mans
2415
      Solido
100 Series
170  

IXO
Racing

LMC010

DNF Ford GT40 Mark IV
Denny Hulme
Lloyd Ruby
4
P 5000+
Solido
Retro Le Mans
2416?  
      Solido
100 Series
170  

IXO
Racing

LMC011

Prototype Class 5-liter
SpA Ferrari SEFAC
DNF Ferrari 330 P4 Coupé
Günther Klass
Peter Sutcliffe
19
P 5000
Bang
7117
DNF Ferrari 330 P4 Spyder
Chris Amon
Nino Vaccarella
20
P 5000
Bang
7139
DNF Ferrari 330 P4 Spyder
Chris Amon
Nino Vaccarella
20
P 5000
Brumm
Retro
R160
      Jouef
1030  
2 Ferrari 330 P4 Coupé
Ludovico Scarfiotti
Mike Parkes
21
P 5000
Bang
7098
Scuderia Filipinetti
DNF Ferrari 330 P3/4
Jean Guichet
Herbert Müller
22
P 5000
Brumm
Retro
R161
Equipe Nationale Belge
3 Ferrari 330 P4 Coupé
Willy Mairesse
"Jean Beurlys"
24
P 5000
Bang
7118
N.A.R.T
DNF Ferrari 412P
Pedro Rodriguez
Giancarlo Baghetti
25
P 5000
Bang
7105
Prototype Class 1.3-liter
9 Alpine A210 Renault
Henri Grandsire
José Rosinski
46
P 1300
Top Model
TMC217  
10 Alpine A210 Renault
André de Cortanze
Alain LeGuellec
49
P 1300
Top Model
TMC218  
12 Alpine A210 Renault
Roger Delageneste
Jacques Cheinisse
48
P 1300
Top Model
TMC219  
GT Class 2-liter
14 Porsche 911 coupe
Robert Buchet
Herbert Linge
42
GT 2000
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L083A
DNF Porsche 911S
Pierre Boutin
Patrice Sanson
67
GT 2000
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L101A  
DNF Porsche 911S
André Wicky
Philippe Farjon
60
GT 2000
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L101B
DNF Porsche 911 coupe
"Franc"
Toni Fischhaber
43
GT 2000
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L083B
Prototype Class 2-liter
DNF Matra M630 BRM
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
29
P 2000
Top Model
TMC236  
DNF Matra M630 BRM
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
Henri Pescarolo
30
P 2000
Top Model
TMC237  

1968

JWA Gulf

JW Gulf's Mirage M1 was made obsolete by the 1968 rule changes, so they went back to running a homologated GT40 in the 5.0 litre Sportscar class.

...More on the JW Gulf team at 1967

Alfa Romeo

While Ferrari, Porsche and Ford are remembered as heavy hitters during this era, Alfa Romeo had a serious program with some beautiful cars. After the GT-classed TZ cars in 1964 and 1965, they built a "Tipo 33 2-litre" (T33/2) car for the "Sports-Prototype" class. This car was raced in 1967 and was greatly modified for 1968. Intrestingly, the 1968 revision is much better looking that its predecessor. This is unusual as cars generally start off looking great on paper, and then get hacked up during development by the addition of odd cooling or downforce bodywork changes. They even made an especially attractive longtail (coda lunga) version for Le Mans which was the accepted practice.

Reference Links:
wspr-racing.com Le Mans 1968

Le Mans 1968 (Part of the International Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sport Class

John Wyer Gulf

1 Ford GT40 'Gulf'
Pedro Rodriguez
Lucien Bianchi
9
S
IXO
LMC025  
      Bang
Limited Edition
1007
      IXO
Le Mans Winners
LM1968  
      Jouef
1004  
DNF Ford GT40 'Gulf'
Paul Hawkins
David Hobbs
10
S
IXO
LMC026  
      Bang
7073
DNF Ford GT40 'Gulf'
Jackie Oliver
Brian Muir
11
S
IXO
LMC027  
      Bang
7072

 

DNF Lola T70 Coupé
Jackie Epstein
Ed Nelson
6
S
Best
9196
DNF Ford GT40 'SEV Marchal'
Willy Mairesse
"Jean Beurlys"
8
S
IXO
LMC053
Sport-Prototypes Class: 2-litre
4 Alfa Romeo T33/2 Coda Lunga
Ignazio Giunti
Nanni Galli
39
SP
Best
9254
5 Alfa Romeo T33/2 Coda Lunga
Carlo Facetti
Spartaco Dini
38
SP
Best
9252
6 Alfa Romeo T33/2 Coda Lunga
Mario Casoni
Giampiero Biscaldi
40
SP
Best
9255
DNF Matra 630M
Henri Pescarolo
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
24
SP
Top Model
TMC 279
Sport-Prototypes Class: 3-litre
DNF Howmet TX Continental
Ray Heppenstall
Richard Thompson
22
SP
Bizarre
?  
DNF Howmet TX Continental
Hugh Dibley
Bob Tullius
23
SP
Bizarre
?  
GT Class
12 Porsche 911T
Jean-Pierre Gaban
Roger van der Schrick
43
GT 2.0
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L125
13

Porsche 911T 'Shell'

Claude Laurent

Jean-Claude Ogier

64VitesseL143A
DNF

Porsche 911T 'Shell'

Guy Chasseuil

Claude Ballot-Léna

44VitesseL143B
DNF Porsche 911S 60
GT 2.0
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L143C  
GT Class (Over 2 litre)
DNF Chevrolet Corvette
Sylvain Garant
Jean-Michel Giorgi
4
GT +2.0
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L044B
DNF Chevrolet Corvette
Henri Greder
Umberto Maglioli
3
GT +2.0
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L044A  
DNF Chevrolet Corvette
Umberto Maglioli
Henri Greder
3
GT +2.0
Quartzo
Classic Le Mans
QLM026  

1969

1969 was the only year that the Ferrari Works team ran the 312P Coupé at Le Mans. The 5-litre 512S would be made in 1970 to battle the Porsche 917.

Porsche 908

The original Porsche 908 had a sleek coupé body. The crappy Solido 908 is the only remotely accurate model of this important car.
...More on the Porsche 908

Porsche 917

At LeMans, things started badly for the 917s. John Woolfe, driving his private entry 917, crashed on the first lap and was killed. Things got better, though, and for 20 hours Vic Elford and Richard Attwood led the race, amassing a 6-lap margin, but by the 21 hour mark their 917 was on the way to the dead car park with a leaking gearbox and a failed clutch. That set the stage for the most dramatic finish in LeMans history. A 908, driven by Hans Herrmann, raced virtually wheel-to-wheel for the last three hours with the JW Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx. At the end, the 908 was just one second behind the Ford. The 917 had clearly established Porsche as the new giant of endurance racing.

Development continued nonstop. Two months later, in Austria, the 917 scored its first win, and the stage was set for total conquest in 1970.
...More on the creation of the Porsche 917

Le Mans 1969 (Part of the International Championship for Makes)

Place

Car
Sponsor

Car # Class

Model

Ref. #

Image

Sportscars Class (FIA Group 4)
JW Automotive
1 Ford GT40 'Gulf'
Jacky Ickx
Jackie Oliver
6
S
Jouef
High Detail
3006
      IXO
Le Mans Winners
LM1969
      Bang
7074
3 Ford GT40 'Gulf'
David Hobbs
Mike Hailwood
7
S
Eagle's Race
1040
6 Ford GT40 'Deutche Auto Zeitung'
Helmut Kelleners
Reinhold Jöst
68
S
Bang
7157
Porsche System Engineering
DNF Porsche 917L
Rolf Stommelen
Kurt Ahrens
14
S
Ebbro
??
      Eligor
1199
DNF Porsche 917L
Vic Elford
Richard Attwood
12
S
Ebbro
??
      Eligor
100312
Sport-Prototypes Class (FIA Group 6)
Porsche System Engineering
2Porsche 908
Hans Herrmann
Gérard Larrousse
64
SP
Ebbro
?? 
   Solido
100 Series
174 
DNFPorsche 908 23
SP
Ebbro
?? 
Equipe Matra Elf
4Matra MS630
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Piers Courage
33
SP
Bizarre
BZ122
5Matra MS650
Jean Guichet
Nino Vaccarella
32
SP
Bizarre
BZ320
7Matra MS650
Nanni Galli
Robin Widdows
35
SP
Bizarre
BZ123
DNFMatra MS650
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
Herbert Müller
34
SP
Bizarre
BZ124
TestMatra MS640 (Test Coupe) 32
SP
Bizarre
BZ135
SpA Ferrari SEFAC
DNFFerrari 312P Coupé
Pedro Rodriguez
David Piper
18
SP
Best
9143
DNFFerrari 312P Coupé
Chris Amon
Peter Schetty
19
SP
Best
9152
GT Class (FIA Group 3)
Scuderia Filipinetti
DNF Chevrolet Corvette
Henri Greder
Umberto Maglioli
1
GT
Vitesse
Limited Edition
L044C