1967 24 Hours of Le Mans
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1967 24 Hours of Le Mans |
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The 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 35th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1967. It was also the seventh round of the World Sportscar Championship. Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt won the race after leading from the second hour, becoming the first (and, as of 2022, only) all-American victors - car, team and drivers - of the race. Ferrari were second and third, and these top-three cars all broke the 5000 km mark in total distance covered for the first time. All overall records were broken – fastest, furthest, a new lap record and biggest engine to win, along with a number of class records. Once again there was a marked imbalance between the categories with only six Sports Cars and seven GTs versus the 41 Prototypes in the starting line-up. It brought together the best of the world’s racing drivers with 37 who had, or would, race in Formula 1. There were five World Champions and in the previous month, eleven drivers had raced in the Monaco Grand Prix and seven in the Indy 500. Defending champions Ford, along with Porsche, had the biggest representation with ten cars. The new Ford GT40 Mark IV was an updated version of the Ford J-Car, which was shelved following the fatal accident of Ken Miles in August 1966[6] (The Mk III being a small-production road-car). The Mark IV had an all new chassis designed and built in the United States. The big-block 427 cu in (7-litre) Ford Galaxie-derived engine from the Mk.II was now pushing out 530 bhp. Four cars were ready for Le Mans: two for Shelby American who had the American pair of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt in one car and defending champion Bruce McLaren with Mark Donohue in the other. The team had to fabricate a roof "bubble" to accommodate the helmet of Dan Gurney, who stood more than 190 cm (6 feet, 3 inches) tall. The other two went to Holman & Moody with its teams of Mario Andretti/Lucien Bianchi and Denny Hulme/Lloyd Ruby. After the previous year's complete change in the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale - the FIA’s regulatory body) – the FIA Appendix J – there were no significant changes or updates to the regulations. In an effort to reduce the speed disparity between the classes, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) lifted its minimum average speed for qualification, from 160 km/h (99 mph) to 190 km/h (120 mph). They also now required all cars to qualify to be within 85% of the pole-position car’s average speed. There was also about a 2.5% increase to the minimum distances on the Index of Performance. Where we have not had a model of the car through the business as raced I've added another example of the car as an illustration (where I have one)
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| Last Edit: 12/06/2024 | Page Created 10/04/2022 |
