There can be no doubt that when Ford sets their sights on a goal, they will do whatever is required to attain it. For 1966, Ford would assault Le Mans with no less than eight 7-liter Mk IIs!
In the days leading up to Le Mans, the Ford team had to come to terms with the fact that Stewart, Ruby and Foyt had all suffered accidents, leaving them three good drivers short! Thankfully, the Kiwi duo of McLaren and Amon stood strong. Shelby American painted their car all black with a branch and the letters "NZ", resembling the uniform of the New Zealand national rugby team.
Henry Ford himself dropped the flag that signaled the start of the 24 hour marathon. GT40 Mk IIs surged into the lead, dicing with various Ferrari 330s and Phil Hill's Chaparral. The #2 car driven by Bruce McLaren was not designated as a front runner and had been lapped after the first hour, his pace reflected by the fact that he was the last of the Fords to make a fuel stop.
The afternoon turned to evening. Evening turned to night. The field thinned out, leaving the remains of broken race cars strewn around the circuit. Ford suffered its share of attrition, but several Mk IIs remained at the front of the field. Miles/Hulme held the lead most of the night, shared briefly by the Gurney/Grant and McLaren/Amon cars. By morning the last of Ford's competition crumbled. Even Gurney's #3 eventually retired.
At the last pit stops, competition chief Leo Beebe directed his team to moderate their pace. The big Fords crept around the last lap to form a 1-2-3 photo finish. Though he rounded the last corner in the lead, a puzzling thing happened... Miles actually braked to let McLaren cross the finish line first! Some team members thought Miles was a lap ahead... perhaps even McLaren believed this. Race officials thought differently. In the blink of an eye, McLaren and Amon were handed victory at Le Mans!.
