The true story of Le Mans '66 by the driver who won it By Peter Windsor
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ม.ค. 2020
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Chris Amon, who won the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hour classic teamed with Bruce McLaren in a Shelby American Ford GT40 Mk2, talks about that epic race-within-a-race.The current movie on general release (starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale) tells the story of Ford beating Ferrari - and of Ken Miles finishing a disconsolate second - but Chris saw the race result very differently. He talked exclusively to us not long before his sad passing in 2016.
Images: The Henry Ford
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For Ford the main thing was to beat Ferrari and the stage 1 -2 finish was for publicity. Interesting that Chris Amon went on to drive for Ferrari. He was one of the most consistent drivers in Formula One but misfortune meant he never won a F1 Grand Prix or a World Championship but the win at Le Mans helped to equal the score. 😁🚗
"Ken Miles was extremely upset in that he was um, ahhhh....." I believe "Robbed" is the word you were looking for Chris.
In a straight race McClaren and Amon would have won not their fault that they were the guinea pigs. Movie does not do justice to the amount of work and input that McClaren and Amon did.
@@ikomidico im upset that the movie is just too centric for ken miles
Beaten fair and square is also appropriate. The fact that he disobeyed team orders is also a factor. He knew he'd let the team down and backed off across the line, the only ethical thing he did all weekend!
Sorry did you not actually listen to the interview or are you just another idiot who thinks that what Hollywood says is true?
How can you say he was robbed? Amon/McLaren were in the lead and told by Ford to slow down. Miles didn’t obey and passed them.
Good photo of ‘ the bear’ ( Denny Hulme)
Just watched a very interesting video on Ken MIles by Aidan Millward a couple of days ago. He was a fascinating character. Seriously underrated when it comes to racing history. Interesting to hear this side of the story too, though.
Honestly, when I saw Charlie Agapou (Ken's mechanic) was a consultant on the film, I kind of knew which side of the story we were gonna get. Ken was a really interesting talent, one of racing's "what if's"; it's interesting reading about him even toying with driving in F1 in the mid-60's when his fame was at it's height. You have to wonder what more he might have achieved in his time had he not upset the establishment so much with his honesty and bluntness; although in a lot of ways he was more interesting because he was a bit of a rebel who preferred to do things his own way; part of why he left Britain in the first place was because he thought post-war Britain was very insular and lacked ambition when it came to motor racing, and he liked the U.S. attitude and the American dream had more appeal to him. You've also got to love the MG special he made himself: "The Flying Shingle"; arguably Miles was one of the really talented engineer/drivers of the 50's and 60's, up there with Bruce McLaren and Jack Brabham; probably one of the reasons he always got on so well with McLaren.
I also did a video comparing the film to real life if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/eYVzwR_RKCE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for posting. This clip left me with more questions. Like when (and how) did they pass Miles and Amon? Odd that they were able to do that given they were so far behind before they changed tires. And is Amon saying that Miles shouldn’t have passed them when they were in the pits? FWIW, Miles was also delayed at the start because he shut the door on his helmet and had to pit after the first lap. Arguably, Gurney would have won had his car not broken when he was in the lead.
Mandy B Art Evans book on Miles is really good if you can find a copy.
Craig Yirush Gurney would have won Sebring in 66 . His engine blew up on the last lap when he was in the lead. He pushed the car the last 200 metres, which must have been hard after being awake for over a day.
Beagle76 I know. Gurney was one of the unluckiest drivers back then! But it all came right for him in ‘67 at Spa and Le Mans!
Thank you for posting this bit of the interview!
History from the men that made it !! Love it!! Thanks!
The movie also falsely says that Miles missed Le Mans in ‘65 because Leo Beebe had a vendetta against him for which there’s no evidence. Ditto for the movie showing him having to win Daytona in ‘66 to get a seat at Le Mans. I’ve talked to Mike Schoen and Preston Lerner and both said that the movie’s depiction of Beebe as a villain is nonsense. Last Sunday the Petersen had a forum with Pete Brock and Charlie Agapiou and Allen Grant and Ken’s son, Peter. Peter Miles said that the depiction of Beebe was the worst thing about the movie. Brock emphatically agreed. But Agapiou said Beebe was a meddler, and a buddy of Shelby’s said that Shelby blamed Beebe for the idea of a dead heat finish. My suggestion for anyone who wants to know more after seeing the movie - read Lerner’s book on the GT40, Baime’s ‘Go Like Hell’ and Levine’s classic ‘The Dust and the Glory.’
Good to read after some of the nasty stuff I have read.I have the 67 “Automobile Year” which my parents bought me. Also A Road & Track with the race coverage. I will dig them out this weekend. I have always been fascinated by the GT40 MK11,GT’s in general & the 66 Le Mans.
Funny how Hollywood likes to skew the facts....
In an endurance race all about pace (or any race really) it only matters who leads the last lap at the finish. The dead heat was an unexpected technicality, but the race organizers did what had to be done. Team orders were the villain
abitoutofsorts it wasn’t a technicality (whatever that means). It was a decision by the Ford execs (either Beebe or Passano or HFII himself) to bring the cars over the line together. Lerner in his book on the GT40 says they thought there could be a tie for first, and it was only after they told Miles to slow down that they found out the car that started furthest back (Amon and McLaren) would win as they’d covered the most distance.
Craig Yirush what I meant by technicality was the results as decided by the organizers -the no. 2 car starting further back
50 years ago tomorrow. RIP to the wonderful Bruce.
I don't think the movie, Ford vs Ferrari, did Mclaren or Amon any Justice at all. Though a good movie, it should have been called Shebly and Miles vs Ferrari.
I watched the movie yesterday, I didn't like it. They completely shit on other racers in the movie, also neglecting the fact that Miles did race at the 1965 Le Mans. There was no mention of John Wyer either.
Shelby and Miles vs Ford (Ferraris apperar in 1 race and all break or crash)
As a Ford fan the movie was utter fiction, and now we have people who have never heard of Le Mans commenting in every post about how McLaren is a this and that. Thanks Hollywood fekin clowns. The best drives won, and people forget Miles also had another driver also a Kiwi.
It’s interesting that they didn’t start shooting Ford vs Ferrari until all the main real life players were dead. Bruce McClaren died in 1970, Denny Hulme in early 1990s, Leo Beebe in 2001, Carroll Shelby in 2012 and finally Chris Amon in 2016. Hollywood manufactured the myth of Ken Miles when no one was left alive to question it. Amon in this interview said their car would have won the race easily if Miles didn’t disobey team orders.
What the fuck is there for saying that team orders? It was not his mistake if he is faster and better than others?
These boys are so cool even ice does not drip off them. So proud of our Kiwi boys.
Right on Buckaroo lap record
So miles didn't help build the Ford gt??!!!!
He test drove the car, his influence was massively overblown by the movie while others, McLaren, Phil Hill and John Wyer's work on the GT40 was completely neglected.
He was so in the lead to win the title. I’ve heard several different accounts from him, he won by default! Miles won by miles and don’t we all know that!
Yea but what about the fact that Mclaren and Amon stole Miles bedded in brakes because their team could not be bothered to bed in brakes ... this cost Miles 2 laps ... kept that quiet didn't he
And Shelby delayes McLaren at their last pit stop, they didn't stole the brakes, Shelby's team misplaced them.
Yeah, judging by the way Chris was talking, he was very careful about his words as he knew his notion of "Well, we slowed down and he didn't." can be seen as a, Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda, which it is. It sounds like one of those "Either way we still would have won." stories that leaves out all the technicalities. Any Winner who has to make excuses obviously did not win with a clear victory and they know it. Problem is, it works the other way as well and Ken has a similar reason for losing, technicalities suck.
@@gutz1981 you are an absolute air head bud
@@gutz1981 they slowed down because they were given instructions from team management since the company wanted a photo finish. The same reason they told Ken to slow down. Why do people find that so hard to believe lol it's like people are so blinded by ignorance they can't see any other point of view.
I wonder how many of the new experts will accept this. I am getting very upset by this. The film also says Miles set the fastest lap when it was Dan Gurney.
I dunno, there is so little of Amon and McLaren in the film that I don't find much to get upset about on that front; it's not like they are villains or anything, they just show up at the end and kind of inherit victory. (Even though in reality it was rightly theirs anyway) I took a lot more issue with the way they treated the Ford Racing manager Leo Beebe (Who was more just inexperienced and naive in terms of racing experience rather than flat-out spiteful and petty like he is in the film) and another Ford GT40 driver, Walt Hansgen; they introduce Hansgen at Daytona and present him as basically an overly-aggressive crasher who barges into other drivers, (which seems harsh and unfair; there are no accounts of him being a dirty driver, and he was an SCCA champion, just like Miles) and then they don't show or mention his fatal accident in qualifying for Le Mans, which is a big missed opportunity dramatically as they could have shown Miles' reaction to that; Hansgen basically died trying to beat Miles' fastest laptime after all. They even had a scene in the shooting script where Miles was informed of Hansgen's accident, but it ended up being cut from the film. I think the film is a lovely tribute to Ken Miles, but I just wish A) It showed more of his relationship with other drivers and not just Shelby, and B) It didn't turn Leo Beebe into a pantomime villain; I had no problem with him being the antagonist, but his motivations were very thin and it made the conflict with Miles/Shelby so much less interesting than it should have been.
Edward Hunter I have seen that Miles & Mclaren shared a car in 1965 & there was definitely no animosity between the 2 . Dan Gurney who I never saw in person , but did a great job in the unreliable Eagle Westlake in Formula 1 set the fastest lap in the race, The film says that Miles set that record even quotes the exact time. As a kid I ran into Bruce every year at the Tasman series , lived close to Sandown Park & Chris later on . These guys on Thursdays & Friday’s Practice really treated us well.Jack Brabham was quiet,but helped pushed his car with a couple of mechanics, he was blipping the throttle & partially slipping the clutch . He was really quick . The 1st race I saw he & Bruce fought for the lead lap after lap until about 3 laps from the end Jack’s engine blew up leaving a trail of smoke up the back straight. I was utterly hooked on motor racing.I had forgotten about Hangsen’s accident but have seen photos of a badly damaged GT40, you are right that should have been noted somewhere preferably at the start of the film.
Wtf so ken wasn’t 4 laps ahead and slowed down for them! So team orders fecked it for Amon and mclaren!
@@GeriatricFan1963 They also didn't mention John Wyer.
@@paulporteous4190 lol absolutely not.
Ken Miles 🏆
No, he didn't win. Didn't you listen?
No Ken Miles, sorry. Hollywood typically miswrote that script.
we all know who deserved to win this race.
Yes the guy who did actually win, McClaren and Amon
@@Redwhiteblue-gr5em clownnnnnn
@@makthemoonpie if you ever look at the actual video and photos of the finish, McLaren’s car clearly crosses the finish line about 5 feet before Miles. Hollywood movies do not report the truth because it might interfere with there story .
@Redwhiteblue yea maybe cause the officials didn't want him winning and being their mascot so they had him slow down. (being he was a lap ahead) he had faster times and was the better racer.
@@makthemoonpie you still believe in all that fiction in the movie. Watch the real video of the actual race. That’s what really happened. There was no dead heat finish as shown on the movie. In the real race McLaren clearly finished in front of Miles. And look it up, the fastest lap in the real race was set by Dan Gurney in the #3 FordGT. And Ken Miles raced the Ford GT in the 1965 LeMans race. The movie completely made up that BS that Ford executives prevented Miles from racing in the 65 race. So all those scenes of Carroll Shelby demanding that Miles drive at the 1966 race was 100% fiction. Hollywood did not start filming that movie until all the real participants who knew what happened at the finish line were dead (Henry Ford, Leo Beebe, Shelby, Miles, Hulme, McLaren and Chris Amon ). McLaren died in 1970, Beebe in 2001, Shelby 2012, Hulme early 90s and Amon in 2016.
The problem with Amon's account is that it has changed over the years. There has even been a video where he leans more to Miles winning the race.
The real triple crown winner ! As a fellow Brummie! He is a legend!!! Despite whatever the film tries to portray!!
Luckily not a Yam Yam lol
The truth is out :-o
New book by Sam Posey says Ken was deducted a lap
Let's get a few things straight. Dan Gurney had the fastest lap in practice. Dan Gurney had the fastest lap in the race. Dan Gurney would have won if his car hadn't broken. Dan Gurney was the fastest driver in that race.
Nicky Hayden once said “ if, if and buts we’re candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas.”
He obviously pushed his car too hard....more to it than being the fastest.
The fastest driver won. Full stop. Looking after the car is a massive part of enduro, Bruce and Chris were the masters of this
Dan Gurney would also have won at Sebring a few months earlier, if his car hadn't broken down on the last lap. But here's the thing, you don't win if your car doesn't make it to the finish line.
I refuse to watch a movie which portrays one Miles as a hero at the expense of Bruce McLaren or Chris Amon. THE Chris Amon! Anyone who follows motorsport properly knows the truth behind that race (which btw is far more exciting than the one shown). As far as all the rest of the viewers is concerned, well it’s a big shame how the truth distorters can make a living out of them
What really happened then
Emmanuel Iroanya just listen to Amon in the video
Ever since that movie came out, everybody shits on Bruce McLaren, makes me sad.
@@kadasrichard people who's experience of Le Mans and Motorsport is the extent of that movie and no more. McLaren had a far more successful career in his short life and was a far better builder and engineer, hence the company that exists today with his name still on it.
@@Flying_GC Indeed,also they completely neglected Phil Hill's 3 victories in the movie,sayong that Caroll Shelby is the only American that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Phil Hill was already a 3x winner by the year the movie takes place.
Makes me sick that he lost 65 and got robbed 66😡 and died the very same year idgaf what anyone says ken miles won that race.
damn right
Thank u
Bruce Maclaren and Chris Amon won
@@makthemoonpie bruce mclaren and chris amon won 1966 le mans
Is not Bruce and Chris fault that stupid rich and score people fault and that ford CO.
Ha! So the movie was BS. No surprise
I find it interesting that McLaren and Amon are quick to take FIRESTONES money for sponsorship, then shit cans it when the product is inferior and goes for Goodyears.... Granted, I would have too, but they were obviously all about the MONEY and didn't even test the very tires they were supposedly PROMOTING... Say what you want, but sounds to me that they were not about the CAR but about themselves. Ken Miles is the winner.... In My Book!
Complete misrepresentation of what Chris Amaon said and what the McLaren/Amon deal with Firestone was about. Amon and McLaren did not make the decision to switch tyres (though they were undoubtedly happy with it), McLaren the team was committed to a Firsestone test deal, totally separate from the Le Mans race, and both the Kiwis had individual deals which I suspect they were concerned might be jeopardised by the Le Mans decision. And bluntly, I wish you luck finding a successful racing driver (or even a complete dead loss) who puts the car before a win. In this case, their decision to risk offending a supporter by making a change to Goodyear was to support Ford, and retain some chance of winning themselves. Given the number of Fords that failed to finish the Ford company needed as many running as possible. The other angle on this is that continuing on dodgy Firestones risked a tyre failure wrecking the car and potential injuring or killing a driver. Not something Firestone would have enjoyed very much. No idea who was responsible (if anyone) for testing every tyre type to be used on a Ford but it sure as hell wasn't Bruce and Chris.
@@johnmadden2421 An interesting side note . In this interview Amon says that Miles passed them during a pitstop . In his biography he says much more about that stop .
He says Bruce was called into the pits and during the refueling the Goodyear technicians turned up and spent time checking the tires on the car , delaying his departure from the pits by a couple of minutes , during which time Miles took the lead .
I can believe that Goodyear had a reason to delay him , it was in their best interests that a Goodyear sponsored driver won the race , advertising gold , so to speak .
And maybe , just maybe Shelby himself had a part in it ? Not sure about that , as he was the one who offered the Goodyear tyres to McLaren and Amon .
We'll never know .
Back in those days, corporate guard dogs weren't like they are now. Graham Hill turned up at the 1969 British Grand Prix to drive for Lotus and found his car wasn't ready for practice. He drove a Brabham during first practice! It is a mistake to judge people's behaviour in the past by contemporary standards.
Ken Miles been robbed.