Why the '69 Gulf GT40 is the greatest Le Mans winner ever
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- čas přidán 18. 08. 2019
- 50 years gone and the Le Mans 24 hour of 1969 remains one of the most heart-stopping stories in motorsport. Learn all about it with one of the drivers of the iconic GT40, Jacky Ickx. #gwspeed
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This is definition of race car. From design, colours, preformance...
The noise, the smell.... Unforgettable!
I would argue the 917k.......
Quite possibly my all time favorite car.
I'm not sure. When I was a slot-car racer I had a Ford GT40 Fastback, a clear plastic body, beautiful.
The color of the car here looks faded. I remember a more Creamsicle orange and a Capistrano blue.
This video must be a transfer from older technology, yeah, just like me.
bufff dodge viper gtsr team oreca..... was my love i think :P
@@Jefecino used to play that car in gran turismo 2 and won every race I entered with it
1969 The greatest Le Mans ever. I was there to witness this great race.
I heard that the 68 and 69 race was won by the exact same car!
It is a beautiful design and the Gulf colors are perfect!
@derek antill what a great victory for you to witness in person. i am somewhat jealous, in a good way.
REALLY? oh man i am so envious of your memories . i can imagine the noise of the cars the anticipation of the final lap.....
1966 le mans
I'm the 100th like.
For me, this is the most iconic racing car ever.
Yesly. .
This car literally got my into racing 6 years ago
Arguably the 917k then gt40...........
Bullshit. #1 is the REAL legend.
The 1970 boss 302 while not even in the same league and the 1985 86 and 87 number 9 Bill Elliott T Bird 351 C engine terrified Chevy at local drag strips and dirt tracks Ford is legendary in moter sports thanks to the cobras the shelby mustang's and the King Daddy the GT- 40 and the Number 9 Ford Thunderbird
Ken miles should have been there. Sad. 2019 his legendary story lives on
Ken miles wov
Miles was getting old well into his 40’s . I suspect he would have stayed in the US . This was an English team. The car was not the same as the 1966 MK 11, it had the 5 litre engine,improved brakes, suspension & aerodynamics. I had the chance to get crawl over one in the mid 70’s . It was impressive but it was purely a race car.
I am sure Ken was there !!!
@@N-Scale he died in 1966
Ken miles died months after his win at or mans
The GT40 is the perfect sports car, with the perfect story to go along with it.
"First you have to dare, and never give up,," The wisdom of champions.
For those that may not know...the first GT40 in '64 had a ford 260 V8 engine, the '65 entries had a 289 V8 (special 4 bolt main blocks), the '66 and '67 winners had the "NASCAR" 427 V8 and then Le Mans changed to a 5 liter limit so Ford went to the new 302 (albeit, again a special 4 bolt main block) bored to 305 CI with the Gurney Weslake heads and won again in '68 and as this video states won for the fourth year in a row again in '69 when the 917 was HEAVILY favored.
Ah! ....Ford GT40 .....The Great American (Actually British) Supercar!! ....I can't believe Ford even takes credit for it!! ....It's just Grand Theft Auto!!!
But the Porsche in this story was a 908(3 liter flat eight)
@@ambmainman I have never heard a more untrue statement ever. The GT40 was created by Ford Motor company, which at that time like now, a international company. Yes it was a Anglo-American collaboration in the beginning but only in the beginning, but that's a good thing, not bad. The way you butt hurt jealous Ford haters act, you'd think the goddamn queen herself founded Ford Motor company.
By the way, I own an 05 and a 19
.
No,Ford car all day...the British engineers screwed up the measurements,Shelby took there screw ups & made it work...Ford 427 all day !!!
Not exactly, First Gt40s in 64 used the I believe Ford 255 4 cam Indy motor.
To bring it home clean and win 2 full Le Mans races-what an achievement.
To win Le Mans once is hard to do to win it twice with that same car is unpresented,but then again the GT 40 is special and so is Jacky Ickx.
Jackie is one of the all time greatest champions.
@@beenslackinslump we get it, you watched the movie
Absolutely. Together With Senna, Schumacher, Fittipaldi, Lauda, Hamilton and a few others. But Ickx surely comes from a F1 time when it was absolutely dangerous as well...
@@beenslackinslump
OF COURSE YOU DID ! Next you"ll be saying you've heard of Lloyd Ruby and Denis Hulme.
So proud to be Belgian when I see Mister ICKX :) Great Joy when I was a kid! By far the best Belgian Driver ever!!!!
It was remarkable how John Wyer, with J.W. Automotive, managed to keep the aging GT 40 competitive against the newer Porsche machinery. Other teams with GT40s and Lola T70 coupes couldn't equal what Wyer did with his GT 40s.
@Bloqk-16 - Do you know that Wyer purchased the production rights for the GT40 and the UK racing organization from Ford? That gave him a huge advantage over the other GT40s.
Without question the most beautiful race car ever built. Even sexier than the 917. It's #2.
This specific car and the Cobra Daytona coupe are my two favorite cars of all time.
Met Mr. Ickx at Rennsport. He didn’t know me from Adam, hugged my gal, hugged me and took 4 photos with us. He sat and talked to us for 25 minutes like we were friends. #realhero
What a fascinating man! “First you have to dare and never give up”.
To all the jealous Ford haters on here.
Yes, this was a Anglo-American collaboration in the very beginning, but only in the beginning and that's a good thing. Back then, like today, Ford was an international company, but the really important part came out Dearborn and down the street at (non union) Kar Kraft.
Where Ford engineers, moonlighting, did the development work.
By some here, you'd think the goddamn queen herself was the founder of Ford. By the way, I'm a 05 and 19 GT owner and know the full true story of
Fords Total Performance program in the 1960's.
What???? Pepole think the queen of England founded the ford motor company???? I'm from America and that's the most ludicrous thing I have heard all year
@@noahletwinski6955 clearly sarcasm isn’t your strongest suit lol He’s kidding my friend
Took the words out of my keyboards…the British RUN international motorsports and still they want credit for Ford’s Le Mans wins. They helped, OK fine, but get over yourselves already…
@@dsmadad5748- Unfortunately, that will never happen as it is in their blood to try and take as much credit as possible. Some is deserving, but much is not! I think the old Ford slogan "Ford has a better idea" emanated from all that British bull like "look what we did." I will readily admit that Ford's decision to construct the car in England had its merits on paper, but when they failed to satisfactorily produce a car that would even finish Le Mans, let alone win it, the Deuce was wise enough to get it out of their hands and appoint Shelby American, Kar-Kraft and Holman Moody to build it into a winner! La piece de resistance! 🤠 🏆 🏁
Legendary car, unexpected win, and great analysis by pro driver.
First you have to dare, then you never give up
You left out cubic dollars. All in all you are right.
The noise. Beautiful sound 😍😍😍
Chevy fans may make a lot of claims but they sure can't make that one. My favorite car. Greatest race car ever.
Chevy had a lot of wins with McLaren
In Can Am but this is special
In terms of looks and sound it's still unbeatable :)
Yes, this IS the greatest single race car in history. No other race car has this car's pedigree. And it is still around as it was when it won Le Mans in 1969.
This and the 917K are my favourite Le Mans cars
Great job Jacky. The GT40 didn't let you down and helped you become a 69 Le Mans Champion.🏆
For me the GT40 and the Jaguar E-type are the icons of the icons, greetings from germany.
If you're German, you bring shame to your country for your statement ....... The 917 family are arguably the greatest prototypes of all time.... The icon of icons..............
@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo No he doesn't .The Gt 40 and E type are legends.
My favorite race car of all time. Second favorite are the Jaguar XJR IMSA and LeMans cars of the 80's/90's.
OMG! how can you not love Jacky Ickx!
Very good memory for me, back in 1969, I was a teenager, a motor racing fan and Ford was my favourite brand: Ford won 4 consecutive Le Mans in a row starting in 66.
PL
@Geo Thomas The cars were actually built in britian, designed in britian, the engines were devaloped in britian.
American? Name only.
grumpy sod - oh gosh please my man the Lola car was a pos, Ford completely redesigned it, no parts are interchangeable on the Leman winning Ford GT and Lola.
@@TheTheotherfoot - Sorry, but that is not even a close to true statement. Yes, they were initially built in the UK, but all GT40s except the '68 and '69 MK1 were sent to America so Shelby American, Kar-Kraft and Holman Moody could perform extensive modifications to them for maximum speed and reliability. Ford sold the production rights as well as the UK racing organization to Wyer and had no part in the '68 and '69 MK1 winners.
A perfect short film. Really enjoyed that.
Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had slot cars in the Gulf colours way back then. Even saloon cars got painted by me!
"The sound looks good." You goddamn right.
The sound looks good?
To be honest, I believe him when he says that.
Ickx is a French speaking Belgian so a ''drift'' can happen here and there when he speaks English....
I hope you can speak as well French as he speeks English... not talking about driving racing cars...
I remember as a teen , the tension and excitement as we watched the finish on Wide World of Sports.
This one particular has been the car of my dreams since I was 17 years old; being a Ford man just makes it more special. It still has the design, livery and sound of a fierce competitor, just as it did in 1969. Old Enzo never dreamed that a 427 c.i. FE Ford NASCAR stock car engine would make for his worst nightmares.
@William Charles - The '68 and '69 GT40 MK1 did not have the 427 as rules changes obsoleted that engine after the 1967 MKIV victory. This car had a 302 c.i. engine.
@@Loulovesspeed Sir, I stand corrected. The 7.0 liter Le Mans victors came in 1966 in the Mk II and in the MK IV in 1967 and not in 1969. Thanks for your input.
@@williamcharles9480 - Glad to clarify. From one Ford fan to another! Take care.
Just saw a GT40 road car they have at the Peterson Museum. If you have never seen one of these in real life you have no idea how low and small the car is. It’s so sick. Practically sitting on the floor. Seating position is awesome.
I saw all 3 gulf winning cars together of all the years and it's amazing how different but yet how close all 3 are. They look like giants in photos but they as you said are small and slippery and low.
@@masta51 Yeah! The first time I saw some 1980s Indy Cars in-the-flesh, it surprised me how small they appeared when compared to the perceived larger size they had in photos.
I have loved this car since I was a child in the early seventees. I had a matchbox of it a model kit and a diecast replica. Its the most beautiful car I have ever seen.
@ 2:45 " the sound looks good ", classic. What a strategy at the end to win!
Not only did it win twice at Le Mans, it also won the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch.
not only that but it has one sick color scheme
The GT40 is honestly the Sexiest, most beautiful American car ever made!🏁🇺🇸
This car is the reason I went to the Goodwood FOS in 2019.
Love the Gulf GT40’s
❤GT40's, have 14 of them in 1/32 scale & race them all, awesome cars you just can't help but Love!
What a wonderful CZcams I am very impressed I always like to GT40 but did not realize the same car when it twice I didn't realize these guys didn't screw around then use your clutch they just shifted and worked it in save the clutch the clutch is something that can actually screw up if you over push it so thank you Jackie you're an amazing man after my own heart
Two wins and ran 48 hours in the same car! That's something.
There was also another car, a Porsche 956B that won on 1984, 1985 and was even leading in 1986 before having to retire.
@@jonasschiefer626 Yes the Newman Porsche. Also the Joest Porsche WSC won in 1996 & 1997 after being converted from a Jaguar XJR-14 chassis. The GT40 of 68 & 69 had to be the most legendary though, such a great era. Apparently a Ferrari won 2 as well, they only just realised by researching for "classiche certification". Might even be one or two other earlier cars that also won twice
This car lives in the USA now and I would suggest is probably one of the most valuable cars in the world now.
"The sound looks good"- Jacky Ickx
Let him say what he wants lol
Whenever I see one, I get an ache of longing in my heart.
This car is a living thing
My impression is that every electric road race set in that era had a GT-40; I suppose that this is why.
Jacky still looks great
This beautiful machine got me into racing years ago.
I can't wait for the movie "Ford Vs. Ferrari"!!
I’m going to watch it tomorrow I’m so hyped
Me too. First show. :-)
I just watched it...wonderful!
Go its nice.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
It is a Great Movie!
Two drivers 12 hours each at those speeds man.
but not consecutive 12 hours for each driver......
@@TheWilferch it was in the early Le Mans races. Till about the 60's. Real racers back then!
@@PewGoBoomLife ....I followed these races in real time back in those days...I know. My point was that if someone says 2 drivers of 12 hours each,....it was probably 2-3 hr stints at a time....not 12 hours duration at a time. Still..I agree.....a lot more stamina needed then compared to today's endurance teams running 3-4 drivers per car.
@Juan Espinoza . . . there was a story that the 1967 co-winning driver AJ Foyt told about many years later, but wasn't reported at the time: His co-driver, Dan Gurney, overslept and Foyt had to drive an additional two-hours during the night portion of the race; meaning that Foyt put in four consecutive hours of driving that was averaging above 130 mph/209 km/h.
I got to see this car at Laguna Seca around 1984 or 85. Ford was the highlighted make that year. They had several of the Ford Endurance ( I recall it being Group 5, I think) cars there, including the Mark IV that Gurney and Foyt drove to the win in 1967. I’ve still got the Autoweek (then it was in newspaper format) that highlighted the 1969 win at Le Mans.
Great story, glad I found your channel just subscribed
Ickx was the hero my youth!
The 1971 24 hours of lemans a Porche 917 set the average speed record and that record was never broken for 30 years!!! lots of things changed but not that record....
I understand, but given the subsequent changes to the track that slowed cars down, & then the advent of the safety car, there is probably no record that is less relevant.
@@bowelrupture : Audi, a VOLKSWAGEN commodity, which also owns PORCHE 😉
PORCHE also has the MOST 24 of LeMans wins, 19, with 7 in a row.
That's because Ford pulled out...
@@bowelrupture engines and gas changed did you forget
I was addicted to going to Sebring between 1962 through 1969. I saw the GT 40 racing in their 1966 (I think) debut. I believe that AJ Foyt was driving one. Unfortunately for the Ford team there was a renegade team/driver there that year. It was Jim Hall with his Chaparral. Chevy powered rear engine V8 with a 6 speed automatic transmission. I remember the radio host talking and laughing about it the day before the race. But he was laughing out of the other side of his mouth after the 12 hours were over. At one point, the Chaparral has a 12 lap lead on a 5.2 (?) mile course. But it flooded from a tremendous thunder storm at around 4:00 P.M. I have photos from my moms Instamatic camera of the cars driving through at least a foot of water in the turn before the start finish straight away. Their headlights were on and the spray was at least 20’ high. The Chaparral has slicks on the rear but the body didn’t have a wheel well cut out for aerodynamic reasons and the Chaparral team decided to simply slow down rather than take a time consuming pit stop to lift the body up to put rain tires on.
They still won the race at 10:00 P.M. with a 3 lap lead over the second place Ford GT40. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the GT 40 and would kill for one. On top of that, my Dad and I ran Gulf Stations for 11 years and Gulf sponsored Sebring back then, but I knew that I was seeing a unique independent race car/team in the Chaparral that was leading the way in aerodynamic design and power platform in the racing world. In fact, I believe that Jim Hall was one of the driving forces of the establishment of the CANAM series of super cars, and it has not been matched since.
In 1972 or 1973 I had the opportunity to see a CANAM Race at Road Atlanta with the McLaren and Porsche 915 (?) where Dennis Hulme went airborne in his McLaren totaling the car and giving Porsche the lead with their 1,000 horse power motor.
The old professor
The big storm at Sebring was 1965. And the CanAm Porsche was the 917/30. But other than that, cool story Brah.
@@bob_._. also Denny Hulme
bobobobinalong
Thanks for the corrections. I went from 1962 - 1968 when I went to the University of Georgia and got married in 1969. So it was off by a year.... when you are almost 72 I think you should have a little latitude with memory Brah.
And thank you. I feel blessed to have been a witness to some of the greatest days in GP racing.
I have a story about my last trip in 1968 and how a friend and I got into the pits, but that is for another time.
Juan Milla
Picky, Picky! Thanks, you are right, but I was there. That’s the important part to me.
The old professor
@@clanrobertson7200 no worries, it was in jest, loook forward to the pit story
Fantastic!
Those were the days...
Great video...thank you.
In the movie Ford vs Ferrari, Ken Miles played by Christian Bale says "If this is a beauty contest, we've already lost".
I totally disagree, I think the GT 40 especially in Gulf colors, is one of the sexiest cars ever made.
Yup I thought the same when I saw the movie
You are right; I disagree with what Ken Miles said (in the movie) too. I think Ford GT's are much prettier than any other race car!
Definitely my all time favorite car.
Thanks for sharing
Maybe the coolest car and driver pairing of all time!
The same car and the brave Pedro Rodriguez was pretty cool too!
Such a sweet looking ride, I'd like to have one. Oh wait, I have already.
‘The music of a V8’. That’s exactly right.
Thanks for sharing👍🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎👍
What a Legend. Thanks👍🍺🇦🇺
I love the GT40 ( although my favourite car is the Porsche 917K ) but the main key to this victory was Jacky Ickx's clever strategy.
He put himself in position to take advantage of the Ford's superior handling.
12 Porsche fanboys dislike this.. Get over it.
Epic stuff. Best race and coolest racing car ever ❤
Great story from a great driver.
Great video
I can feel the torque when Jacky said "boom, boom" at 4:00.
Built in Slough....... 👍
Jacky has to be the greatest driver driving the greatest car at le mans.
And he looks and sounds great at 74!
Ken Miles....the Greatest driver!
@@slyane7320 No, Miles is just one of many great drivers to have lived.
I have to give it to Ken Miles, he won Sebring, Dayton, & Le Mans (even though they stole LeMans from him because of 8yards)
@@slyane7320
It wasn't stolen from him !
Thanks a lot so that is Jacky icykks yes that's true everyone is in a hurry to improve or change thing useally for the better but true 2 times unchanged that is rare....especially with all the other cars going to radical prototype looking cars and those Porsches being faster well just down the straights,smart guy could strategy what a drive that's amazing he knew how to get buy the Porsche and he new the car had the power thru the curves of Le Mon that is what I love of that place is those turn esses,are such a challenge because they are so hard to make perfect,lets say impossible to make perfect but u can make them better each time....sun shade temp dirt traffic....thank u Jacky for that great story....wow u started in last....that must have been nervous in the start line being in last....
It still looks awesome.
Even the design was ahead of its time
wonderful, wonderful ,wonderful.....
Love this car ! Planning to build a replica of this car by super performance .
Superformance
He just leisurely walked to his car at the start and made sure his belts were on before he drove off.
What a racing car should be.
Jacky!!!!!!
3:50 Damn, that is one *t h i c c* car
He's a cool guy .
Thats is my dream car.👍👍👍👍👍
Excellent interview or rather storyteller,
*HE'S THERE*
I see u are come from BK4. So me too
It's a shame that Ken Miles was robbed of the win because of ford he ran the best race ever he was the real winner of the lemans ford Vs Ferrari he was way ahead of everyone and told to slow down RIP Ken miles,,
I love in Grand Turismo 3 they made this car nearly as fast as the modern cars in the game. In fact exeleration it was in the top 3 fastest cars I had in the game. Next to the modified Supra and q Toyota LeMans car I had in the game. I wonder how the real car stacks up against modern performance cars
Grand turismo 2 had this car and I would use it to race in those LM races. Would win the tournament with it. Got prize money and a chevy camaro LM race car that you can sell for 250,000. I would beat that tournaments over and over with this gt 40 and just sell the camaro for days then start car shopping like crazy then added all the performance parts.
Me being American of course I love the '67 edition.
It's called the J-Car or MkIV
Carlos Anderson I believe the All American designer Mark IV. Definitely my favorite version.
Crap you only developed a British car
@@dragonfly492
I believe the J-car was the (kind of a failure) mkIII, and mkiv was the actually good performing ancestor
The mk4 barely won
Favorite racecar of all time... 2nd favorite is the '68 winner😉
Bruh the 69 winner is the car p1075,the same as 1968
Stellar👍👍👍👍
I have to totally agree with all these comments !
All American Racers, Inc. built the motors (Gurney- Eagle) for this car, for both Le Mans wins!
iconic sir'
I found it intresting seeing the two totaly diffrent phlociphys to what a race car should be.......... Shelby was big and heavy with lots of power, Wyer was light weight and more racing knollage. The Mirage was the best car because it was done on a shoe string and won back to back. John Wyer was the man!! Talked Gulf into putting the money up and then gave us one of the most iconic race cars of all time!! and then in 1970 gave us the other most iconic race car of all time.