Small sequel to this:
Rodriguez actually span out at Druids at that moment but
still recovered to win by
five laps!
It's also worth taking note of how narrow the tyres they used were for this race due to the horrendous conditions. Check out how non flush the wheels are:
I might as well post this one up:
1967 Le Mans 24 Hours
Ford bring their new MKIV to face Ferrari for the first time. Dan Gurney adopts a tactic for saving the brakes, whereby they coast 50-100 yards before the braking zone of Mulsanne corner and convinces AJ Foyt to do the same. The brakes would quickly be overheated by, among other heavy braking zones, the 220mph to 30 mph stop into Mulsanne corner in the comparatively heavy MKIV causing the brake discs to crack. They used this tactic throughout the whole weekend causing media to speculate that they would be uncompetitive in the race. They took the lead in the second hour and led until the end of the race, setting a new distance record of 3251 miles, taking the index of thermal efficiency award and beating the second placed Ferrari by 32 miles. To this day it is the only all American win at Le Mans.
When handed the traditional bottle of champagne Gurney decided to spray the crowd with it, starting a tradition that endures to the present day:
During the race in the darkness of the night Mario Andretti suffered a horror crash in the Esses. Mario claims that it was a result of one of the mechanics putting the front brake pads in backwards, though another theory is that Andretti did not adjust the caliper piston by pushing the brake pedal down before setting off. Either way, the full roll cage that the MKIV was equipped with almost certainly saved his life, along with the bladders within the fuel tanks. Roger Mckluskey's and Jo Schlesser's MKIIs crashed avoiding the wreckage:
The MKIV only ever raced at 2 events, the 1967 12 hours of Sebring and the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. It won both before it was outlawed by the 3.0 limit imposed on prototypes for the 1968 season.