Le Mans, France, June 18th/19th.
This year Ford came to Le Mans in a much more organised manner than in the previous two years and the whole Detroit-supported project looked much more likely to achieve success than previously. There were eight 7-litre Mk. II Ford racing coupes, three run by Shelby American, three by Holman and Moody and two by Alan Mann Racing and all the cars were prepared to the same specification, differing only in colour, which was done for identification purposes, but unlike in previous years this was a concerted and united effort controlled much more strictly by Ford staff.
In direct opposition were two works 330P/3 Ferrari coupes and an open 330P/3, the last on loan to Chinetti’s N.A.R.T. team. Backing up the works Fords were numerous private teams running 4.7-litre GT40 models, and on the side of the works Ferraris were private teams with 365P/2, 275LM, Dino 206 and GTB models, but the atmosphere at Le Mans was much stronger than Ford versus Ferrari, it was America versus Europe, and the United States had added strength in their armoury from a lone Chaparral, while Europe had Porsche to rely on for solid support.
