1966 Daytona 24 hour race
The first 24-hour race of Daytona , also called 24 Hours of Daytona , took place on February 6, 1966 at Daytona International Speedway and was the first race of the sports car world championship of that year.
Before the race
Since 1964 that counted endurance race at Daytona for the World Sportscar Championship. The race over a distance of 2000 kilometers was known internationally as the Daytona Continental . Following the wishes of the board members of the main sponsor Continental, the event became a 24-hour race in 1966 . This established a second sports car race alongside the Sebring 12-hour race in Florida . While the race at the Sebring International Raceway had great spectator interest from the first in 1952 , the masses of people interested in racing have remained largely absent in Daytona Beach until the present. In contrast to the Sebring classic, which takes place in March, the Daytona 24-hour race takes place at the beginning of February. In February the night is still long in Florida and temperatures can drop to freezing when the sky is clear. While at the 24 Hours of Le Mans the night in June is short and full of attractions for the visitors, during the long, cold, almost 12 hour long nights in Daytona, the circuit was in all the years of racing, except for the racing activities and the Work in the pit lane, as good as dead. In 1966 there was an absolute alcohol ban on the entire area of the Speedway. Pepsi had received the marketing rights for beverages and only served Coke on the entire site, including the pit lane and paddock .
Carroll Shelby came to the track with three Ford Mk.IIs . The Mk.II was the further development of the GT40. The key feature was the new 7-liter V8 engine . The cars were driven by the driver pairings Bruce McLaren / Chris Amon , Dan Gurney / Jerry Grant as well as Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby . Holman & Moody reported two more Mk.IIs for Walt Hansgen / Mark Donohue and Ronnie Bucknum / Richie Ginther . Peter Sutcliffe and Bob Grossman entered the race with a works GT40 from England. Extensive test drives with the new rain tires from Dunlop were carried out with this car before the race at Sebring .
The strongest opposition for the Ford racing cars was expected from Ferrari and Porsche . Ferrari was prominently represented by the North American Racing Team - with two Ferrari 365P2s for Pedro Rodríguez , Mario Andretti , Jochen Rindt and Bob Bondurant - and the Belgian Ecurie Francorchamps . Porsche came to Daytona with the works team . In addition to the proven Porsche 904 GTS , the 906 made its debut in the world championship. The Chaparral 2D , which was driven by Joakim Bonnier and Phil Hill , was also new .
The race
The fastest time in qualifying was achieved by Ken Miles in the Mk.II with the number 98. He drove 1: 57.800 minutes and was 0.2 seconds faster than Phil Hill in the Chaparral. His team mate Joakim Bonnier took over the lead of a race after the start, where freezing temperatures were predicted for the night. Bonnier could only enjoy the top position for one lap, then Ken Miles passed him in the Ford. After just a few laps, the slower vehicles began to lap, which meant that the drivers had to concentrate on the elevated sections of the track. Richie Ginther in the Ford and Bonnier in the Chaparral had the first unscheduled pit stops, which fell far behind in the classification.
The field began to clear in the early evening hours. In the top group, only Pedro Rodríguez in a Ferrari 365P2 was able to keep up with the speed of the Ford Mk.II. As expected, the night was long and cold and the failures increased. The Ferrari 250LM suffered several gearbox damage and after driving 318 laps the chaparral finally failed after a broken rim. Although there were some technical problems at Ford too, victory was no longer in danger from Sunday morning. After 24 hours Miles and Ruby won with a lead of two laps over teammates Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant. The third-placed Holman & Moody-Ford from Hansgen and Donohue was another lap behind.
Results
Final ranking
Item | Classeed | No. | team | driver | vehicle | Round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | P + 2.0 | 98 | Shelby American Inc. |
Ken Miles Lloyd Ruby |
Ford Mk.II | 678 | ||
2 | P + 2.0 | 97 | Shelby American Inc. |
Dan Gurney Jerry Grant |
Ford Mk.II | 670 | ||
3 | P + 2.0 | 95 | Holman & Moody |
Walt Hansgen Mark Donohue |
Ford Mk.II | 669 | ||
4th | P + 2.0 | 21st | North American Racing Team |
Pedro Rodríguez Mario Andretti |
Ferrari 365P2 | 664 | ||
5 | P + 2.0 | 96 | Shelby American Inc. |
Chris Amon Bruce McLaren |
Ford Mk.II | 651 | ||
6th | P 2.0 | 15th | Porsche System Engineering |
Hans Herrmann Herbert Linge |
Porsche 906 | 623 | ||
7th | S 2.0 | 16 | Porsche System Engineering |
Gerhard Mitter Joe Buzzetta |
Porsche 904 GTS | 612 | ||
8th | S 2.0 | 17th | Porsche System Engineering |
Günter Klass Udo Schütz |
Porsche 904 GTS | 610 | ||
9 | P + 2.0 | 22nd | North American Racing Team |
Jochen Rindt Bob Bondurant |
Ferrari 250LM | 591 | ||
10 | S 2.0 | 14th | Brumo's Porsche Florida |
Peter Gregg George Drolsom
|
Porsche 904 GTS | 589 | ||
11 | S 2.0 | 20th | Sam Posey |
Sam Posey Jim Haynes Harry Theodoracopulos
|
Porsche 904 GTS | 577 | ||
12 | GT + 3.0 | 12 | Roger Penske |
Dick Guldstrand Ben Moore George Wintersteen
|
Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | 575 | ||
13 | P + 2.0 | 23 | Peter Clarke |
Mark Konig Peter Clarke Bob Hurt
|
Ferrari 250LM | 574 | ||
14th | S + 3.0 | 86 | Ford Advanced Vehicles |
Peter Sutcliffe Bob Grossman |
Ford GT40 | 571 | ||
15th | P + 2.0 | 27 | David Piper |
David Piper Richard Attwood |
Ferrari 250LM | 556 | ||
16 | GT 2.0 | 18th | RBM Motors |
Jack Ryan Lin Coleman Bill Bencker
|
Porsche 911 | 548 | ||
17th | S + 3.0 | 92 | Essex Wire Corporation |
Peter Revson masts Gregory Ed Lowther
|
Ford GT40 | 531 | ||
18th | GT + 3.0 | 90 | Michael Reina |
Don Kearney Michael Reina
|
Ford Mustang | 527 | ||
19th | S 3.0 | 30th | Jack slot day |
Larry Perkins Jack Slot Day
|
Ferrari 250 GTO | 526 | ||
20th | GT + 3.0 | 67 | Cannon car |
George Cornelius Dick Boo Bob Brown
|
Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | 501 | ||
21st | S 2.0 | 56 | William Martin |
Ike Maxwell William Martin
|
Volvo P1800 | 496 | ||
22nd | P 2.0 | 41 | EP Drescher |
Hugh Kleinpeter Harry Fry George Parsons
|
Triumph LM | 490 | ||
23 | GT 3.0 | 43 | Cannon car |
Dana Kelder Ara Dube Red Wilson
|
Triumph TR4A | 487 | ||
24 | GT 3.0 | 45 | John Kingham |
Herb Byrne Milo Vega
|
Triumph TR4A | 482 | ||
25th | GT 1.6 | 84 | Pompano Sports Cars |
Ben Scott Peter Flanagan Roger Chastain
|
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint | 474 | ||
26th | GT + 3.0 | 54 | Ray Stoutenburg |
Ray Stoutenburg Gene Jones Larry Isley
|
Plymouth Barracuda | 466 | ||
27 | P + 2.0 | 75 | McMillan Ring Free Oil Co. |
Art Riley Russ MacGrotty
|
Yenko Stinger | 448 | ||
28 | GT 3.0 | 40 | Genser Forman |
George Waltman Art Swanson Nick Cone
|
Triumph TR4 | 432 | ||
29 | P 2.0 | 7th | John Olson |
John Bolander Bob Winkelmann John Olson
|
Ford Cortina | 416 | ||
30th | S 2.0 | 78 | Autosport |
Rosemary Smith Smokey Drolet John Olson
|
Sunbeam Alpine | 416 | ||
31 | S 2.0 | 73 | Fred Opert |
William McKemie Terry Petmecky Fred Opert |
Elva Courier Mk.IV | 391 | ||
32 | S 1.8 | 80 | Autosport |
Donna Mae Mims Janet Guthrie Suzy Dietrich
|
Sunbeam Alpine | 389 | ||
Not classified | ||||||||
33 | P 2.0 | 79 | Autosport |
Paul Richards Ray Cuomo
|
Austin-Healey Sprite | 491 | ||
Failed | ||||||||
34 | S + 3.0 | 91 | Essex Wire Corporation |
Dick Thompson Skip Scott Peter Revson
|
Ford GT40 | 500 | ||
35 | P + 2.0 | 32 | North American Racing Team |
George Follmer Don Wester Paul Hawkins |
Ferrari 250LM | 428 | ||
36 | GT 2.0 | 44 | Kenneth Chambliss |
Ernie Croucher Walter Glenn Bill Eve
|
MGB | 426 | ||
37 | S + 3.0 | 29 | Epstein Enterprises Ltd. |
Paul Hawkins Jackie Epstein |
Ferrari 250LM | 425 | ||
38 | S + 3.0 | 94 | Ralph Noseda |
Ralph Noseda Grant Clark Bob Thorpe Harry Heuer
|
Shelby Cobra | 419 | ||
39 | GT 1.6 | 55 | J. Randall |
Al Weaver John Fraim Chet Freeman
|
Lotus Elan | 383 | ||
40 | S + 3.0 | 93 | Scuderia Bear |
Harold Keck Oscar Koveleski Ed Lowther
|
Shelby Cobra | 371 | ||
41 | P + 2.0 | 87 | Holman & Moody |
Richie Ginther Ronnie Bucknum |
Ford Mk.II | 329 | ||
42 | S + 3.0 | 89 | Dan Gerber |
Dan Gerber Bob Johnson Peter Lerch
|
Shelby Cobra | 328 | ||
43 | P + 2.0 | 65 | Chaparral Cars Inc. |
Joakim Bonnier Phil Hill |
Chaparral 2D | 318 | ||
44 | S 1.6 | 36 | Cannon car |
Wilbur Pickett Bill Bean
|
Alfa Romeo Giulia Zagato | 278 | ||
45 | GT 3.0 | 42 | John Addison |
Ken Hughes Fred Salo John Addison
|
Triumph TR4 | 244 | ||
46 | S 2.0 | 59 | Kind Riley |
Don Yenko John Forte Art Riley
|
Volvo P1800 | 216 | ||
47 | P + 2.0 | 31 | John Fulp |
John Fulp Bill Rutan Bruce Jennings |
Ferrari 330P | 193 | ||
48 | S + 3.0 | 88 | William Wonder |
William Wonder Herb Wetanson |
Ford GT40 | 178 | ||
49 | P + 2.0 | 25th | Ecurie Francorchamps |
Lucien Bianchi Gérard Langlois van Ophem Jean Blaton |
Ferrari 365P2 | 171 | ||
50 | GT + 3.0 | 99 | Joe Treadwell |
Roger West Dick Macon
|
Ford Mustang | 168 | ||
51 | P + 2.0 | 24 | Drummond Racing Organization |
Innes Ireland Mike Hailwood George Drummond
|
Ferrari 250LM | 90 | ||
52 | GT 1.6 | 19th | David McClain |
Duncan Forlong Leland Dieas David McClain
|
Porsche 356B Super 90 | 80 | ||
53 | P + 2.0 | 26th | Ecurie Francorchamps |
Léon Dernier Jacky Ickx |
Ferrari 250LM | 80 | ||
54 | P + 2.0 | 74 | Queen City Rambler |
Larry Hess, Tommy Hess
|
Rambler Marlin | 80 | ||
55 | S 2.0 | 47 | David Lane |
David Lane Don Sesslar
|
Porsche 904 GTS | 74 | ||
56 | GT + 3.0 | 77 | Space science |
John Bentley John Hill
|
Sunbeam Tiger | 71 | ||
57 | GT 3.0 | 5 | Robert Harper |
Spurgeon May Bobby Allison |
Chevrolet Corvair | 63 | ||
58 | P + 2.0 | 28 | Team Chamaco Collect |
Denis Hulme Vic Wilson |
Ferrari 250LM | 53 | ||
59 | GT + 3.0 | 12 | Jaguar of Florida |
Dave Hull Herb Byrne Bob Kingham
|
Jaguar E-Type | 41 | ||
Not started | ||||||||
60 | GT 1.6 | 85 | Anatoly Arutunoff |
Bill Clark Bryan Crow Anatoly Arutunoff
|
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint | 1 |
1 cylinder damage in training
Only in the entry list
Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.
Item | class | No. | team | driver | chassis |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 | P 2.0 | 10 | John Fulp |
John Fulp Charlie Kolb Bruce Jennings Bill Rutan
|
Porsche 904/8 Bergspyder |
62 | S 2.0 | 11 | Victor Merino | Victor Merino | Porsche 904 GTS |
63 | P + 2.0 | 33 | Don Fong |
Charlie Hayes Rick Muther |
Ferrari 275P |
64 | S 2.0 | 34 | George Drolsom |
George Drolsom James Mahoney
|
Porsche 904 GTS |
65 | GT + 3.0 | 58 | Richard Robson |
Art Baggely Richard Robson Bill Buchman Paul Buchman
|
Jaguar E-Type |
66 | GT 1.6 | 83 | Eduardo Dibós |
Eduardo Dibós Mario Colabattisti
|
Alfa Romeo Giulia |
Class winner
Racing data
- Registered: 65
- Started: 59
- Rated: 32
- Race classes: 10
- Spectator: unknown
- Race day weather: cold and dry
- Route length: 6.132 km
- Driving time of the winning team: 24:01:02,000 hours
- Total laps of the winning team: 678
- Total distance of the winning team: 4157.225 km
- Winner's average: 173.093 km / h
- Pole position: Ken Miles - Ford Mk.II (# 98) - 1: 57.800 = 187.384 km / h
- Fastest race lap: Dan Gurney - Ford Mk.II (# 97) - 1: 57,000 = 187.543 km / h
- Racing series: 1st round of the 1966 World Sports Car Championship
literature
- JJ O'Mailey: Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of America's Great Endurance Race. 1st edition. David Bull Pub, 2003, ISBN 1-893618-24-2 .
Web links
Previous race Bridgehampton 500 km race 1965, 2nd race |
Sports car world championship |
Successor to the 12-hour race at Sebring in 1966 |