Guide: Ford GT40 Mk2 & Mk2B / 67
Background
Ford first decided to shoehorn a seven-litre engine into the GT40 during early 1965; it was thought a big block motor might be the best way to go for high speed tracks like Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans.
Two prototypes were thus equipped (chassis GT 106 and GT 107) and the GT40 Mk2 was born.
Sufficient promise was shown in early tests that Ford made a late decision to take a pair of the experimental seven-litre cars to the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours. Both Mk2 Prototypes retired, but not before they had demonstrated a devastating turn of speed.
Unlike the smaller 4.7-litre Mk1 GT40s that were developed at Ford Advanced Vehicles in England, the Mk2 was the work of Ford’s US subsidiary, Kar Kraft, headed by chief designer, Roy Lunn.
Although 1965 turned out to be something of a breakthrough year for the hitherto unreliable GT40, 1966 marked the car’s coming of age. While Mk1s dominated the new Group 4 category for Sports cars, the Group 6 Prototype class Mk2s won the triple crown of Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans.
Soon after the Mk2’s victory at Le Mans, Ford made the decision to sell the FAV facility (along with the Mk1 production rights) to John Wyer. Wyer managed FAV and had overseen the GT40 programme since day one.
FAV became John Wyer Automotive Engineering. Backed by Gulf Oil, the British operation created their own super GT40 for 1967: the Mirage M1.
However, Ford were not quitting. Instead, for 1967 they switched focus to a new GT40 derivative: the all-American Mk4.
Four Mk4s attended the Le Mans 24 Hours in June of 1967, but prior to that, just one example had been readied for the Sebring 12 Hours and the annual Le Mans Test weekend.
In the absence of sufficient Mk4s early on in the season, Ford wheeled out a number of further uprated Mk2s.
Six Mk2s appeared at Daytona while a solitary Mk2B then attended the Sebring 12 Hours and Le Mans Test.
Three of the Mk2Bs subsequently ran in support of the Mk4s at Le Mans.
One of the Mk2Bs was then loaned to Ford France for a series of late season events in Europe.
1967 Upgrades
For 1967, the Mk2 was initially uprated in several ways.
The seven-litre engines now came with steel instead of aluminium heads, a new camshaft was fitted and twin Holley carburettors were used instead of a single four-barrel unit.
Peak output rose from 485bhp at 6250rpm to 520bhp at 6000rpm.
To save weight, body panels were manufactured from single skin fibreglass.
The oil tank was repositioned in the engine bay.
New Kelsey-Hayes 1.25-inch thick ventilated discs came with special calipers.
An anti-roll bar was added at the rear to stop the suspension bottoming out on banked circuits.
1967 Season
As had been the case in 1966, the 1967 World Sportscar Championship consisted of separate classes for Group 6 cars and those in Group 4.
For 1967, the International Manufacturers’ Championship contested by Group 6 Prototypes like the Mk2 GT40 was rebranded the International Championship for Sports-Prototypes.
Group 4 cars ran in the parallel International Championship for Sports Cars.
A manufacturer’s best five results counted towards their final points tally.
1967 Daytona 24 Hours
Six of the latest Mk2s lined up at Daytona for the opening round of the 1967 World Championship, which took place over February 4th and 5th.
Shelby and Holman Moody ran three cars apiece.
They would most notably be up against four of the latest Ferrari P cars and a two-car team from Chaparral.
On pole was the red and white Shelby Mk2 of AJ Foyt / Dan Gurney (P/1047). Quarter of a second back was the Phil Hill / Mike Spence Chaparral 2F followed by two Ferraris: the NART 412 P of Pedro Rodriguez / Jean Guichet and the works P3/4 of Lorenzo Bandini / Chris Amon.
Next best Mk2 was the metallic red and black Holman Moody example of Mario Andretti / Richie Ginther in fifth (P/1031). This was followed by the works Ferrari P4 of Mike Parkes / Ludovico Scarfiotti.
Seventh spot went to the yellow and black Shelby Mk2 of Bruce McLaren / Lucien Bianchi (P/1012) behind which was the second Chaparral (a 2D driven by Bob Johnson / Bruce Jennings).
The remaining Mk2s lined up ninth (P/1046, a silver and black Holman Moody entry for Lloyd Ruby / Denny Hulme), tenth (P/1015, a blue and white Shelby entry for Ronnie Bucknum / Frank Gardner) and twelfth (P/1016, a gold and black Holman Moody entry for Mark Donohue / Peter Revson).
The Hill / Spence Chaparral was the fastest car in the early stages of the race and drew away from the rest of the field with every passing lap. At the one hour mark, it led from the four Mk2s of Ruby / Hulme, McLaren / Bianchi, Foyt / Gurney, and Donohue / Revson.
However, when the lead Chaparral crashed approaching the three hour mark, it was the two works Ferraris that headed the field. They were followed by a rash of Fords, the best placed of which was the Andretti / Ginther example in third, despite having been delayed by an earlier tyre blowout.
Unfortunately, the Mk2 contingent was greatly reduced overnight when the Ford crews had to carry out no less than nine gearbox changes on their various cars.
Donohue / Revson retired at around one third distance when a shock absorber failure stranded their car out on the circuit after 236 laps.
A trio of gearbox failures then accounted for Bucknum / Gardner (274 laps), Andretti / Ginther (298 laps) and Ruby / Hulme (299 laps). A broken con rod put the Foyt / Gurney entry out at around two thirds distance (464 laps).
Things were not plain sailing for the sole remaining Mk2 of McLaren / Bianchi either; badly fitting bodywork caused persistent overheating and meant the car was a frequent visitor to the pits.
It eventually came home in seventh overall, some 73 laps behind the winning Ferrari P3/4 of Bandini / Amon. The sister P4 of Parkes / Scarfiotti was second and the NART 412 P of Rodriguez / Guichet placed third. This was obviously a great result for Ferrari in Ford’s back yard.
1967 Sebring 12 Hours
For the Sebring 12 Hours on April 1st, Ford sent just two cars: a brand new yellow and black Mk4 for Bruce McLaren / Mario Andretti and a solitary Mk2 (P/1031) which had by this time been uprated to full Mk2B specification.
The conversion to Mk2B trim included the 530bhp engine used in the Mk4 plus subtly revised nose and tail sections (the latter of which did without the original Mk2’s distinctive snorkel-type air intakes).
P/1031 was handled by Shelby and entered for AJ Foyt / Lloyd Ruby to drive; on this occasion the metallic red and black livery it used at Daytona made way for a new dark metallic blue and white colour scheme.
Despite their famous 1-2-3 finish at Daytona, Ferrari and their satellite teams decided to skip the race at Sebring. This left Chaparral as Ford’s primary opposition, although David Piper’s privateer Ferrari 365 P2/3 could not be discounted from mounting a challenge.
The McLaren / Andretti Mk4 took pole straight out of the box. It posted a time 2.6 seconds faster than the Mike Spence / Jim Hall Chaparral 2F that lined up alongside.
The Foyt / Ruby Mk2B set third fastest time followed by the Chaparral 2D of Johnson / Jennings. In fifth was the Dick Thompson / Ed Lowther Gulf-backed Mk1 GT40 run by John Wyer Automotive Engineering. This was the same car that had won the Group 4 Sports class at Daytona.
Despite fast-starting opposition, Foyt’s Mk2B took the lead on lap three.
It had surrendered to the faster Mk4 by the end of the first hour, at which point the David Piper / Richard Attwood Ferrari 365 P2/3 lay third and the Chaparrals were fourth and fifth.
By quarter distance, the faster Chaparral 2F of Spence / Hall had snatched the lead from the Mk4, but these positions had been reversed by mid-distance. Meanwhile, the Mk2B was third and David Piper’s Ferrari P2/3 had dropped out of the race with a broken gearbox.
When both Chaparrals retired within a few laps of one another at around mid distance, the Mk4 was able to cruise home to a debut victory.
It should have been a simple Ford one-two, but with half an hour to go, the Mk2B came into the pits with what sounded like serious engine trouble. A broken camshaft was diagnosed and P/1031 remained stationary until the end.
It was nevertheless classified in second place over the works Porsche 910 of Scooter Patrick / Gerhard Mitter by virtue of having travelled a greater distance.
1967 Le Mans Test
Ford then attended the annual Le Mans Test weekend held over April 8th and 9th. They arrived with a new Mk4 and a solitary Mk2 (chassis P/1016). Bruce McLaren and Mark Donohue shared both cars.
Ferrari, Lola and Matra were also present with large displacement Prototypes as were the John Wyer crew with their brand new Mirage M1.
The M1 was a lightened and aerodynamically refined GT40. It was deemed to have been sufficiently modified to make it a Group 6 Prototype, much to the disappointment of Wyer’s men.
Unfortunately, the event was marred by the fatal accident of Roby Weber who was driving the new BRM-powered Matra M630. Weber’s car was running incorrect tyres and suspension settings late on day one when it went out of control down the Mulsanne Straight.
The Matra struck the barriers, rolled several times and burst into flames.
Poor Roby Weber was killed on the initial impact.
Neither McLaren or Donohue pushed too hard at the Le Mans test and the Mk4 ended up fourth fastest while the Mk2 was fifth. The best Mirage placed sixth.
Scuderia Ferrari topped the timesheets with a P3/4 driven by Lorenzo Bandini. It edged the P4 of Mike Parkes / Ludovico Scarfiotti by 2.1 seconds. In third was a works Lola T70 Mk3 GT with an experimental Aston Martin V8 engine. The Lola was driven by John Surtees and David Hobbs.
1967 Le Mans 24 Hours
The Le Mans 24 Hours took place two months later (June 10th and 11th) and attracted one of the best fields in its history.
The seven-car Ford challenge comprised four brand new Mk4s and three Mk2Bs.
Scuderia Ferrari showed up with three works cars (two P4s and a P3/4). Another P4 was on loan to Ecurie Francorchamps.
Maranello Concessionaires, NART and Scuderia Filipinetti ran a trio of the latest Ferrari 412 Ps.
Chaparral had a brace of 2Fs and Lola attended with two works Aston Martin-powered T70 Mk3 GTs.
Two of the Gulf-backed Mirages were also in the mix.
After qualifying, the Mk4 of Bruce McLaren / Mark Donohue lined up on pole with a lap time three tenths faster than the Chaparral 2F of Mike Spence / Phil Hill. Two of the other Mk4s were third (Lucien Bianchi / Mario Andretti) and fourth (Denny Hulme / Lloyd Ruby).
Then came the best of the Mk2Bs: Ronnie Bucknum / Paul Hawkins were fifth in Shelby’s P/1031 (light blue with dark blue stripes) and Frank Gardner / Roger McCluskey were sixth in P/1047 from Holman Moody (gold and white).
Best of the Ferraris were seventh (the Ludovico Scarfiotti / Mike Parkes P4) and eighth (NART’s 412 P driven by Pedro Rodriguez / Giancarlo Baghetti). Then came the last of the Mk4 GT40s in ninth (Dan Gurney / AJ Foyt).
Slowest of the Mk2Bs was the white, blue and red example campaigned by Ford France and entered for Jo Schlesser / Guy Ligier (chassis P/1015). This car lined up in 14th position behind another trio of Ferraris and one of the works Lolas.
Paul Hawkins stormed from fifth to first on the opening lap; his Shelby Mk2B led the Holman Moody example driven by Frank Gardner. Dan Gurney was close behind in a Mk4 which had started ninth on the grid.
With one hour gone, Hawkins was still in the lead, but Gurney’s Mk4 had now moved into second. Bruce McLaren was third in another of the Mk4s and Mike Spence was fourth in his Chaparral.
For the first few hours, this was how the race played out with the Spence / Hill Chaparral chasing the lead Fords.
By 3am on Sunday, the three remaining Mk4s were first, second and third. The other had crashed out earlier on. The Scarfiotti / Parkes Ferrrai P4 was fourth and Spence / Hill were fifth for Chaparral. Best of the Mk2Bs was the Ford France entry of Schlesser / Ligier which had risen to sixth.
At 4am, the Ford challenge was dealt a serious blow when Mario Andretti put his Mk4 into the wall at the Esses shortly after he had left the pits. Two of the Mk2Bs were running in close proximity and crashed trying to avoid the melee; the Schlesser / Ligier Ford France entry and Holman Moody’s sister car driven by Gardner / McCluskey retired on the spot.
The Gurney / Foyt Mk4 still led, but Scarfiotti / Parkes were close behind in their Ferrari P4. The Spence / Hill Chaparral was third until transmission problems ruled it out shortly after Ford’s multi-car wipeout.
The sole remaining Mk2B of Hawkins / Bucknum retired in the 18th hour; it dropped a valve after a coolant pipe cracked.
The two remaining Mk4s ultimately finished the race in first and fourth; Gurney / Foyt won in record time and were four laps ahead of the Scarfiotti / Parkes P4. The P4 on loan to Ecurie Francorchamps took third in the hands of Willy Mairesse / Jean Blaton.
The Mk4 of McLaren / Donohue finished fourth having been delayed for an hour earlier in the race.
The FIA Drops a Bombshell
As a result of the record speeds seen at Le Mans in 1967, the FIA immediately announced a three-litre engine limit would be imposed on Group 6 cars for 1968.
The decision was made without manufacturer consultation and made a raft of machinery like the Chaparrals, the seven-litre GT40s and Ferrari P cars obsolete.
Enzo Ferrari considered the decision blatant favouritism towards Porsche. Scuderia Ferrari quit the World Sportscar Championship to go Can-Am racing instead.
Similarly, Ford announced their Group 6 programme had come to an end; with back-to-back Le Mans wins, the American firm had met their objectives.
1967 Reims 12 Hours
Although any further technical development and works racing of the GT40 was abandoned, chassis P/1031 was loaned to Ford France for a series of events in Europe. Since its appearance at Le Mans two weeks prior, P/1031 had been refreshed back at the Shelby facility in California and re-numbered P/1047 for carnet reasons.
Its first outing was the non-championship Reims 12 Hours on June 25th.
Ford France ran P/1031 (P/1047) for Guy Ligier and Jo Schlesser; it appeared in the same light blue livery with dark blue stripes as seen at Le Mans.
The over two-litre Prototype class would also be contested by four of the latest Lola T70 Mk3 GTs, David Piper’s Ferrari 365 P2/3 and a brace of 250 LMs (one of which was another Piper entry).
The top three positions on the grid were filled by Lolas with the Jackie Esptein example co-driven by Paul Hawkins on pole. The Mk2B lined up in fourth spot followed by the Piper 250 LM driven by Richard Attwood / Mauro Bianchi.
The midnight start saw Hawkins take the lead closely followed the works T70 driven by John Surtees. Schlesser moved the Mk2B into third. However, Schlesser called into the pits at the end of lap one to make the door close properly and was quickly in again twice more for a sticking throttle which dropped P/1047 outside the top 20.
Despite its troubled start, the blue Ford had charged up to fifth by the end of the second hour.
At around 3am, the lead Lolas both went out within a few laps of one another which left the Mk2B in third behind the Hulme / Gardner T70 and the Attwood / Bianchi 250 LM.
By 6am, the big Ford held a comfortable lead after a long stop for the Hulme / Gardner Lola. Although P/1031 (P/1047) had by now lost third gear and was becoming increasingly difficult to drive, Ligier / Schlesser held on to take a famous win.
The David Piper / Jo Siffert Ferrari 365 P2/3 finished seven laps behind in second. Third spot went to the Robert Buchet / Hans Herrmann Porsche 906.
1967 Mugello GP
The next outing for Ford France was the World Sportscar Championship Mugello GP on July 23rd. Much like the Targa Florio, the Mugello GP comprised eight laps of a treacherous 66km road course.
P/1031 (P/1047) would contest the over two-litre Prototype class where it was most notably up against a brace of works Porsche 910s and a Scuderia Filipinetti Ferrari 412 P.
Scuderia Ferrari were also on hand with a pair of super-lightweight Dino 206s for the under two-litre category, as were Alfa Romeo with their Tipo 33s.
A couple of under two-litre works Porsches would also be in contention; the tight and twisty course meant the bigger-engined cars did not have much of an advantage over smaller, nimbler machinery.
Unfortunately, Ferrari withdrew from the event after Gunther Klass was fatally injured during practice. Heading down from the Giogo Pass to Firenzuola, Klass went off the road and hit a tree on the driver’s side. His Dino burst into flames and Klass was trapped behind the wheel.
Poor Gunther Klass was eventually freed and airlifted to hospital, but was announced dead on arrival.
Although it proved somewhat unwieldy, the hairy Mk2B was third after the first lap behind the Udo Schutz and Jochen Neerpasch Porsche 910s.
An extra stop to check the rear suspension dropped Schlesser and Ligier to fourth at the chequered flag, but this was still a surprisingly good result considering the nature of the event.
Victory went to the works 2.2-litre Porsche 910 of Udo Schutz / Gerhard Mitter. The sister car of Jochen Neerpasch / Rolf Stommelen placed second. The Porsche factory’s experimental 911 R driven by Gijs van Lennep / Vic Elford was third.
1967 Coupes du Salon, Montlhery
On October 8th, Montlhery played host to the Coupes du Salon in support of that weekend’s French Formula 3 Championship race.
Although it was a relatively minor event, Ford France decided it would be good publicity to attend and entered P/1031 (P/1047) for Jo Schlesser to drive.
Schlesser lined up second on the grid behind the 4.7-litre Ford-powered Matra M630 of Henri Pescarolo. Behind were the works Abarth 2000 SE04s of Toine Hezemans and Peter Schetty followed by the privateer Mk1 GT40 of Ed Nelson.
Pole-starter Pescarolo ultimately took the win after Schlesser retired the Mk2B from the lead at two thirds distance as a result of a puncture. The Schetty and Hezemans Abarths finished well back in second and third respectively.
1967 Paris 1000km, Montlhery
One week later, Montlhery hosted the last major European sportscar race of the year.
The Paris 1000km on October 15th attracted a fine grid of machinery. Once again, Ligier and Schlesser were teamed together in P/1031 (P/1047).
Favourite for victory was the 5.7-litre Gulf-backed Mirage M1 entered by John Wyer Automotive Engineering. There were also two works Matra M630s in attendance (one with Ford power and the other with a BRM engine).
Other attendees included a brace of Ferrari 412 Ps (from Maranello Concessionaires and Ecurie Francorchamps) and the Max Wilson Lola T70 Mk3 GT.
To reduce speeds, the organisers had added an extra chicane in the middle of Montlhery’s famed banked section.
However, it proved difficult for the big Mk2B to navigate and P/1031 (P/1047) only managed sixth quickest time in qualifying.
Pole went to the Jacky Ickx / Paul Hawkins Mirage, Max Wilson’s Lola T70 co-driven by David Hobbs was second and the Maranello Concessionaires 412 P of Jo Siffert / David Piper was third.
The Belgian 412 P of Lucien Bianchi / Jean Blaton lined up fourth. In fifth was the Jean-Pierre Beltoise / Henri Pescarolo Matra M630 Ford.
At the end of lap one, Schlesser had gained a position to lie fifth behind Ickx’s Mirage, Hobbs in the Lola, Bianchi’s Belgian 412 P and the Matra of Beltoise.
Despite a slow start, Siffert had recovered to lead by lap ten in the Maranello Concessionaires 412 P. Schlesser moved up to third in the Mk2B and then battled for second with the Mirage.
After two hours of racing, only the top three cars were on the same lap, but soon afterwards it started to rain and wet weather maestro Ickx forged ahead in the Mirage.
Later on, Ligier found the MK2B’s handling to have deteriorated; he came in to change the wheels, but there was no improvement. Schlesser also struggled to keep car on the road and it dropped to fourth at the finish.
Ickx / Hawkins took the win for John Wyer’s crew, the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 412 P was second and third went to the Scuderia Lufthansa Porsche 910 of Hans Herrmann / Udo Schutz.
The race at Montlhery marked the end of the road for the Mk2 GT40.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ford - https://www.ford.com & The Henry Ford Museum - https://www.thehenryford.org/
