Photo: D.R. Archives ACO

 

Enzo Ferrari owes the 1965 victory to the unshakeable support of two private teams, sponsors and allies. The first, Francorchamps, directed by pioneer Jacques Swaters, was the biggest importer of Ferraris in Europe. The second was racing driver Luigi Chinetti who fulfilled the same role as importer in the US and also gave the Italian constructor its first Le Mans win in 1949, before founding the North American Racing Team (NART).

Forced to give their utmost faced with powerful opposition from Ford, the factory Ferrari 33 P2s had numerous problems and withdrew one after the other. Not long before the halfway mark, the Francorchamps Ferrari 250 LM driven by Pierre Dumay-Gustave Gosselin took the lead. Having dallied in the first half of the race, NART’s n°21 driven by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt made a fantastic comeback from eighteenth to second place. Eugenio Dragoni, Sporting Director of the factory team, suggested it would be best to keep that situation as it was, but Luigi Chinetti had the trophy within his grasp and refused any such compromise.

The game changer came at 12:53 on the Sunday when Gosselin’s right back tyre blew. He managed to get back to the pit for repairs but Rindt took the lead before handing over to Gregory for the end of the race. The latter drove very carefully, as the car has been pushed to its limits to make up for the lost time. He did well as the differential broke just after he crossed the finish line! Fifteen years after winning as a Ferrari driver, Luigi Chinetti tasted victory as a team leader while Dumay and Gosselin managed to keep second place after their tyre change.

That was to be the last of a string of six victories for Ferrari, a run that was hitherto unheard of. Porsche equalled the exploit twenty years later, with seven victories in a row, between 1981 and 1987. And of course Audi has won thirteen out of fifteen races, from 2000 to 2002, then 2004 to 2008 and 2010 to 2014.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO Translated by Emma Paulay

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS 24 HOURS, SATURDAY 19 & SUNDAY 20 JUNE 1965. Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt’s Ferrari 250 LM lead an all-Ferrari podium in the last win at Le Mans to date.