Ford versus Ferrari was sportscar racing’s big draw in the mid-1960s, when American V8 brawn in the form of GT40s eventually established supremacy over the svelte Italian V12 stallions. Ferrari’s 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours victory with the North American Racing Team 250 LM of Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt rubbed salt into Ford’s wounds, but the Blue Oval bounced back stronger.
That rivalry endures in contemporary and historic racing. At Goodwood’s 82nd Members’ Meeting last Saturday evening a lone Ferrari – Arnold Meier’s special Dino 206S, its V6 engine developed by Ilmor co-founder Mario Illien – trounced nine GT40s and nifty Chevrons to win the Gurney Cup race, ostensibly for 1963-67 spec cars, driven brilliantly by German Frank Stippler, who turned 50 mid-week.
