The origin of Ford vs. Ferrari
In 1963, Ford Vice President Don Flair led many executives to negotiate an acquisition with Italian racing fan Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988, Italy).
However, the contract terms drawn up by Ford are a fatal flaw that Ferrari's father cannot bear. In the end, Ferrari firmly refused.
Ford's negotiation fee of more than three million yuan and nine months of precious time have also been in vain. The control of the Ferrari team is still firmly in the hands of Enzo Ferrari.
The failure of the game aroused the anger of Ford II (1917-1987, the United States). He knew that only by crushing the Ferrari team's dream of winning at the Le Mans could he be ashamed.
Many years ago, even though Ford II, who was in desperate order, did not have the help of his prematurely deceased father, he still made Henry Ford (the grandfather, the man who smashed the wall door with an axe and drove the prototype Ford car into the street) left behind. The industry has expanded exponentially.
He is confident that he will make Ferrari faceless.
In 1965 and before, the Ferrari team won six championships at Le Mans, establishing its unshakable supremacy in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Compared to Ferrari's brilliant record in racing, the new Ford racing team is simply vulnerable. Ford is not even able to produce a standard racing car that can take the lead.
Carol Shelby (1923-2012, United States)
The defeated Ford II decided to put the hope of success in Le Mans on Shelby, and Shelby will be the leader in the racing/car design industry in the future.
When they first met Shelby, it was hard to imagine that he was a pot of medicine when he was a child. When he was 7 years old, he was found to have a heart problem; when he grew up, he worked as an air force, an oilfield worker, and raised a baby chicken; later, he became a popular racing driver and broke many records. .
In 1959, Shelby won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it also made his heart more fragile. He had to retire from the field and start his own company. Fortunately, Liu Anhuaming started his legendary career as a designer.
Ken Miles (1918-1966, England)
Miles is the Maxima in the eyes of Carol Shelby. At that time, Shelby stood against the crowd and insisted that Miles compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Miles loves cars when he was a kid; he was an apprentice when he was a teenager, and his talents made his boss take the initiative to send him to a technical school to learn system knowledge; when the Second World War broke out, he became a tank commander; after the war, he relied on good craftsmanship Got a mechanic.
The young man who grew up in the UK used his strong Birmingham accent to tell everyone that mechanic is the direction of his career, and driving is a hobby that relaxes him.
Ford reversal
The new generation Ford GT40 is 40 inches tall, streamlined, but the fuselage is unstable; there are many problems with the chassis and engine displacement. Before the intense start of the game, Shelby and Miles had to continuously improve, improve, and improve.
In 1966, the third year after the failed negotiations with Ferrari, Ford II finally ushered in a major reversal.
On June 20, 1966, with a wave of the Ford II flagpole, Miles, Bruce McLaren and another teammate drove the GT40 MK2 and competed with Ferrari at Le Mans.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is extremely dangerous. It is always held as scheduled in June every year, regardless of wind or rain. The single lap of the racing track was 13.357km long, and the three people in the group took turns taking turns to drove on the road at a speed of more than 300km/h.
At first, the main force Miles led his teammates with superb driving skills. When night fell, the Ferrari team gradually took the lead. The stable-minded Ford II asked Miles to keep pace, but Miles decisively decided to speed up and broke the lap speed.
Thanks to Miles' speed-up, Ford II finally achieved its goal-defeating Ferrari.
However, Miles is not the champion of this game.
Miles' fulfillment
In the second half of the race, the Ferrari team was wiped out due to a mechanical failure, and the lead Miles had the winning ticket. Ford executives decided to take advantage of this opportunity to become famous, Miles must slow down.
In this way, the whole world can see this grand occasion-Ford's three racing cars go hand in hand, pressing the line at the same time, taking the top three in this race. In the final critical moment, Miles was forced to slow down and wait for his teammates to catch up with him, and he missed the chance to win the championship.
When the results were calculated according to the rules of the competition system, teammate Bruce McLaren became the final winner. Prior to participating in the Le Mans race, Miles had won the 1966 "Daytona 24 Hours" and "Sebring 12 Hours" championship.
If it weren't for "humility" and missed the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours of Endurance Championship. Then, Myers is very likely to become the only racer in the world to win these three awards at the same time in the same year.
The departure of genius
Regarding this scandal, Miles did not publicly express his grievances against Ford's senior management. Instead, he was grateful for the days he worked with Shelby.
More than two months later, Miles continued to concentrate on testing. When the J-Car galloped to the downhill of the track, it suddenly overturned and caught fire. Suddenly, thick smoke spread and Miles was thrown out of the car severely.
And his son, Pete, was not far away, watching the father he admired disappear into his life.
In 2019, Pete, who is already in his old age, said that he had never thought of returning to Le Mans for decades, a place that made him sad.
As for Ford, after the first victory, he hurriedly won the 1967-1969 championship at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The movie "Ford vFerrari" ("Speedy Car King", 2019) is adapted from this historical event.
In addition to highlighting the passion of Shelby and Miles for racing, the film also emphasizes the bureaucracy within Ford's top management, and the arrogance and arrogance of Ford II.
Enzo Ferrari's stubbornness but his enthusiasm and respect for racing;
His wife's tolerance for Miles.
Here, Xiaoye wants to talk about Miles' son Pete in particular. There are quite a few scenes about him in the movie.
He is not only the son of a talented racer, full of admiration for his racing father; he is also a racing fan with the kind of fire mad for racing; he is also the childhood copy of countless racers, reflecting the dream of racing to the audience. The beginning and end of the racer's childhood.
Edit|Xiao Ye (One of the fun of codewords is that someone gives him a thumbs up!)
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