Ford vs. Ferrari (Movie vs. Reality)
by Carlos Gonzalez
To start this blog, let me begin by saying that I loved the movie as probably every car geek out there. I’ve watched it multiple times, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I think Matt Damon captured the essence of Carroll Shelby. Not by looking like him or trying to make a caricature, but by interpreting the character and understanding his motivation, for one of the most famous car personalities, not an easy task. As for Christian Bale, outside the Motorsport world, Ken Miles was practically unknown, and very little historical footage is available for research. In my opinion, another outstanding performance by Mr. Bale.
The movie is not supposed to be a documentary, and the message “based on a true story” is prominent. But in my opinion, the creative license makes an unnecessary plot. The story itself is very engaging, interesting, and had enough drama that there was no need to twist it and make some of the storylines just false. At one point in the movie, a better title could be Shelby & Miles v. Ford; the Italian manufacturer is no longer a factor.
Lee Iacocca involvement and the contract
One of the first items in the movie that caught my attention was the portrayed involvement of Lee Iacocca in the negotiations with Ferrari; the film makes it believe that the Ford executive was involved directly in the process. Those responsibilities fell under Ford’s Vice President Don Frey, and he established a good relationship with “Il Commendatore.”
The famous Italian manufacturer affectionally referred to Frey as “Dottore Ingegnere” (Dr. Engineer).
It is true that after backing off the deal, he told his Assistant to go out to dinner because he was starving and stormed out of the room, leaving the Ford team speechless and confused about what to do next.
Enzo indeed rejected the offer from Ford, and it was Don Frey, not Lee Iacocca, who delivered the news to Henry Ford II. It is true that “The Deuce” said that: He will beat Ferrari on the track, and he opened this checkbook to do it. But his actual statement was a little bit more subtle: “All right, we’ll beat his ass. We’re going to race him” instead of the line from the movie: “We are going to bury that greasy wop.”
The phone call to Gianni Agnelli to pressure the Italian magnate to save Ferrari from the Americans when the negotiations are on-going is not real. Enzo didn’t sign the contract due to the clause regarding control of the Racing team.
“Il Commendatore” didn’t want to be told what races he could or couldn’t race; for example, Enzo was not interested in competing at the Indianapolis 500, an important milestone for the Ford Total Performance program. Ferrari had only one interest: racing, nothing else.
Enzo built road cars to support his racing program, a nuisance for him. He indeed invested every lira in the Scuderia to improve the performance of his vehicles. That is why the Ford-Ferrari deal appeared to be a win-win at the time: Ford will be responsible for selling the road cars and provide financial stability so Ferrari can focus on racing. In the end, the Italian manufacturer could not agree to give up control of the Racing team. The Fiat Ferrari agreement did not happen until 1969, six years after the Ford-Ferrari deal fell off.
Carroll Shelby involvement
Another interesting point is when Iacocca travels to California to meet Carroll, it seems that this is the first time the two meet, but this is false. Iacocca was instrumental in the start of Shelby American. The persistent Texan intercepted Lee at the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, MI, to get the engines needed for his Cobra roadster, and he got them in 1962. Shelby was involved in the “Total Performance” program launched by Ford to revive its image from the beginning. His role was to challenge the Corvettes on American race tracks, and he delivered the victories Ford needed. The Powered by Ford badges are prominent on the Cobra engine compartment and side panels.
In addition to the Cobra roadster, which had its limitations due to being a convertible, Carroll and his team developed the Cobra Daytona Coupe. This car started challenging Ferrari in 1964 at their home turf (Europe) on the GT Championship and lost it; by 1 point due to a political maneuver carried on by Enzo using his influence to prevent the last race of the year from happening. After this, Shelby mentioned his famous phrase: “Next year, Ferrari’s ass is mine.”
The Daytona finished the 1964 LeMans 4th overall behind three Ferraris. At one point in the race, the car was able to win it all. That is why Henry Ford II called him for the 1965 season to take over the GT40 program. The Ford GT, developed by the Ford Advanced Vehicles Division (FAV) in England based on a Lola chassis, was the initial effort to challenge Ferrari at LeMans. Lead by John Wyer, former Aston Martin team Manager, the cars were fast but unstable, which lead to a disastrous debut in 64 all three cars retired due to mechanical issues or crashes.
In 1965 the Daytona Coupe returned to LeMans. But with Carroll focused on the GT40, it was up to a British team manager, Alan Mann, to lead the effort for Shelby American. In the end, the car not only beat the Ferrari GTO but also won the GT Championship. The only American car to achieve that feat to date.
Shelby American produced six cars with that body configuration. In the movie, if you pay attention, when Ken is listening to the race in California, you can spot three or four Daytona Coupes in the background at the shop in 1965.
The Beebe and Miles relationship
The tension between Leo Beebe and Ken Miles is made up, at least to the level portrayed in the movie, and there is no record of Miles meeting Beebe at the Mustang launch in 1964 or that Shelby flew a plane with Ford Executives or made that “inspiring” speech.
Beebe didn’t ban Miles to race LeMans in 1965; he raced as part of the Shelby American team. His teammate was Bruce McLaren; his car abandoned the race on lap 45 due to gearbox issues. Ken didn’t stay back in California, listening to the radio as the Ford cars retired from the race while his wife visits him at the shop, dances with him, and toast with beer. This plot was unnecessary, but if you want to portray Beebe as the villain, well, this definitively suits the narrative.
Of course, there were tensions between the Ford Executives and the racing teams; because the work culture was completely different.
The “suits”; as they were “affectionately” referred by the racing teams, worked everything by a committee: three or four people needed to approve a change. That could take up several days or weeks, which was time teams didn’t have during the season. Computer-aided technology was in its infancy. The engineers, drivers, and builders worked around the clock, sometimes with tape and yarn, accurately depicted in the movie; via trial and error. The Ford Aeronautics and Shelby teams worked very well together.
Beebe, indeed admonished Miles and other Ford drivers after the Daytona and Sebring victories when they continued racing “hard” after the Ferraris were out of contention. It is important to remember that in a race, especially in a 24 hrs competition: “To finish first; first, you need to finish.” On the other hand, the drivers wanted to race and beat their opponents, prove that they were the best. So you can see the pro and con arguments on both sides. Another factor misrepresented in the film is that, in the final hours of the competition, it was a clear sunny day; Ken was driving all by himself with the ability to reflect on Shelby’s request and his journey. The reality is that it was pouring rain, Miles and McLaren were still racing. The performance of radial tires under those conditions was not at the level tires are today. Cars sliding and getting out of contention due to aquaplaning was a real possibility.
A meeting, a bet, and the wrong timeline
Indeed, the meeting at Ford Headquarters happened, but one outcome of that meeting not mentioned in the movie is that Henry Ford II gave each member of that group a label that read: “Ford Wins LeMans in 1966.” In an interview, when asked about them, Shelby replied: “Well, you want to have a job in the fall, right?”
After the meeting, the message was clear from “The Deuce” he would not accept anything but a win at LeMans the following year. The team achieved some modest progress, compared to 1964, with a victory at Daytona and a second-place at the 12 hours of Sebring; the rest of the 1965 season was disastrous.
Leo Beebe and some other top executives received a personal business card signed by Henry Ford II that read: “You better win. HFII.”
According to several accounts, Beebe kept it in his wallet from that day on. No pressure, right?
There is no record of any “surprise” visit from Henry Ford II and his executives to LAX, where Shelby American operations were. Carroll didn’t leave Beebe locked in an office so he can have a “private” talk with Mr. Ford or a “joyride” to prove the speed and power of the car.
Most importantly, that Shelby believed in Ken Miles so much that he would risk his entire business so Ken could compete at LeMans is a compelling storyline element but not based on reality.
Shelby was not going to risk his business for Miles or any other driver, much less in one race.
The timeline portrayed in the movie is also incorrect. It makes the casual viewer think that Daytona was only a couple of weeks and the only race before LeMans. In reality, Daytona is the first race of the season, held in February, the Fords won 1–2–3, and the race was not as close as the film makes you believe. Ken Miles and co-driver Lloyd Ruby were several laps ahead of second and third place, the equivalent of almost 30 miles.
There was a race after Daytona omitted from the movie: the 12 Hours of Sebring.
This race was critical to the program; Dan Gurney, the legendary American driver, paired with Jerry Grant and Ken Miles, paired again with Lloyd Ruby. Both cars were racing hard, mostly due to a poor start from Gurney when his GT40 stalled. He was several laps behind and playing catch up with the leading Ferraris and GT40s when he finally caught up with his teammate.
Both of them were challenging each other, driving Carroll Shelby nuts. He stepped up on the pit box and made the signal to both drivers to “Knock-it-off”; both complied with Gurney holding the lead from Miles as the competition broke down and retired. It seemed that it would be an easy win for Gurney, however, on the last lap, when everybody was expecting the tall American to win, it was Miles, driving a GT40 roadster (convertible), who crossed the finish line first.
Dan’s car broke down, and because he started pushing the car to the finish line, he was disqualified. It is interesting to note that if Dan had left the car alone, he would have finished second since he was several laps ahead of the other GT40's.
It was a blessing in disguise since Ford sent the broken engine for analysis to Dearborn to identify the root cause of the problem and be ready for the grueling race in France.
The photo finish and the nod
The controversial photo finish, ordered by Beebe, required Miles to slow down. By several accounts, he was several laps ahead of his teammate, Bruce McLaren, but due to an error that required him to make an unscheduled pit stop to change the rotors on his car, Bruce was able to catch up with Miles.
There are several versions of how and why this happened: The most accepted is that with the Ferraris out of contention around 4 in the morning, the Fords leading the race by a comfortable margin, and rain falling, Leo Beebe and Shelby agreed to slow down all the drivers and “bring the cars home.” The film makes you believe that Miles was the leading car for most of the race. In reality, Dan Gurney leads the Ford effort until his car broke down around 10:00 AM Sunday, six hours before the end of the race.
With two hours to go, the team consulted with the AOC (the French governing body of the race) to confirm if a “dead heat” finish was allowed since a tie will ensure that Miles would win the race. Initially, the AOC replied that it was allowed. The drivers were informed of the situation and reluctantly agreed with the decision. Later Ken Miles is quoted saying: “I work for the Ford Motor Company… if they want me to win the race, why I’ll do it…and if they ask me to jump in a lake, why I’ll guess I will have to do that as well”. Both Miles and McLaren slowed down enough to allow the third car from the Holman & Moody team, driven by Dick Hutcherson, to catch up with the lead drivers, but he was several laps behind and not in contention for the win.
From this point, you can find completely different versions of the ending:
One version stating that the AOC came back and informed the team that a tie was not allowed after all and that, in the event of a “dead heat” finish, the car who started further back on the starting grid will win the race since it had traveled more distance. The winner of the race is determined by distance, not time. Based on that, Shelby and Beebe evaluated the situation. They decided that despite the undeniable role Miles played in developing the car since Shelby took over, Bruce McLaren, involved since the beginning of the project in 1963, had always been a team player following team directions, so they will allow Bruce to win.
Another version is that after the AOC informed the tie would be allowed, the team was confident and happy with the result. When the race ended, the AOC communicated the rule regarding the way to define the winner: If there was a dead heat, the winner will be determined based on the starting position, with Beebe, quoted saying: “Oh my God, that is not what we wanted at all. Is there any way we can protest this?” (Source- Ford: The Dust and the Glory by Leo Levine from 1968). He always claimed that he had no idea his decision would cost Miles the victory.
In a rare interview, the elusive Miles declared to a reporter: “I considered we had won, but we were placed second by a technicality. I feel the responsibility for this rests with the decision by Ford, over my protests, to make the finish a dead heat. I told them I didn’t think it would work.”
He added: “ Please be careful how you report what I have said. I work for these people. They have been awfully good to me.”
At the end, when McLaren and Amon are on the way to the podium, Ken looks up to the suite where Enzo Ferrari is watching, “Il Commendatore” gives a little nod to Ken in recognition of his achievement that weekend. Even if he did not win, he got the acknowledgment of a worthy adversary; the guy who created the cars that dominated the endurance championship for the last six years in a row, an icon of the auto industry defeated on the track, with a proper send-off to his effort. Unfortunately, this is also the product of creative liberties since Enzo was not present during the race, as he rarely attended races outside Italy.
The triple crown and other facts not mentioned in the movie
Since the late 1960s, there is a persistent claim that Ford cost Ken Miles the “Triple Crown” of endurance auto racing; because of his victories in Daytona and Sebring early in the season. This issue can also be the subject of debate. Please allow me to elaborate: before 1966, there were no 24 hours of Daytona, the race had two different formats before 1966: From 1962 to 63, known as the Daytona 3 hour Continental, and from 1964 and 65, known as the Daytona 2000, which doubled the distance of the Nurburgring and about half of LeMans. Based on that, Ken’s pursuit of the “Triple Crown” is something that didn’t exist and he wasn’t looking forward to achieve. Yes, he would have been the first driver to win the two 24 hour races (Daytona and LeMans) + the 12 Hours of Sebring in one year. Because, before 1966, nobody could.
A little fact that is forgotten or omitted is that tires were a factor that day in France. Despite racing by the same team, Shelby American, two tire manufacturers were supplying the team: Goodyear and Firestone, Gurney and Miles were using Goodyear tires, McLaren, on the other hand, was using Firestone tires due to a sponsorship agreement the New Zealander had with them. The GT40’s of Gurney and Miles were the hares running at a fast pace, setting lap record after lap record. In the meantime, the GT40 of McLaren was falling behind due to the Firestone tires.
Shelby decided that to keep all cars in contention, McLaren’s GT40 will be switching to Goodyear tires after the first pitstop. Had the team kept Bruce using the Firestone tires, he would not have been in the position to win.
Finally, as I mentioned before, by 4:00 AM, Ferrari was out of contention, the closest running in 12th place, and Ford was 1–2–3–4–5–6 and 8 with a lonely Porsche in 7th. Based on that, the teams instructed the drivers to slow down closer to a 4 minute lap time; before they were driving laps under 3:30 minutes, Gurney and Miles disregarded the instruction and continued racing for the lead. In the morning, several Fords had issues with botched pitstops or car accidents due to the track conditions, and by 10 AM, after Gurney retired with a blown head gasket, only three GT40’s were left on the race, still in the top 3 spots. With six hours to go, Ford needed to ensure the cars would finish the race.
Conclusion
As you can see, the real story was full of elements that make up for a great story. I can understand that condensing it in less than 3 hours to create various subplots involving various drivers and teams is a complicated, almost impossible endeavor. Technical difficulties and complexities are plenty when filming race-themed movies. I give a lot of credit to the producers who resisted using CGI Technology and using real cars for the racing scenes.
There are only two factors that I would criticize about the film:
First, it gives the impression that Shelby and Miles carried out the bulk of the development. Several reviews of the film said: the car that Shelby and Miles designed. It was a collaborative effort between Shelby American, Hollman & Moody, and the Ford Motor Co. There was no way that a single team could have achieved the herculean effort on its own, on the timeframe set by Henry Ford II, as proved in 1964 when Ford tried and failed to complete this task.
Second, the almost cartoonish evil characterization of Leo Beebe is unnecessary. There is a tense relationship between Ford executives and the main characters. But it could be shown without exaggerating the animosity between Miles and Beebe. They could have shown the Ford executive admonishing the drivers for their racing antics at Daytona or even during LeMans to “justify” the decision and not portray it as a personal vendetta.
When I saw the trailer of the film, I was very excited. It is still one of the greatest stories in auto racing history, one that I don’t think will ever be repeated were two titans of the industry went head-to-head for automotive supremacy. In the end, Ford prevailed and drove Ferrari out of endurance racing.
But in general, bringing the story of Ken Miles to the mainstream is long overdue. Until now, his story is known only in Motorsports circles and people interested in racing history. Finally, Ken Miles’s contribution to the program is fully recognized. It is a great story and a movie worth watching.
Now you know what happened, what is your opinion? Did you like the movie? What do you think about the end now that you know the facts?
As always, let me know your opinion, and if you like this blog: hit the “like” button and share it with other enthusiasts. See you next week.
