ROUND #9: LE MANS 24H TO FERRARI 275P BUT GT VICTORY TO FORD COBRA

ON ITS WAY TO VICTORY LANE WE SEE THE FACTORY 3.3 FERRARI 275P. HERE FRANCE'S JEAN GUICHET is driving the car, cornering very short at the Esses. Guichet deserved the wheel of a SpA SEFAC works car after his brilliant performance at the Spa 500-kms. The car came on the lead at mid-race and could hold it until the finish. SOURCE: Michel Bollée (2004), Le Mans 1960-1969, Archives d'un passionné, Nîmes: Éditions du Palmier, p. 40.

THE #5 SHELBY COBRA DAYTONA COUPE IS A NEW CAR, entered by Shelby American Ltd. Except the short moment when Fernand Tavano could catch the lead during a pit stop by Dan Gurney, the car was leading the complete race the Grand Touring Division, finishing as fourth overall, one lap ahead over the Belgian Ferrari 250 GTO-64. It is already the second time that a Shelby Cobra Daytona beats all GTO Ferraris. The first time it happened at the Sebring 12 hours. The older Cobra Daytona, with chassis CSX2287 was officially an entry by Briggs Cunningham, but in fact a full works entry. SOURCE: Anthony Pritchard (2004), Scarlet Passion. Ferrari's famed sports prototype and competition sports cars 1962-1973, Sparkford,Yovil, Sommerset: Haynes Publishing, p.69.

June 20-21, 1964 - Charles Aznavour signs: "Ils sont venus, ils sont tous là, même ceux qui sont venus de l'Italie." Indeed, there are all there, and not only those who came from Italy. Yes, Italy is completely empty today. Not one living soul in the street, except (perhaps) the pope, not in the street, but in his golden church where he praises poverty for the others. They are all at Le Mans. To support their cars. Ferrari first. But also Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Iso Grifo or Abarth. They refuse that their cars - their soul, Madame! - could be beaten by a stupid American computer. Today the Beatles will no longer travel the Amsterdam canals, the Rolling Stones will play in an empty hall. Eric Tabarly will be more lonesome on his vessel in the Atlantic. Jaques Anquetil has to wait Monday before he'll beat Raymond Pouldor once more. The war in Vietnam is forgotten for a while, just as the 320 humans who passed away in Lima's soccer station (after a referee's mistake). You say that Spain won yesterday the European Soccer Nations Cup after a 2-1 victory against the Soviet Union? Impossible! Today and yesterday there is exclusively Le Mans. There is no longer a New York World's Fair and Gemini 1 was not launched. And Tokyo has to wait with it's Olympic games, Michel Jazy has to wait to collapse in the 5000 metres before to collapse at 20 metres from the finish. And the 22 years old Cassius Clay may become a boxing world champion, but not today, not during this 24 hours, not now the globe stopped to turn. Tomorrow he'll. Sure. But not now.
Now: that is the supreme moment with the drivers in their circles, the rush across the road, a pregnant moment of silence, and then the swelling crescendo of engines bursting into life, gears clashing, and tyres squealing (Henry N. Manney). It's the moment that David Ferrari has to fight against Goliath Ford, a fight on life and death. The moment that old Europe has to defeat young America. Today war is on. And the fight must be won. For the honour of the whole continent. The name of the man to be defeated is John Wyer. Since last year's Monza, where he gave the GTO its first beat with a David Brown Aston, he's the sworn enemy of all Ferrari supporters. And now, this year, he works for Ford. ON TV he ventured to say: 'Yes, we come to win. Yes, Ford comes to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans." Pure sacrilege. The work of a provocateur, of a hooligan, of a communist, of a terrorist, of a mental insane. Kill him! Jesus or Barabas? Ferrari or Ford? Ferrari! Forza Ferrari! Ferrari, we are all behind you. The Italian government. The Democrazia Christiana. The Mafia. The Church. The pope. The Holy Virgin. God himself. High in the sky. We're all with you, Enzo.
You, my American friend, you tell me that the fight is unequal? That your Ford is here with only three prototypes. We with eight. What is unequal? What is in that word "unequal"? And had our David equal financial means as your Goliath? So what is equal and what not?

ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE GAME
America has to win here. It has to prove the superiority of rationalism over pragmatism. What American people needs is entertainment. Entertainment to forget. To forget the political conspiracy behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. To forget the misery of the Vietnam War. To forget the fatal Good Friday Earth Quake. If America fails to win the Vietnam War - despite its possession of half of all weapons in the world - it has to win here its war against pragmatic European technology. Look what England's Colin Chapman told to the press at Indianapolis! He ventures to come next year to the Brickyard. With - O Lord, what a profanity - a rear engined Formula Indy car. To beat the holy front-engined Watsons and Offies. He adds on TV being convinced that the era of front-engined American cars is definitively over. Pure sacrilege. The work of a provocateur, of a hooligan, of a communist, of a terrorist, of a mental insane. Kill him! Jesus or Barabas? Ferrari or Ford? Ford! Power Ford! Henry II, we are all behind you. The American president,. The government. The CIA. The FBI. The Mafia. The banks (but is that not the same?). The Fed. The Military. The Holy Virgin. God himself. High in the sky. We're all with you, Henry II.
At Ford they are convinced they can make it. The progress achieved between the April Tests and the Nürburgring was tremendous. How stupid that the Germans couldn't finish the new ZF gearbox in time, because Roy Nunn and John Wyer know perfectly that the Colotti box is the weak point on their Ford GTs.  But if the box holds, they can do over what Mercedes did, winning Le Mans at their first entry. American TV-networks play the game. Weeks before the start they announced that Ford goes to Europe to defeat Ferrari, to beat European high-techs. It's repeated over and over that Ford wishes to do that with a simple motor, the motor in your car! Ferrari works with hyper complicated engines, miles away from your street car. We Americans, we gonna beat them with a simple street car. O.K., the body design was a bit altered, but who sees that? Winning with your car (which cost more than $ 10,000,000 US, but that last they just forgot to say). When GM officials open their TVs, they're all dying from a heart-attack. If FoMoCo wins the Le Mans battle, at GM they can close the shop. Then whole America will rush to the Ford dealers to by at $ 2,995 US the car which won Le Mans.

THE ENTRY
Look at the troops. At my right side - politically correct - the US Force. Ford: three 4.2 Fords GT40, #10 for Phil Hill/Bruce McLaren, #11 for Richie Ginther/Masten Gregory and #12 for Jo Schlesser/Richard Attwood. Power 375 bhp. Those are the front runners. Just behind four Cobras: the Shelby Cobras Daytona #5 (Chris Amon/Jochen Neerpasch) and #6 (Dan Gurney/Bob Bondurant) plus the #3 A.C. Cobra Coupe Ford for Jack Sears and Peter Bolton (a works entry by A.C. Cars) and the privateers #64 Shelby Cobra Roadster. Power: 370 bhp, for the factory cars.
At my left side: Europe. Ready for the Untergang des Abendlands, already predicted in 1922 by Oswald Spengler. Ferrari: four factory entries: #19 with chassis 0822, a 4.0 330P for John Surtees/Lorenzo Bandini, 370 bhp; and three 3.3 275Ps, the #20 with chassis 0816 for Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella, the #21 with chassis 820 - having won at the Ring and being second at Sebring - for Lodovico Scarfiotti and Mike Parkes, and #22 with chassis 0812 for Umberto Maglioli and Giancarlo Baghetti. All three 320 bhp. Those four factory cars are backed up by four other prototypes, all semi-factory entries: two other 4.0 330Ps, the Colonel's #14(chassis 0818) for Graham Hill/Joachim Bonnier and Chinetti's #15 (chassis 0810 for Pedro Rodriguez; two 250 LMs, a second N.A.R.T. entry, the #58 for David Piper/Jochen Rindt and Swaters' #23for Pierre Dumay/Gérard Langlois-van Ophem. That makes eight prototypes, against three for Ford. To counter the four Cobras Ferrari enters also four 3.0 Ferraris 250 GTO-64, the #24 of Swaters, the #25 of the Colonel, and the #26 and #27 of Chinetti, all four 300 bhp strong.
The rest of the field? There is the big 4.9 Maserati Tipo 151/3, a works entry by Maserati France. This year the car is even uglier than last year's one, which was leading the race during the first hours. There are eight Porsches 904, two of them being 8-cylinder 240 bhp prototypes, the #29 for Edgar Barth/Herbert Linge and the #30 for Gerhard Mitter/Colin Davis. Another works entry is the #31 904 GTS for Gerhard Koch/Heinz Schiller. The five other 4-cylinder 904 GTS are entered by Porsche clients, enjoying technical support by the factory. Alfa Romeo has three factory TZ-1s at the start. B.M.C. came this year with one single works MGB. Sunbeam has two 4.3 Tigers, powered by Ford, and entered by the Rootes Group. Triumph has three 1.3 Spitfire prototypes on the grid, among them the #50 for Rob Slotemaker and David Hobbs. Donald Healey Motor Company has a works Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite prototype at the start. Automobiles René Bonnet shows with five Djets, Société Automobiles Alpine with five A210s, among them one M64 and four M63s. Panhard has two extremely well profiled 0.9t C.D. 3 Panhards present, both 851 cc, but turbo-compressed to the equivalent of 1191 cc, allowing them to start now the minimum engine capacity is 1000 cc. Two private Lightweight Jaguars are private entries, Peter Lindner's being seriously faster. There is also the 5.4 Iso Grifo A3C, a private entry by Pierre Noblet. A prive Deep Sanderson 301 BMC is a private entry. There are 55 cars practicing.

THIS IS THE 4.0 FERRARI 330P OF PEDRO RODRIGUEZ AND SKIP HUDSON, entered by North American Racing Team. In hands of the hot boiled Mexican Pedro Rodriguez the car was fastest away at the start, beating several times the lap record. However at 8.25p.m. the car was retired with a blown gasket. SOURCE: Michel Bollée (2004), Le Mans 1960-1969, Archives d'un passionné, Nîmes: Éditions du Palmier, p. 39.

ENTERED BY RON O'HOARE, BETTER KNOWN AS "THE COLONEL", this 4.0 Ferrari 330P of Maranello Concessionaires, driven by Graham Hill and Joachim Bonnier, finished as second, five laps down to the winning 3.3 Ferrari 275P of Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella. Maranello's car suffered from serious clutch problems towards the end of the race.. SOURCE: Michel Bollée (2004), Le Mans 1960-1969, Archives d'un passionné, Nimes: Éditions du Palmier, p. 38.

Note:  The #36 Porsche 904 GTS (chassis 049) of André de Cortanze and Jean-Claude Mosnier will be eliminated after an accident in practice.

THE START OF THE 1964 LE MANS 24 HOURS RACE HAS BEEN GIVEN AND AS USUAL PEDRO RODRIGUEZ, IN THE #15 N.A.R.T. FERRARI 330P IS FASTEST AWAY. Here he is followed by Graham Hill in the #14 Maranello Ferrari 330P and David Piper in the #58 Ferrari 250 LM. At the inner-curb John Surtees is speeding up. We recognise also the #18 Aston Martiin DP214 followed by the Briggs Cunningham Shelby Cobra at the outer right and the A.C. Cobra Coupe on the same row. Richie Ginther in the Ford GT40 and Dan Gurney in the Shelby Cobra Daytona have just started their engines. SOURCE: Michel Bollée (2004), Le Mans 1960-1969, Archives d'un passionné, Nîmes: Éditions du Palmier, p.36.

LAP 2: HAVING STARTED IN THE MID OF THE FIELD PHIL RICHIE GINTHER THUNDERED THROUGH THE WHOLE FIELD and is now already third, only hidden by the #15 Ferrari 330P of Pedro Rodriguez, who's already through and Graham Hill in the #14 Maranello Ferrari 330P. Vaccarella follows in the #20 factory Ferrari 275P. SOURCE: Moity Christian (1974), Les 24 Heures du Mans 1949-1973, Lausanne: Edita/Vilo, p. 86. 

PRACTICE
Practice proofs that Ford's prototypes have much been improved since their disastrous outing at the Le Mans April Tests. The progress deserves nothing than admiration, even among the hard die Ferrari supporters. Richie Ginther records 3'45"3, pretty close to Scarfiotti's April pace (3'43"8). Nobody else does better ... except for John Surtees in the #19 Ferrari 330P: 3'42"0. Nine first on the grid are exclusively over-3-litre prototypes with the third best time for Pedro Rodriguez in the #15 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 330P: 3'45"5. Then it's again Ford GT40: Phill Hill, followed by no less than four Ferraris and the third Ford GT40: Schlesser's, the one which received instructions to keep it quiet so that the #12 can at least be brought home after 24 hours. The 5.4 Iso Grifo A3C and the 4.9 Maserati Tipo 151/3 cannot convince with only a fifteenth and sixteenth time. Of the two Lightweight Jaguars Peter Lindner's is eight seconds per lap faster than Sargent's. The two 4,181 cc and 280 bhp strong Sunbeam Tigers disappoint, realising only times of 4'23"5 and 4'35"0.
Fastest Grand Touring car, sandwiched between the two Ferraris 250 LM is the #5 Shelby Cobra Daytona in 3'56"1, heading the #3 A.C. Cobra Coupe (3'58"2), the #18 Aston Martin DP214 (3'58"6), and the other Shelby Cobra (today: Cunningham's). The four Ferraris 250 GTO-64 are at the qualifications thus headed by the three Cobras. Fastest GTO is the Belgian one in 4'03"4. That's more than seven seconds slower than the class-leading Cobra.
First under two-litre car is the #30 factory Porsche 904-8, a prototype, in 4'02"1. In Division II the Porsche 904 GTS of "Franc"/Kerguen is fastest with 4'14"1, which proves that the gap between a 904 prototype and a 904 GT car is wide. Of the 15 under 1.3-litre prototypes fastest is the 1,149 cc #64 Alpine M64 Renault of Mauro Bianchi in 4'34"3, heading the #55 1,001 cc René Bonnet Djet by 2 seconds. The British light brigade comes way short since Donald Healey's 1,101 cc Austin Sebring clocks only 5'05"0, the fastest Triumph Spitfire 5'05"1 and the 1,293 cc Deep Sanderson 301 BMC 5'04"8. All those so called "prototypes" are headed by the simple 1,216cc Lotus Elite Div I car, clocking 4'54"4. Not working at all, despite their spectacular body with covered wheels and two tail fins, are the 851 cc supercharged CD Panhards, realising with 5'15"8 and 5'20"8 the two worst times.

THE RACE - FIRST HOUR
Approaching 4 p.m. at an overcrowded Le Mans 55 cars are lined up for the start. It's cloudy, rather cold for the time of the year and the sun is unsure, being covered regularly by grey clouds. Minutes tick past until - first in French, then in English - "All drivers opposite your cars" sounds trough the mikes. Racers taking the first shift wander across the road to their starting positions within the white circle. Then the French national flag drops and drivers scamper across the road. The race is on. Several cars are on the move the same time, but the best ranked is Pedro Rodriguez #15 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 330P. Snaking and sliding in a cloud of dust he shots off in the lead, followed by Graham Hill in the #14 Maranello Ferrari 330P and David Piper in the #58 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 250 LM. Phil Hill - having won already four times Le Mans and thus well-experienced - is the last to take off with his #10 Ford GT40, one minute after the others, since the motor refused to start. But hardly the cars reach Maison Blanche when an official rushes out into the middle of the road, waving violently a red and yellow oil flag. What happened? On take-off Piper bursts his oil filter on the #58 Ferrari LM, laying a gooey trail down to the track through the Esses, before expiring at Tertre Rouge. So all cars are slowing down and one of them comes not through, the #22 works Ferrari 275P of Giancarlo Baghetti: the clutch has stuck open. In the pits 20 laps will be needed to repair the clutch. Not one full lap is accomplished and already two Ferraris are out: Piper's definitively, Beghetti's out for victory. And only a half round later the Belgian #23 Ferrari 25 LM spins at Tertre Rouge in the oil spilled by Piper, slowing all traffic.

NEVERTHELESS SWATERS LET CONTROL BEFORE THE START IF DUMAY'S CIGARETTES WERE WELL IN. So, how could he forget them??? More than 44 years later this secret is still not solved. Or did Dumay forgot his lighter on making his U-turn?  SOURCE: Prunet Antoine (1983), Ferrari Sport-und Rennwagen Prototypen, Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, [German translation of Prunet Antoine (1978), La légende Ferrari. Ferrari sport et prototypes], p. 220.

Now it becomes obvious why other officials were waving with other flags than for oil. An advertisement-board, overloaded with too many acrobatic spectators, toppled down. No heavy wounded. During the second lap Richie Ginther, in the #11 Ford GT40, thunders through the whole field and comes through as first. Then follow the three 4-ltre Ferraris 330P (with Surtees leading Rodriguez and Graham Hill), eventually two of the three 3.3-litre Ferraris 275P. After lap 3 Parkes (#21 Ferrari 275P) has to pit with a sputtering engine, costing 5 laps lost in the garage. One lap later Graham Hill (Ferrari 330P) has to come in with ignition problems, but he looses hardly one minute. In front Ginther attacks with his #11 Ford GT40 as if the finish was just around the corner. However, John Wyer's strategy fails: the Ferrari drivers received from Dragoni instructions to play it cool and to rely on stamina. Wyer's trick with the pacemaker doesn't work. But Ginther continues. After 15 minutes he has already 12 seconds over Graham Hill, leading now the threesome 330Ps. After 30 minutes it's already 26 seconds: Ford is pulling away.
Number of American soldiers - having come over from Germany to La Sarthe - stirs. They are extremely euphoric now Ford leads the race. Meanwhile the #10 Ford GT40, having all the time misfiring problems, drops in the standings in the high 40s. After ... five pit stops (loss of 6 laps) the engine is again going. A lump of rubbish blocked the air-intake pipe. Problems too for the big Maserati, found in its stand at the end of the first hour: a chunk of sponge in one of the fuel air-intakes made the motor going on only half of its cylinders. After 40 minutes Ginther's advance over the first 330P is 32 seconds, after 50 minutes 41 seconds, at the end of the first hour 52 seconds. Is God an American? The Holy Virgin a director's secretary in Dearborn? Situation after one hour is: 1. Richie Ginther (#11 Ford GT), 2. John Surtees (#19 Ferrari 330P), 3. Pedro Rodriguez (#15 Ferrari 330P), 4. Graham Hill (#14 Ferrari 330 P), 5. Jean Guichet (#20 Ferrari 275P), 6. Dan Gurney (#6 Shelby Cobra Daytona, leading Div III), 7. Jack Sears (#3 A.C. Cobra Coupe), 8. Jo Schlesser (#12 Ford GT40), 9. Edgar Barth (#29 Porsche 904-8), 10. Fernand Tavano (#27 Ferrari 250 GTO-64). After one hour 202 kilometres are achieved, despite the yellow on the advertising board toppling down.

THE RACE: HOURS 2 TO 4
During the second hour the Ferraris come in for refuelling and for changing drivers. Richie Ginther opts for a double stint, and when shortly before 6 p.m. he hands the car over to Masten Gregory the Ford's advance is already up to more than 2'12". However when team mate Gregory rejoins the tack he's 36" down to John Surtees who didn't change driver, but ahead over Graham Hill. Situation after 2 hours is: 1. Surtees (#19 Ferrari 330P), 2. Ginther (Ford GT40), 3. Guichet/Vaccarella (Ferrari 275P),  4. Graham Hill (Ferrari 330P), 5. Rodriguez/Hudson (Ferrari 330P), 6. Salmon-Sutcliffe (Aston Martin DP214), 7. Gurney/Bondurant (Shelby Cobra Daytona), 8. Barth/Linge (Porsche 904-8); 9. Schlesser-Attwood (Ford GT40), 10. Maserati Tipo 151/3 (Simon/Trintignant).
After three hours of racing the difference between Surtees' Ferrari 330P and Ginther's Ford GT40 is always less than one minute. During the fourth hour, on driver's change on the leading #19 Ferrari, Ginther/Gregory and their #11 Ford are a short moment leading, but once they change their drivers, its again on the Ferrari of Surtees/Bandini to conduct the battle field. After four hours of racing Ginther/Gregory following at 1'30" from Surtees/Bandini, while Maranello's #14 Ferrari 330P could pass the factory #20 275P of Guichet/Vaccarella. The second Ford GT - #12 shared by Schlesser and Attwood - is struggling with the #15 N.A.R.T. Ferrari 330P of Rodriguez and Hudson for the fifth place. The British #3 A.C. Cobra Coupe - having been in front of the #5 works Cobra until fifty minutes of racing - is now immobile in the pit lane with electrical problems. Situation after 4 hours is:  1. Surtees (#19 Ferrari 330P), 2. Ginther (Ford GT40), 3. Graham Hill (Ferrari 330P), 4. Guichet/Vaccarella (Ferrari 275P),  5. Rodriguez/Hudson (Ferrari 330P), 6. Schlesser/Attwood (Ford GT40), 7. Maserati Tipo 151/3 (Simon/Trintignant), 8. Gurney/Bondurant (Shelby Cobra Daytona), 9. Amon/Neerpasch (Shelby Cobra Daytona) 10. Barth/Linge (Porsche 904-8). Still 50 cars are in; Five are eliminated: Piper's Ferrari LM at the first lap, the French Lotus Elan and the Deep Sanderson during the third hour on overheating and the #49 Triumph Spitfire on accident. The #18 Aston Martin lost 4 laps in the pits and drops from, rank 6 to rank 17.

GOING ONLY ON SIX OF ITS EIGHT CYLINDERS THE #10 FORD GT 40 LOST SIX LAPS in the pits before it was really going. In twelve hours the car moved from rank 44 to rank 4. SOURCE: François Hurel (2003), Ford au Mans, Nîmes: Éditions du Palmier , p. 38.

THE RACE: HOURS 5 TO 8 (MIDNIGHT)
The following hour Ford and Ferrari loose both one of their top cars, Ford even two. Early the fifth hour, at the end of Mulsanne,  an oil line splits on Attwood's #12 Ford GT40, provoking fire. The whole rear of the car is in flames and when the fire is extinguished the car is immobile along the road. Out. Atwood is unhurt. At the same moment the Colotti gearbox brakes on the #11 Ford GT40 of Ginther/Gregory, running in second position. The car reaches the pits where mechanics try to find a solution.  Pedro Rodriguez (#15 Ferrari 330P), already worried by an alarming oil consumption, has his problems "solved" when the Ferrari brakes a half shaft. The Sunbeam Tiger of Dubois/Ballisat blows up in the biggest possible way at Tertre Rouge. Although the engine flows to pieces Dubois can't get it to stop and for some time it pumps a pall of oily brown smoke over the circuit. At the Ford's garage they communicate that the gearbox of Ginther's car is beyond repairs. It's 8.15 p.m. and at once the first Ford prototype - the lonely one out of three to survive - is 23d at six laps. American soldiers, followed by the Frenchies having come as supporters of Schlesser, take the Dunlop passerelle to go after fries, hats, beer, plastic Fords or French girls - letting them see the charmes de la nouvelle mini jupe française. Their "Look at that man, Ginther takes the lead", is replaced by "Look at that man, you can even see her petite culotte, la salope." Maranello's Ferrari 330P - suffering from overheating, looses its third place in the pits, but can rejoin the track in fourth position.
"This is my hour," André Simon thinks behind the wheel of the enormous #2 4.9 Maserati Tipo 151/3. Ford and Ferrari are killing themselves, this is the moment for an outsider. At the end of hour 5 he's already third behind the Ferraris #19 and #20. But shortly after le moment de gloire the big Maserati has to recover from electrical problems in the pits, dropping in the standings from rank 3 to rank 18. Just behind the leading trio of Ferrari prototypes (#19, #20, #14) we find the two Cobras Daytona, now with Briggs Cunningham's #6 (Amon/Neerpasch) heading Shelby's #5 (Gurney/Bondurant). The three first Ferraris 250 GTO-64 enter the top-10 after six hours with #25 (Ireland/Maggs) as eighth, #27 (Tavano/Grossmann) as ninth and #24 ("Beurlys"/Bianchi) as tenth.
After six hours we loose Peter Sargent's. #17 Lightweight Jaguar with a broken gearbox. One hour earlier the car was still twelfth, just behind the trio of Ferraris 250 GTO. Tragedy is on during hour 7. The British #3 A.C. Cobra Coupe  - again in the race as 23rd after a long pit stop - dashes the #22 works Ferrari 275P (the one having lost 20 laps in the pits shortly after the start) at Maison Blanche the two cars go off the road, killing three youngsters, kids: 16, 17 and 18 years old. Covered by darkness of the night they crept into the shrubbery bordering the track, and were there instantly killed when the #22 Ferrari ran over them. But with millions of dollars at the stake, the show must go on, now without three dead kids.
Ferrari and Ford now lost both two prototypes. But since Ferrari started with seven, it has five left, and since Ford started with only three, it has one left. That one - the #10 of Phil Hill/McLaren - is now the fastest car on the track , being already eight after seven hours and sixth after eight hours. Although six laps down to the Ferrari setting the pace, the Ford-Ferrari combat for Le Mans 1964 seems not being over. Among the Division III cars the Cunningham Daytona looses its leading position, standing in the pits with electrical problems. At midnight, after 8 hours of racing positions are: 1. Surtees/Bandini (#19 Ferrari 330P), 2. Guichet/Vaccarella (#20 Ferrari 275P) at 1 lap, 3. Graham Hill/Bonnier (#14 Ferrari 330P) at 3 laps, 4. Gurney/Bondurant (#5 Shelby Cobra Daytona) at 4 laps, 5. Barth/Linge (#29 Porsche 904-8) at 5 laps, 6. Phil Hill/ McLaren (Ford GT40) at 6 laps, 7. Davis/Mitter (Porsche 904-8) at 7 laps, 8. Tavano/ Grossman (#27 Ferrari 250 GTO-64), 9. Ireland/Maggs (#25 Ferrari 250 GTO-64), 10. "Beurlys"/Lucien Bianchi (#24 Ferrari 250 GTO-64). We have still 40 cars in the race. The #26 Ferrari 250 GTO-64 of Hugus/Rosinski was retired from 13th place with a broken transmission. The big #2 Maserati was out on an electrical short cut. Three of the five René Bonnet Djets are already abandoned. 
At midnight SEFAC Ferrari has still three of its four factory cars in the race, with the sick #21 275P limping far behind. Of the twelve Ferraris having started eight are still there. Ford has only one prototype out of three left, but it's the fastest on the track. Of the four Cobras only the class leading #5 and the private #64 roadster are still going. Porsche has  still all is cars in the race and Alfa Romeo lost Rolland's TZ-1 after going off.

GOLDEN HOUR FOR THE BIG 4.9 MASERATI TIPO 151/3 MOVING INTO THIRD POSITION AFTER FIVE HOURS OF RACING HereAndré Simon passes Giancarlo Baghetti in the #22 works Ferrari 275P having lost twenty laps in the pits, immediately after the start. Both cars will be already eliminated before midnight: Baghetti's in an accident, killing three kids, and Simon's on electrical problems. SOURCE: Michel Bollée (2004), Le Mans 1960-1969, Archives d'un passionné, Nîmes: Éditions du Palmier, p.41.

THE RACE: THE DEADLY NIGHT, HOURS 9 to 13
Shortly after the witching hour we loose the second Sunbeam Tiger, retired from rank 18 and the #37 CD-Panhard with a blown engine. The #6 Cunningham Cobra Daytona is disqualified when one of the Ferrari crew remarks the race direction an illegal change of the battery. Its cold during the night, abnormally cold. All GTO Ferraris pit with frozen parts. Phil Hill's #10 Ford GT40 passes the #29 Porsche 904-8 and is now fifth. He realises a new lap record in 3'49"2 (211.429 kph). At 3.15 a.m. the #29 Porsche 904-8 of Barth/Linge falls out with a broken clutch. Out too is the #21 works Ferrari 27P of Parkes/Scarfiotti having never been in the race: no more oil pressure Shortly before mid-race the #19 Ferrari 330P, having been out on the lead during ten hours, has to pit with a defect fuel pump. When the car rejoins the race it is one lap behind the new leader: Jean Guichet in the #20 Ferrari 275P. The #1 Iso Grifo A3C enters the top-10. At mid-race 33 cars out of 55 are still going. Situation is: 1. Guichet/Vaccarella (#20 Ferrari 275P), 2. Surtees/Bandini (#19 Ferrari 330P) at 1 lap, 3. Graham Hill/Bonnier (#15 Ferrari 330P) at 4 laps, 4. Gurney/Bondurant (#5 Shelby Cobra Daytona) at 6 laps. 5. Phil Hill/McLaren (#10 Ford GT40) at 7 laps, 6. #30 Davis/Mitter (Porsche 904-8) at 9 laps, 7. Tavano/Grossman (#27 Ferrari 250 GTO-64), 8. "Beurlys"/Bianchi (#24 Ferrari 250 GTO-64), 9. Noblet/Berney (Iso Grifo A3C) at 10 laps, 10. Ireland/Maggs (#25 Ferrari 250 GTO-64). 
Buchet/Ligier (#34 Porsche 904 GTS) lead now in eleventh position Div II (GT2), followed by the 3.7 Aston Martin DP214 and the second Div II Porsche, the Ben Pon/Van Zalinge orange #33 Porsche 904 GTS.
With twelve hours to go wizard John Wyer maintains that Ford has always its chances. One of the FoMoCo spies reports that the two Ferraris 330P on ranks 2 and 3 are seriously wounded. On the Maranello #14 suffering from a dodgy clutch and the loss of the two lowest gears, a bypass for a leaking oil radiator is necessary. The #19 suffers from water leaks and lost valuable time when a petrol pipe broke off inside the tank. Eventually only the #20 Ferrari 275P of Guichet/Vaccarella remains healthy. At Ford they are convinced that the Ferraris #19 and #14 will be retired soon, so that the #6 Cobra and #10 Ford GT can finish at least on the podium. At Le Mans it's the coldest June night since decades. But Phil Hill - now already hours behind the wheel of FoMoCo's last prototype - there is no cold, there is no frog. He drives for what he's worth. His soul out of his body. He's now turning in fourth position after having passed the #6 Cobra Daytona. He's turning laps of 3'50". No doubt: this is an excellent race car. One year ago it existed only on paper and now it's threatening the best race cars of the world: the Ferrari prototypes. 
The Iso Grifo A3C is immobile in the pits, having its rear suspension taken apart to change the brake pads. No less than three Alpines are also in the pits.

THE RACE: THE EARLY MORNING, HOURS 14 TO 16
It's 5 a.m. The American soldiers - some of them already drunk - are no longer looking after the girls, les belles françaises. Despite the cold they are again watching the American cars, racing as fourth and fifth. O no, no sleep for them this night. They all wish being witness of America's superiority on the track. Yes we gonna beat them all, we gonna win. Seeing the Ford GT40 flying over La Sarthe Ferrari enthusiast are at once anxious. What if the top-3 runs in technical problems? In the Ferrari pits Eugenio Dragoni looks greyer than ever before. He knows very well that two of his Ferraris fighting in front are wounded: both have clutch problems. They cannot keep up with 3'50"s, loose 10 seconds or more per lap. The terrible #10 Ford GT40 comes closer and closer. Maranello's #14 is in the pits with clutch problems, loosing 4 laps. The Ford GT40 - fourth - is only one lap behind the third place. Whole America believes that FoMoCo is able to do what Mercedes did in 1952: winning at its first show (after 22 years of absence). It's a bit more than five in the morning when a frozen sun raises in the sky of La Sarthe. And then, at once, all hope is over. Drama knocks on Ford's door. On the #10 the Colotti gearbox breaks. It's over. But the fight was sublime, the show excellent. This Ford GT is a car with a great future. A tremen-dous weapon for tomorrow.
At Ford, all hope goes now to Carroll Shelby. Cause Ford is American and America never surrenders. If Ford cannot win with the prototypes, let them win with its Grand Touring car, let them start to beat the two wounded 4-litre Ferraris. Stupefaction in the Ferrari camp, when shortly before 6 a.m. a metal voice in the mikes says: "Bonnier est tombé en panne à Mulsanne." The #5 Shelby Cobra is now third, less than three laps down to the second place. At Mulsanne Bonnier succeeds to restart his motor. He rumbles to the pits: air in the fuel pumps. The car drops into fifth position at 6 a.m. The infamous morning mist at Mulsanne stays this year fortunately away.
Of the three Alpines in the pits the #54 1.0 M63 is retired from 30th position with a broken transmission. Lindner's Jaguar - already the whole race in trouble - is retired with a broken gasket. The second CD-Panhard and a second Triumph Spitfire are also out, the Spitfire after a crash by Jean-Louis Marnat, lucky to get away with only a broken bone in his hand.  Surtees looses his second place at 7 a.m., when he looses four laps in the pits, again with the broken oil pipe. The Cobra comes in to have axle oil added, loosing its third place to the #19 Ferrari. At 7.15 a.m. the Maranello Ferrari 330P, meanwhile second, comes into the pits with the left rear wheel collapsing. But the car is soon away, maintaining its second place. At 8 a.m. still 28 cars out of 55 are still in the race. The Cobra is in need of new motor oil, plodding slowly round and loosing its fourth place and the Div III lead to the #27 Ferrari GTO of Tavano/Grossman. The #30 Porsche 904-8 struggling with clutch problems, looses its seventh place, dropping in the standings to rank 13. Standings are: 1. Guichet/Vaccarella (#20 Ferrari 275P), 2. Bonnier/G. Hill (#14 Ferrari 330P), 2. G.Hill/Bonnier (#14 Ferrari 330P) at 7 laps, 3. Surtees/Bandini (#19 Ferrari 330P) at 8 laps, 4. Tavano/Grossman (#27 Ferrari 250 GTO-64) at 13 laps, 5. Gurney/Bondurant (#5 Shelby Cobra Daytona) at 14 laps, 6. Bianchi/"Beurlys" (#24 Ferrari 250 GTO-64) at 18 laps, 7. Ireland/Maggs (#25 Ferrari 250 GTO-64), 8. Buchet/Ligier (#34 Porsche 904 GTS) at 17 laps, 9. Salmon/Sutcliffe (#18 Aston Martin DP214), 10. Koch/Schiller (Porsche 904 GTS).

THE 8-CYLINDER PORSCHE 904-8 OF COLIN DAVIS AND GERHARD MITTER, waiting in its pits before the start. At 6.17 a.m. the car, then lying seventh overall, came in with clutch problems. In one hour the mechanics dropped the gearbox, tiightened the flywheel bolts, replaced the clutch and had the car back on the road. SOURCES: Clausager, Anders Ditlev (1996), Le Mans: 'The Ferrari Years' 1958-1965, Cobham, Surrey: Brookland Books Ltd, p. 139; and Hurel, François (2008), Ferrari au Mans (1961-1967), Le Mans, pp. 62-63.  

AT 6.53 a.m. THE LINDNER/NOCKER JAGUAR E-TYPE CAME IN WITH CLOUDS OF STEAM BLOWING FROM THE RADIATOR. The pit crew made a quick survzey and decided, with more than 10 laps to go before they could refill the radiator, the car would never last, so it was driven into the dead car park. At no moment the #16 Jaguar was well placed in the standings. SOURCES: Clausager, Anders Ditlev (1996), Le Mans: 'The Ferrari Years' 1958-1965, Cobham, Surrey: Brookland Books Ltd, p. 139; and Parker, Paul (2007), Sports Car Racing in Camera 1960-69, Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing, pp. 116-117.  

THE RACE: THE LAST 8 HOURS
The #30 Porsche comes after one hour in the pits back from position 16 to 11, but is retired with 4 hours to go, when the new clutch is again broken. Meanwhile the N.A.R.T. #27 Ferrari 250 GTO-64, having been a short time fourth overall and leader in Div III, burns two valves and looses hour by hour more of its position. Eventually the car will drop from position 4 to 9. Despite a by-passed oil radiator, the #5 Shelby Cobra will finish fourth overall, winning the Grand Touring Division, one lap ahead over the Belgian #24 Ferrari 250 GTO-64 of "Beurlys"/Lucien Bianchi. The car was hyper sound towards the end and purchased during the last eight hours the Cobra, reducing its arrears from three to one lap.
The #18 Aston Martin DP214, ninth after 18 hours, will eventually be disqualified, since the car refuelled in oil after 23 instead of the required 25 laps. It takes two hours of discussion with the R.A.C. delegate before ACO confirms the painful decision. With the #30 Davis/Mitter Porsche 904-8 and the disqualified Aston-Martin out, only 25 cars out of 55 reached the finish. Ferrari brought seven of its twelve cars home, realising a 1-2-3-5-6-9-16. Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella are thus the winners with the factory #20 Ferrari 275P, finishing 5 laps ahead over Maranello's #14 Ferrari 330P shared by Graham Hill and Jo Bonnier, and 12 laps ahead over the #19 works Ferrari 330P of John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini. At Ford they celebrate the victory in the Grand Touring class, just as was it the overall win.
Porsche brought five of its seven cars at the finish, with a 7-8-10-11-12 as total result. The #34 Porsche 904 GTS of Buchet/Ligier wins Div II, four laps ahead over the orange Porsche 904 GTS of Ben Pon and Henk van Zalinge. Alfa Romeo brings two of its three 1.6 Giulia TZ-1s home, with a 13th place for Roberto Businello/Bruno Deserti and a 15th place for Giancarlo Sala/Giampiero Biscaldi. They were running like (very noisy) clockwork with no unscheduled stops and leading the 1.6-litre class from start to finish. Of the British machinery only three units are found at the finish, with the MGB - having lost more than an hour in the pits with a holed radiator - as first on rank 19. The #50 Triumph Spitfire - as lonely out of three - is 21st, the Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite is 24thy, and last ranked. Indeed, the #47 Alpine M63 Renault of Mauro Bianchi and Jean Vinatier, having finished as 25th, will not be classified for insufficient achieved distancde.
The 1,149 cc Alpine M64 Renault with number #46 wins the Index of Thermal Efficiency ahead over the 1,001 cc #59 Alpine M63 of Roger Masson and Teodore Zeccoli.

After nine rounds provisional standings for the 1964 FISA Manufacturers Worlds are as follows: Ferrari leads in Div III (GT3) with 57.0 + 2 x 6 = 69.0 points against 30.8 + 2 x 9 = 48.8 points for Ford and 4 points for A.C. In Div II (GT3) Porsche leads with 75.9 + 18 = 93.9 points, against 12 + 4 = 16.8 points for Alfa Romeo, 4.8 points for MGB, 2.6 points for Abarth and Sunbeam, and 1.6 points for Cortina-Lotus. In Div I (GT1) Abarth counts always 35.1 points,  against 9.6 points for René Bonnet, 9 points for Lotus and 2.6 points for Fiat. No points could be won at the Le Mans 24 hours for Div I (GT1) cars, even not allowed to start. After nine rounds stand in the international Ford-Ferrari combat for Grand Touring cars is up to 2-4, whilst the stand in the Porsche-Abarth combat in the two litre-class remains 3-0 since no Abarth-Simca 2000GT showed on the Le Mans. Among the prototypes, after four rounds Ferrari counts 28.8 + 18 = 46.8 points, against 28.8 + 6 = 34.8 points for Porsche, followed by Iso Grifo with 6.4 + 4 = 10.4 points, by Alpine with 9.6 points, by MG with 4.8 points, by Corvette-Chevrolet with 3.2 points and by Austin-Healey with 1.6 points. Ferrari won three of the four rounds (Sebring, the Nürburgring and Le Mans), Porsche one (Targa Florio). Among the prototypes the standing in the Ford-Ferrari combat is now 0-3.

August 29, 1964 - FISA's 1964 calendar for the Grand Touring Manufactu-rers World Championship is really a wash-out. This week-end Ford and Ferrari have to find at two distinct places in two distinct specialities: at Goodwood for the 29th Tourist Trophy and at the Swiss mountains for the Sierre Montagna Crans. We are one week away from the Italian F1 Grand Prix where winning is an absolute duty for the Prancing Horse, especially since Lorenzo Bandini could win for Ferrari one week ago the Austrian F1 Grand Prix. For Eugenio Dragoni there can be absolutely no question to enter factory cars at both races. He even insists that John Surtees will stay away from the very British Tourist Trophy. But the fact that BRM has no objections that Graham Hill - the leader in the provisional F1 ranking - will race at the TT, and that Colin Chapman enters even a works car for Jim Clark - second at the provisional ranking - makes Dragoni's argument weak. Of course he cannot stay away in the most holy race on the holy British home ground, certainly not when his direct opponents Graham Hill and Jim Clark will be present.

THE ENTRY
As well here in England, and in Switzerland, SpA SEFAC Ferrari has no works cars at the start: they count on their clients. At Goodwood those clients are six. Colonel Ron Hoare of Maranello Concessionaires has a 4.0 Ferrari 330P for Graham Hill and his 4399 GT Ferrari 250 GTO-64 for Innes Ireland. America's N.A.R.T. gives its 5573 GT Ferrari 250 GTO-64 to John Surtees. David Piper will drive his new 3.3 Ferrari 250 LM himself, just as at the Guards Trophy, and will Tony Maggs let race his 4491 GT 3.0 Ferrari 250 GTO. Finally there is also the old John Coombs white 3729 GT Ferrari 250 GTOO, having finished second at the 1962 and 1963 edition of the Tourist Trophy. The car is now owned by viscount Eric Portman and will be driven by Richie Ginther.
Ford sends works cars as well to Goodwood as to Sierre Montagna Crans. By doing so Carroll Shelby gives full evidence that he believes that he has always a fair chance to win the Div III Worlds: the 22.8 points gap is not unbridgeable. The two Cobras Daytona having been raced at Le Mans are here for Dan Gurney and for Phil Hill. John Willment Racing is here also with two cars, its own Cobra Coupe for Bob Olthoff and the roadster and the Cobra roadster for the winner of the Ilford Trophy, for Jack Seats. And C.T. Atkins has his very fast A.C. Cobra roadster for Roy Atkins.

For Jaguar Goodwood has always be their home circuit. After the good results obtained by Dick Protheroe/Dickie Stoop at the Reims 12 hours, by Peter Sutcliffe at the Spa 500-kms, by Jacky Stewart at the Ilford Trophy (second) and at the Guards Trophy (long time second), time has come to show that the Lightweight was not "a mistake", as generally was believed. Unfortunately the two fastest E-type Jaguars can not show: John Coombs abnormally quick Lightweight Hardtop remains home, just as Protheroe's Hardtop. Eventually there are four Lightweights: three Low Drags for res. Peter Sargent/Peter Lumsden, Peter Nöcker and Peter Sutcliffe. The sole Hardtop is the ex-C.T. Atkins one, having been driven last year by Roy Salvadori, and now owned by Roger Mac.
Aston Martin shows with the Dawney Racing DP214 for Mike Salmon. Last year David Brown's two factory cars had still the numbers 1 and 2. This year his unique surviving orphan has to start with the lowest rank number.
There are no under two-litre GT cars at the start: thus no Div II and no Div I. The reason is that the organising R.A.C. wishes to follow the American-Canadian example, where "big bangers" and hairy GT cars race together, a formula highly appreciated overseas. The Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch proved that the British public loves this formula. By declaring the 29th TT being open for over 1.6-litre "big bangers" -for the first time since 1960 - had as direct consequence that, no less than twelve sports cars joined the fourteen GT cars at the start. Serious eye catchers were the works Lotus 30 Ford which Colin Chapman entered for Jim Clark, and the ex-Penske, ex-Zerex Special 4.0 Cooper T53 Oldsmobile Traco entered by Bruce McLaren. This car won earlier this year at Mosport and at the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy. There are also three 2.0 Brabhams BT8 Climax. One of them is the works car of Denny Hulme. The others are S.M.A.R.T.'s entry for Hugh Dibley and Roger Nathan's personal, one. Three Elvas Mk.7S BMW are entered for Frank Gardner, Trevor Taylor and Toni Lanfranchi (the last named using a factory car). There is also a Lotus 23B for David Hobbs and a Lotus 19 for John Coundley plus an Attila Mk.3 Ford for Roy Pierpoint. The two prototypes - Hill's Ferrari 330P and Piper's 250 LM -will race in the same group as the sports cars.
Although the entry field is restricted to 28 cars its the most homogeneous and most diversified line-up of the season. All 28 cars are equipped with pretty hairy motors, so that there cannot be a long line of back benchers and field fillers as at most other rounds of FISA's Manufacturers World Championship.
Remarkable too is that we find at the start eleven racers being also involved in this year's F1 World Championship, among them the top five of the provisional ranking after the Austrian Grand Prix. Those five are Graham Hill (GB), Jim Clark (GB), John Surtees (GB), Richie Ginther (USA) and Dan Gurney (USA). The remaining six are Bruce McLaren (NZ), Tony Maggs (ZA), Innes Ireland (GB), Phil Hill (USA), Trevor Taylor (GB) and Frank Gardner (AU).

PRACTICE
With nothing but fast and competitive cars at the start practice times are this year lots sharper than last year. Best proof is that the ten first cars on the grid go all under last year's TQ-time of 1'27"0. That the field is much more homogeneous follows from the observation that the difference between the fastest time and the last but one slowest time is now reduced to 8"60 against 19"0 in 1963. Thus: no more automotive chicanes at Goodwood this year. As could be expected the top-10 times go all to sports cars and prototypes. Pole position goes to Bruce McLaren in the ex-Zerex Special "big banger" in 1'23"20. The two other cars on the front row are the 4.7 Lotus 30 Ford of Jim Clark and the 4.0 Maranello Ferrari 330P with res. 1"23"80 and 1'24"60.
Second row is uniquely 2.0 Brabham BT8 Climax with 1'24"60 for Hugh Dibley (at Brands Hatch still winner with the same car at a supporting race) in Stirling Moss' car and 1'25"20 for Denny Hulme with the works car. On the third row we find the Elvas of Trevor Taylor and Frank Gardner, and the green 3.3 Ferrari 250 LM of David Piper.
First GT car is the 4.7 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe of Dan Gurney, with his 1'27"2 two tenths of a second faster than Phil Hill on the similar machinery. The five Cobras are faster than the GTO Ferraris where John Surtees is fastest in 1'28"4, followed by Innes Ireland in the Maranello 250 GTO-64 and the 3.7 Aston Martin DP214 of Mike Salmon. Among all that hairy machinery the four Jaguars realise the four slowest times. The Lindner E has during practice brake problems,, probably due to play or end float in the bearings. The brake pedal is inconsistent and needs pumping before Woodcote and Madgwick corners. Eventually Lindner asks Peter Sutcliffe, knowing the Goodwood track better than he and his team mate, what's wrong with the car. On making the comparison with his own, more conventional E-type, Sutcliffe crashes, so that the #30 cannot start.

THE RACE
It's sunny and the sky cloudless blue when the start is given. Bruce McLaren (Cooper T53 Oldsmobile) and Jim Clark (Lotus 30 Ford) are rocketing away from the rest of the field, with Graham Hill (Ferrari 330P) and Denny Hulme (Brabham BT8) trying in vain to keep up. We are only two laps far - 2 out of 130 - the Brabham BT8 Climax of Hugh Dibley is retired with a broken piston. We are three laps further underway when the differential is broken on the Elva of Australia's Frank Gardner.
It's a good thing that Ferrari's race director Eugenio Dragoni stayed home in Modena instead of showing at Goodwood. Why? Because three laps later he should have died from a heart attack. What happens? Chasing the Cobras, Innes Ireland, followed by the works Elva of Tony Lanfranchi, tries to pass the Cobra Coupe of Bob Olthoff, when at St Mary's he spins, contacting the Brabham BT8 of Roger Nathan. Ireland and Nathan can continue their way, but Surtees, who followed Ireland, cannot avoid the hard braking Lanfranchi. He runs right over the #10 Elva and rolls his NART Ferrari 250 GTO-64 into the bank. John Surtees is injured and transported by ambulance to hospital. Imagine: Ferraris 1 racer wounded at exactly one week from the Italian F1 Grand Prix where he was supposed to win, offering the Prancing Horse its second Grand Prix victory of the season, after Bandini's win in Austria! And Dragoni who insisted so hard that Il Commendatore should had Surtees refused to start at Goodwood. For Big John Goodwood and the Tourist Trophy are witched: two years ago he was already wounded here at Goodwood.
Lanfranchi is not injured, but his works Elva is out. Ireland can rejoin the pits where they change his front wheel. In front Bruce McLaren can hold Jim Clark off to take the lead. One has to wait lap 18 to see the Scotsman passing the grass green Oldsmobile T53 and setting up from now the pace. Shortly after McLaren is also passed by Denny Hulme and by Graham Hill. His car is slowing down and fails to reach the pits: its clutch has gone. Trevor Taylor, in the lonely surviving Elva Mk.7S BMW is now fourth behind Clark, Hulme and Graham Hill, closely followed by the new green Ferrari 250 LM of David Piper. Hill lost his position immediately behind Clark earlier in the race after a quick spin.
In front Jim Clark seems to fly away. Since his car suffers from battery problems Clark has to come twice in the pits, giving his opponents each time a chance to come closer.  
Behind the leading five - Clark, Hulme, Graham Hill, Taylor and Piper - a Cobra train is formed with Innes Ireland (Maranello Ferrari 250 GTO-64) hanging on the tail. Surprisingly it are not the two Shelby Cobras Daytona leading the train, but Ray Salvadori - at the Le Mans April Tests fired by Ford - in the quick Tommy Atkins #25 A.C. Cobra Roadster with the triple front fender openings. Gurney and Phil Hill follow the red A.C. with the gold stripe in the middle, racing nose to tail.
Sandwiched between the leading quartet and the Cobra train we find Roger Nathan in the Brabham BT8 Climax, the car which miraculously escaped from the light collision with Ireland's Ferrari provoking the elimination of Lanfranchi and Surtees after eight laps.
In front the quartet Clark-Brabham-Graham Hill-Trevor Taylor looses after 69 laps the Aurora Gears Elva of the last named: having come into the pits for refuelling Taylor's motor refused firing, and the last of the three Elvas is wheeled definitively in the garage with unsolved ignition problems.
The Cobra train stays on the rails during 80 laps out of 130, all the time being led by Salvo's special A.C. Roadster. Then at once he passes no longer, victim of clutch problems. Shortly after the Cobra train will loose one of its wagons when Phill Hill has to come to the box with two gears missing. The #22 Cobra Daytona will loose eight laps during the last quarter of the race.
After 97 laps Roger Nathan, until then fifth behind Clark, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme and Piper, retires with a blown engine. The Cobra train - Dan Gurney, Jack Sears, Bob Olthoff - follows now on ranks 5-6-7. They race no longer nose to tail since Gurney succeeded to follow at striking distance the green Ferrari 250 LM of Piper, whilst Jack Sears and Bob Olthoff had to let go the #21 Cobra Coupe. With 30 laps to go the leading quartet, with Gurney hanging on some 30 seconds behind Piper, doubled the two other Cobras - both Willment Racing entries - already for the second time.

THE START GRID

TOURIST TROPHY 1964: VIEW ON THE PADDOCK BEFORE THE START.  SOURCE: SOPORTS CAR GRAPHICS, December 1964, p. 64.

DAN GURNEY IN THE SHELBY COBRA DAYTONA COUPE, protecting himself against the burning sun, on his way to Hairpin. After a superb race the American will finish third OA, only 35.4 seconds behind the 3.3 Ferrari 250 LM of David Piper. SOURCE: L'AUTOMOBILE, October 1964, p. 106.

One lap behind the two Willment Cobras on ranks 8 and 9 follow the Maranello Ferrari 250 GTO-64, and John Coundley's 2.0 Lotus 19 Climax. The Lumsden and Sutcliffe Jaguars follow one lap further, but then, having achieved 105 laps, Peter Sutcliffe stops with a damaged CW & P due to the loss of axle oil. Much earlier the other Lightweight Jaguar, ex-Salvadori, ex-Tommy Atkins, of Roger Mac was retired at 70 laps after prolonged trouble with the fuel injection.
In front Graham Hill and Denny Hulme pass Jim Clark, having wheel bearing problems. At lap 107 Denny Hulme, having passed the Maranello Ferrari 330P of Graham Hill, comes into the pits for a splash & dash, but at once the car refuses to go away with ignition problems. Race over and out for the Team Elite Brabham. Just as Nathan and Sutcliffe Kiwi Hulme will be classified for having covered sufficient ground to be qualified.
Graham Hill is now the new leader, followed at one lap by David Piper, the Lotus 30 of Jim Clark and the Div III (GT3) leading #21 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe of Dan Gurney. Clark could lead the race until lap 100, when, at an unscheduled pit stop, he's passed by the Ferrari 330P and Hulme's Brabham BT8. This lead was a bit of a surprise for the Lotus pit crew, as, during the night before the race, they had still to change the complete cooling system of the Lotus 30. Six laps later Jim Clark is definitively out with its failing wheel bearing
With still 16 laps to go, a short half hour, only twelve cars are still going around. Hanging far behind, in positions 11 and 12, we find the #22 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and the #34 Aston Martin DP214 of Mike Salmon - the last named more than 20 laps after several pit stops.
For the first time since 1962 the British Ferraris 250 GTO, having won the two former editions of the Tourist Trophy, are seriously beaten. They must feel their age now. Typical is the position of Richie Ginther in the old John Coombs 250 GTO, now owned by viscount Portman. Having still finished second in 1962 and 1963, the white 250 GTO with the red nose is completely unable to follow the pace, hanging now six laps behind the Shelby Cobra Daytona leading Div III at the third place overall.

COLIN CHAPMAN'S FLAWED LOTUS 30 AT THE 1964 GOODWOOD TOURIST TROPHY. The car was second fastest at practice. During the 18 first lap Clark was duelling with Bruce McLaren for the lead. When the Kiwi had to abandon his Cooper T53 Oldsmobile with clutch problems he leaved Clark in front. The Scotsman's pit stops were enlivened by a recalcitrant battery and ultimately, a failed wheel bearing. Here Clark is concerned about something in the cockpit and Lotus's Jim Endruweitt looks on behind the car. BBC commentator John Bolster is simultaneously jamming his fingers into his ears whilst trying to hold the race programme under his chin and one of the mechanics is pointing at the nearside front wheel, no doubt concerned about the wheel bearing. The hand-painted number has "run" after being splashed with petrol. SOURCE: Parker, Paul (2007), Sports Car Racing in Camera 1960-69, Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset: Haynes Publishing, p.119.

Positions change no more during the last 25 minutes. Graham Hill wins his second consecutive Tourist Trophy at the wheel of the 4.0 Ferrari 330P of Maranello. It's a splendid revenge for his rather poor result at the Guards Trophy, where he finished only fourth, having been beaten by four "big bangers". Revenge too for David Piper - only eighth at the Guards Trophy - finishing now as runner-up. His other car, driven by Tony Maggs, was brought home as tenth after several minor problems. Of the twelve "big bangers" not one was still racing at the chequered flag, proving that reliability is their biggest problem.

Division III is easily won by the #21 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe of Dan Gurney, ahead over the two Cobras - the roadster and the coupe - of John Willment Racing. First Grand Touring Ferrari is the 250 GTO of Innes Ireland (having lost time in the pits on changing a front wheel after his light collision with the Brabham BT8 Climax. It's the fourth time that the Shelby Cobras can beat the GTO Ferraris. However, if FISA should have homologated the Ferrari 250 LM as a Grand Touring car - just as they did with the Shelby Daytona Coupe and the Aston Martin DP214 (also not derived from some street car, just as the 250 LM) - the Cobra should have been no class winner. Indeed, even if entered by a privateer (like David Piper) the LM is too fast for the works Shelby Cobra. Nevertheless, after the 29th Goodwood Tourist Trophy, the gap between Ferrari and Cobra, has been greatly filled. Difference is down to 11.9 points. One day later, at the Sierre Montagna Hill-Climb, the gap will become still narrower: 7.1 points. That suggests that the confrontation at Monza within one week could be decisive, especially if Ferrari should have been beaten again by the Shelby Cobras. However, there are rumours that the FISA will not recognise the Div III race in Monza as a round for the Manufacturers Worlds, especially since the Italian Federation insists to let race the Ferraris 250 LM together with the FISA homologated Div III cars.

After 13 rounds provisional standings for the 1964 FISA Manufacturers Worlds are as follows: Ferrari leads in Div III (GT3) with 80.1 points. Although Innes Ireland won 3.9 points for Ferrari, this doesn't change its total as the seventh lowest win was 6 points (only the seven best results are considered).  Ford counts now 57.8 + 11.7 - 1.3 = 68.2 points. Jaguar counts 4 +2.6 = 6.6 points, A.C. 4 points for Jaguar and for A.C.. In Div II (GT2) nothing changes: Porsche leads always with 93.9 points, against  20 points for Alfa Romeo, 14.3 points for Abarth, 4.8 points for MGB, 2.6 points for Sunbeam, and 1.6 points for Cortina-Lotus. In Div I (GT1) nothing changes either: Abarth counts 44.1 points,  against 13 points for Lotus,  9.6 points for René Bonnet, and 8.6 points for Fiat.  After ç direct confrontations stand in the international Ford-Ferrari combat for GT cars is up to 4-5. In the Porsche-Abarth combat score after five confrontations is 4-1. As prototypes could win no points at Goodwood standings for the International Prototype Trophy didn't change. Here score in the Ford-Ferrari combat is 0-4.

COUNTING FOR THE MANUFACTURERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THE TOURIST TROPHY WAS HOT NEWS for the American autosport magazines. Although they report the European rounds with several months arrears, it's the first time that the Tourist Trophy reaches the cover of American motoring monthlies. Here the cover of Road & Track. In the paddock, at the right row, we recognise the #23 Willment Cobra Roadster of Jack Sears, the #10 pale green factory Elva Mk.7S BMW of Tony Lanfranchi and the two factory Shelby Cobras Daytona Coupe. The #22 is the one raced by Phil Hill. The other is Dan Gurney's car. At the end of the right row we see Frank Gardner's Elva Mk.7S BMW and probably the Lotus 19 Ford of John Coundley. On the left row we recognise the dark Jaguar E-type Lightweight Low Drag of Peter Lumsden, the white ex-John Coombs Viscount Portman Ferrari 250 GTO (having finished as runner-up at the 27th and 28th Goodwood R.A.C. Tourist Trophy of 1962 and 1963), the pale green Aston Martin DP214 of Mike Salmon and the Ferraris 250 GTO-64 of Innes Ireland and John Surtees.