Although Ford and Ferrari have res. 13 and 14 cars on the grid at the 1966 Le Mans 24-hours, one can hardly say that both protagonists are present with equal weapons. Of Ferrari's seven +2-litre prototypes only the three 330P3s - two Berlinettas and one Barquetta - are able to go as fast as Ford's eight 7-litre MkIIAs. The four Ferraris 365P2/P3 are - except for the total rebodied #18, entered by Luigi Chinetti's N.A.R.T. - highly unreliable. The yellow #17, entered by Jacques Swaters for the Écurie Francorchamps, was unable to finish only once at the four endurance races it earlier entered. And even if they should be able to reach the finish, they can hardly beat Ford's four Group 4 (S3) GT40 sportscars. Moreover Filipinetti's #19 was never raced this year. The colonel's (Ronnie Hoare of Maranello Concessionaires, England) #16 was only raced at short British races, however without results. Last but not least the three Dinos 206S - two barquettas and one berlinetta - can hardly do any better than beating the 2-litre Porsches, as they did earlier at the Spa 1,000-kms and the Nürburgring 1,000-kms. However, on such a fast circuit as Le Mans, under 2-litre cars can never compete for overall victory, in the best case for a place among the top-6. 
The rest of Ferrari's entry - one 250LM in Group 4 and three Ferraris 275GTB/C as Grand Touring cars - is hardly more than stop-gap. In reality the Ford-Ferrari battle for Le Mans is not a fight of 13 against 14, but a fight of 8 against 3. Victory will go or to one of the eight Fords MkIIA or to one of the three Ferraris 330P3, with only one reserve, the (small) possibility that the lonely Chaparral 2D causes another surprise after its win at the Nürburgring.
In the Ferrari stands this year's climate is what it was last year at Ford's: homogeneity and friendship are gone after the stupid incident between race director Eugenio Dragoni and John Surtees. Here Enzo Ferrari made a crucial error by not protecting his best driver and by not intervening in the controversy. Eventually Dragoni will try to give Surtees a wheel on N.A.R.T.'s #27, but Luigi Chinetti refuses to alter his nomination Pedro Rodriguez/Ginther. Another problem is that initially there is no seat for Nino Vaccarella, one of Ferrari's factory drivers. That problem will be solved by offering the Sicilian ace a seat in the #25 semi-work's Dino 206S Berlinetta, officially entered by Scuderia San Marco. Sharply in contradiction which what's going on at Ferrari's stand, Ford appears this year, under the lead of John Cowley and Leo Beebe a strong homogeneous block.