Le Mans 1965 is the craziest race you haven't heard about 

After listening to this story for the third time, I’m confident that VinWiki could be a top-of-the-charts podcast.

I was at Goodyear in '65, and as I recall, the Goodyear guys were completely out of standard race tires after they were deemed faulty and the Fords were history.. All that was left were rain tires, and that's what the winning Gregory/Rindt car rolled on to victory. Very, very unusual LeMans.

This guy is proof of never judge a book by its cover. He's a great storyteller and this was an awesome story. The details he knew were amazing

When he described the engine starting up, it gave me chills.

This is honestly great... no CrAzY dramatic music.... no loud voice over. Just a guy telling a great car story like a normal conversation.

Ugh. I could listen to this story forever. Thank you so much…

Wow. You know you’re watching a great video, when the storyteller makes a 20 minute video feel like a minute.

"it looked like a little warrior" Given the car's history, that's probably the truest description anyone could ever come up with, and probably the best complement! Thanks for the video.

John ficarra is a great addition to the storytelling team. Thanks for another great story!

I love the way this guy tells stories.

You can literally hear the reverence for that car in his voice when he's describing it start. That's awesome!

Well told. An interesting sidelight that was not mentioned is that Luigi Chinetti, the owner of the car, drove the first Ferrari to win Le Mans in 1949.

A 20 minute video from vinwiki? Christmas came early.

i want this guy to just sit and tell me stories all day

Just watched Ford Vs. Ferrari, cool to see this after the fact.

This was truly a golden era of race car design and driver personality. I was astounded to learn of the basic engineering errors made in the development of the early GT 40's and at Goodyear. The road to victory is long and twisted and full of hard lessons. It was a world of Shelby, Ferrari, Chapman, Gurney, Clark and old Graham Hill. These cars are over 50 years old and they still have the power to thrill us. Thank you for a great story.

I grew up listening to the story of this car and that race because Masten was my grandfather’s brother. The entire video I got to relive story time with grandpa and I loved it. Thanks @VINwiki for producing this one!

So many awesome twists in this one. Thanks for sharing John!

This guy tells stories beautifully. I could listen to him read the phone book.

I was stationed (Navy) in Naples, Italy in 1974-6. A 2nd Lieutenant got an early discharge unexpectedly and had only a few days to pack and ship out. He had been a race car enthusiast. His pride and joy was his 1967 Dino Ferrari. For some reason ( I never found out why) he decided NOT to keep the car. He was in a big rush to sell it. At the time I had only $1500 cash so I offered to buy the car. To my surprise and delight he accepted my offer. I have never owned such a fantastic car. It had a 2.0 V6 engine with 3 duel Weber carbs (1969-73 had a 2.4L) The motor sounded like a small jet engine with that high pitched whine. I would routinely drive it on the weekend 200km (120 miles) from Naples to Rome on the autostrada (freeway) in about 1 hour!!! I could cruise at 120-30mph all day long in that rocket without a strain from that wonderful engine. The max. speed was said to be 145mph. I once got mine to 140mph before backing off. The only "problem" was it ran on premium91+ gas and at over 100mph would only get 10mpg. When it came time for me to return to the USA the gas shortage had happened with folks waiting in line at the pumps. Stupidly, I decided that the car would be empractible to own and so I sold it before returning. Now they are collectors cars (if you can find one) starting at $100,000 in poor condition and going up from there. It had features that were decades ahead of it's time like a 2nd backup ignition module, auto engine kill if oil preasure dropped or coolant was lost, hand crank for the electric windows if the battery went dead. It even had a small backup battery to crank the engine if the main battery died. Around town I only used 1st+2nd gear (5speed manual) as 1st went to 45mph.

That genuinely did not feel like 20 minutes. That was all an extremely interesting watch.

I wonder why I never got history lessons like this at school... Would have kept me in class.

I will admit, up until now, I had no idea he was such a good story teller. He could absolutely do these tales for a podcast.

The noise he made perfectly imitated that engine

John is the best storyteller, and Ed didn’t have to do any editing. That’s just the way John told it.

Greatest story i have ever heard from a guy wearing a '"I LOVE BINGO" hat!!!

Fascinating. It so happens that during the 1964/65 school year I was an exchange student at Lycée Jean Charcot in St Servan (St Malo) and I got to go to this race. In fact, it's the only full-fledged auto race I have ever attended. I had fun overnight wandering around behind the pits talking with people and trying to pick up girls (fail). Eventually, I worked my way around to the Ford HQ pit. I introduced myself to the security guard at the bottom of the steps leading up to the 'luxury' box above the pit area. He was an American from the Midwest somewhere, and when I said I was an exchange student he immediately asked me if I could speak French, which I could quite well by that time. He gave me some guy's name and told me to introduce myself and say I could speak French. So I went up, found the guy, who was kind of frazzled (it was about 3AM and he was really wasted-- there was a full bar). Immediately I was pressed into service translating for some French businessmen and the Ford dudes. I did this for several hours, until after dawn. Meanwhile, I had a huge meal of French and American delicacies and tons to drink, which made my French more colorful. What stick in my mind almost 60 years later are the five or six really, really beautiful girls hanging around, completely bored out of their brains. They were there for the entertainment of the Ford execs, but even I could tell something was amiss, and the last thing those guys were interested in was playing around with young ladies. One of them even put a move on me, which the sixteen year old me thought was amusing, but also threatening, and I didn't get involved. Finally a Ford person who spoke decent French showed and I was released.

Ive watched this video no joke about 40 times since it came out and i never get tired of it.

This video could literally be a short-story Audiobook. So well told and researched, like he coordinated the entire thing himself.

And YOU, Mr. Ficarra, did total justice to "one of the greatest racing stories ever" -- and then some!

Not only a great story in motor racing history but a GREAT story teller. 👍👍

What an amazing story and storyteller!! Gave me chills when he told of starting it up again! Hard to imagine just how hard it is on cars and drivers to race for 24hrs straight! At any time but especially in the 60s.

Happy Wednesday everyone! This might be the best car we have ever run. What do you think?

It's Ficarra, so be ready for this to hit a million in record time

As a Rindt fan I knew something of this race but nothing like the detail you have given here! Great story well told.

Mid 60's LeMans stories keep coming. This period of racing was so fascinating and fun, so much less organized than the tightly managed events today, and way more characters in play. I think one of the great things about endurance racing, and Le Mans specifically, is the ability of a car to finish and how that effects the racing. Hats of to John, I've been a racing fan since I was a kid in the 60's and so glad he has interest and knowledge of racing at that time. HIs Whittington Bros story was what got me hooked on VINwiki!

How he mentions everyone's feelings and the way he describes the little side stories is unbelievable. An amazingly talented storyteller!

First time I have never skipped through a video. A 20 minute video too! Goes to show how great of a story/storyteller this is.

I was just glued to my screen the whole time. Even almost cried a little. What a great story told by an awesome storyteller!

This can be red. Oh wait... this _is_ red.

Wow. One of the best stories I've ever heard anywhere. It's a video you don't pause while you watch it and you're sitting on the edge of your seat listening to the story. A "THANK YOU" is not enough but THANK YOU!

I LOVE the format of these videos! Refined, simple, pure story, pure car. No music, no dramatic editing. Real, genuine car stories. Thank you!

I just love, love, love this story. There's virtually no way to discover and uncover all the details that make up this story during a typical internet search - you'd almost have to know what happened before you could search for the facts again. Sure, parts of this story exist as discrete stories, but when you put it all together like John has, it truly adds so much colorful context to the Ford vs Ferrari saga. It even prompted me to do some research on this car's racing record, which was a little better, in my opinion, than John implied. It may have been an underdog and not meant to be a front running car, but I'd say it had a very respectable career racing record, even aside from the overall win at Le Mans. It was only raced 6 times, and only at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. Most other 250 LMs were entered in less prestigious races and had shorter careers, but this particular Ferrari was still racing in 1969 (8th that year at Le Mans) and 1970 (7th that year at Daytona). Sure, it never placed in the top 3 again after that win in 1965, but for a 4+ year old car to post 7th and 8th places finishes in the greatest endurance races in the world is testament to just how special this particular chassis number was. And John is such a great story teller. I find myself often putting this story on as I'm driving back to the North Bay from Tahoe on Sunday evenings. I don't know why I put it on at night, and why I only do it when I'm coming home, but I never get tired of hearing this story. Thanks for such a great story - keep 'em coming!

Ed, Rabbit and Ficarra. Dead heat at the top. They all tell great, great stories. Thanks VINwiki for all the excellent slices of car history. Y'all rock.

ficarras a great story teller, and told an amazing story to boot

Fantastic episode adds to the mystique of 1960's LeMans 24 Hr. Thanks!

One of the greatest stories ever, indeed. Thank you for sharing this little piece of history.

More of John please. His stories and the way he tells them (chefs kiss)

Hands down the best story that i have ever watched here, just amazing

I can't believe Ficarra "casually" just gave a historical lecture of Ferrari's last Le Mans win with his Bingo hat, t-shirt, shorts and Chuck Taylor sneakers. Vinwiki, good job getting John, don't let him go!

Then fast forward to 2023 and Ferrari won Le Man in the Ferrari 499P. 50 years after their last win. It was also the 100th running of the race. what a moment in motorsport history. Just like this amazing story. thank you for sharing it.

One of the best stories ever. Just excellent.

Listening to behind the scenes details and tales of legendary laps with automotive giants is my idea of a GOOD time.

This may be the best episode you have ever done. Definitely the best I have seen. An interesting story told in a great fashion. Not some braggart talking about their own acquisitions. Bravo.

Best radio voice I’ve heard in years. Absolute pleasure to listen.

I'm doing a painting of that very car at that very race. Your video will help me put the emotion of the event into the finished piece. Thanks for the inspiration.

This was best ever....my lunch at work...opened RU-vid and saw the name of video. WHOA...Could almost feel the heat off the screen and smell of gas with hot rubber...Thank you guys for what you do , this was a historic tale to share. Now I'll forward it to all my gear head friends because they have to see it

This dude...IS SOLID! I cant even IMAGINE how he knows.. or the depth of what he knows... I just know he was at CANEPA, thats enough for me, *drools* over 959.

That was an incredible story, thanks for sharing John!

This has to be THE BEST Le Mans story told, and its all due to Mr Ficarra's descriptive & masterful eloquent story-telling. His enthusiasm and passion for automotive sport history is a true credit to your team. Will happily listen to this guy talk about anything. Id listen to him describe a dentist performing a root canal. Love seeing this quality of story-telling and factual automotive history narration. John, PLEASE do an audiobook about moments in auto racing history. Love your form mate! 🤙💯 Bloody beautiful low-down on LM shenanigans. Best vid I've seen in months. Vin Wiki, you've just won a new subscriber. Keep it coming 👌🏼

John has now done one of the BEST Vinwiki stories yet. What a terrific storyteller.

I love Le Mans history! This was amazing. Thank you

Alone at home, having some beer... listening to these stories

I think these stories should always be told by people that love cars as much as this gentleman does. It adds something to it, something intangible but so powerful, so compelling.

Best Wiki ever.Thank you. LeMans fans should look up Duncan Hamiltons story. Hamilton famously won the 1953 event in a Jaguar C-Type shared with Rolt. Initially, the pairing were disqualified for practising in a Jaguar that had the same racing number as another on the circuit at the same time, but they were reinstated. Hamilton's account has become a motor racing legend: when Jaguar team manager Lofty England persuaded the organisers to let them race, both drivers were already drunk in a local bar. England said: ”Of course I would never have let them race under the influence. I had enough trouble when they were sober!” When the race was under way the team tried to sober Hamilton up by giving him coffee during the pit stops but he refused it, saying it made his arms twitch; instead he was given brandy. The alcohol must have helped when he struck a bird face first at 130 mph and broke his nose. It is wonder how the pair managed to drive at all but more wondrous still is that the pair won. What’s more, they recorded the first 100 mph average speed at Le Mans, winning at a record pace! Both England and Rolt have denied that they were drunk. The ’53 Le Mans story did not end there, as Hamilton drove to Oporto to prepare for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Held on the Circuito da Boavista, he was leading into the first corner of the race, when he crashed his Jaguar, heavily into an electricity pylon. The Jaguar cartwheeled, throwing him out of the car and into a tree. He hung there for about a minute, before falling down on the side of the circuit. Barely conscious, he moved his legs just as a Ferrari raced by, nearly taking Hamilton’s left boot with it! He had to be taken to hospital for an emergency operation. The medical facilities did not extend to anaesthetic, and as the surgeon leant over him, Duncan was mesmerised by the increasing length of cigarette ash, as it hovered above his open chest cavity. The accident cut off the power supply to Oporto for several hours. On one occasion in 1947, he was transporting his MG R-type to the Brighton Speed Trials, when going down a hill near Guildford, he ”saw the splendid honeycomb radiator of a Bugatti in the outside rear-view mirror” , so he moved over and waved it past. But the car hung back. Further down the hill, the Bugatti accelerated and drew level with Hamilton, at which point he saw there was no one in it: ”The awful truth dawned on me - it was my own car, gathering speed fast.” Duncan had forgotten he was towing the Bugatti, and the story ends with a lamppost snapped in two. Hamilton was the epitome of the old school English competitor. He, and many of his contemporaries, such as Hawthorn, Rolt and Peter Collins, raced first and foremost for the love of the sport. True gentlemen drivers, their preparation and training consisted largely of wine, women and song.

Well done! I remember the day. Thanks for bringing it back!

ATS did indeed produce a cute little car. It was one of the first mid-engine sportscars, with a bespoke 2.5 litre V-8 in front of the rear axle. Coachwork was built by Allemano and designed by Franco Scaglione, who later designed the almost impossibly beautiful Alfa-Romeo 33 Stradale. ATS also produced a Formula 1 car which, sadly, was not successful. Only 12 ATS 2500 GTs were made before production stopped, and are rather pricey on the rare occasions when they come up at auction. In spite of the F1 project's failure, the 2500 GT is a well-regarded little car. I wouldn't mind having one at all. Thank you for this excellent video, it's quite a story.

One of the best racing stories I have ever heard...simply epic

This is absolutely the finest video you have ever released. Well done!

Best car story ever. Just brilliant - watched it three times this week

As long time racing fan, it’s hard for me to believe that this story hasn’t come out much sooner. This is certainly one of the greatest racing stories I’ve ever heard, and beautifully told as well. Thanks very much!

Wow, what a story. This is definitely one of my favourite VINwiki car stories ever!

This has got to be the best video on vinwiki EVER! I LOVED this, what a brilliant wee car

These are the stories I love to listen to, good job on this one.

This is an exceptional tale, told extreamly well. Can we have more racing stories from back in the day pls!!

Can't decide what is better, the story or the storyteller!

Just found this channel about a week ago with John telling the Top Gear story. Since then I have watched hundreds of your videos. This is an awesome channel with some awesome car guys. 👍

Best story to date. Thank you for posting it.

What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing that!

One day when I have kids, I hope that I won't have to read fairytale bedtime stories, and will be showing them VinWiki stories instead! This one will definitely be a classic!

Amazing story, INCREDIBLE story teller.

your story telling skill is amazing. I just glued till its over and still was longing for more. Thanks for presenting the story from the history of Le Mans

Absolutely wonderful! Thank you, AG

First fire of any engine gets me stoked. That v12 must’ve been orgasmic.

I feel lucky to have heard this story, and one about the 6 wheeled Tyrrell at a Canepa Cars & Coffee a few years ago. This guy's the man.

Thank you for posting this !!

Wow! What a story! Thanks so much for sharing this incredible piece of history

What an awesome story! I respect that driver for not backing down!

Oh man, what a great story. Thank you for this! This dude can tell a story.

That was an incredible presentation, what a story, but the delivery was perfect, I ate up every second of it. Thanks

What a fantastic story. Wonderfully told. Thank you sir.

Great speaker and love the emotional storytelling...subscribed!

Great story! Been watching VINwiki daily since the beginning and I was getting a little worried with some of the latest stories in that maybe the barrel was getting scraped, but you've brought it back again with this one, we need more from John!!

Great story to watch after Ferarri's Centennial Win!

Thank you for this video. Such a great story to be told. Carry on Sir!

What a story mate well presented and well told ...thank you

What a great story! Thank you!

I've watch this video several times. Each time it gets better. Wonderful wonderful story... Awesome storyteller.

Great story . I watched Ford v Ferrari today and I loved it.

Now that's a story (or several super cool ones within one). Far better than the "I found some clothes in my truck once, so here's some total guesses on how that happened, lol" one the other day, it has to be said.