The 1967 24 Hours of Daytona was an endurance sports car race that took place on 4 and 5 February 1967 at the Daytona International Speedway road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the sixth running of the Daytona Continental endurance race, and the second time the event was held as a 24-hour race. It was also the opening round of the 1967 World Sportscar Championship.

Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini won the race for Ferrari with its new 330 P4 model, leading a 1–2–3 finish for the marque.

Race In the 1960s, Ford and Ferrari were involved in an endurance racing rivalry, which arose after the Italian manufacturer refused to be bought by the Americans if Enzo Ferrari cannot keep control of the racing division. Thus, Ford decided to enter GT endurance racing in 1964, which eventually paid off in 1966 with victories at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the overall victory in the 1966 World Sportscar Championship.

For the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, Ford entered as many cars as possible to maximize its chances of another victory. There were six factory cars at the start, three each from Shelby American and Holman & Moody, supplemented by a number of private entries. The factory teams used Mk.II Ford GT40s prototypes fitted with 7 liter NASCAR V8 engines, while the private teams participated with the regular Mk.I GT/sportscars models with the homologated smaller 4.7 liter V8 engine. However, Ferrari had not stood still in the winter of 1966 either. Technical director Mauro Forghieri was given complete freedom by team boss Enzo Ferrari to design new cars and engines. As a result, the team introduced the new Ferrari 330 P4, of which two examples were entered into the race: an open-top "Spyder" numbered 23 and a closed-top "Berlinetta" numbered 24. The former was an ex-P3 chassis converted to P4 specifications (sometimes referred to as a P3/4), while the latter was a brand new P4. In addition to the two works entries, privateer teams entered two 412 P models, which was a less sophisticated version of the P4 intended for customers. Despite the high costs, Ferrari traveled to Daytona for a test session in December 1966.

In qualifying, the Ford of Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt took pole position, just two tenths ahead of the Chaparral 2F of Phil Hill and Mike Spence. Ferrari's first factory car, the No. 23 of Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini, started fourth, behind the private entry of Pedro Rodríguez and Jean Guichet. Immediately after the start, Hill took the lead, and after half an hour he had a twenty second lead over Gurney. Ford and Ferrari, meanwhile, focused on their own lap times and decided not to push hard for the lead unless the it increased to more than five laps.

After three hours the Chaparral spun and had to retire, allowing the No. 24 Ferrari of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti to take the lead. The other Chaparral of Bob Johnson and Bruce Jennings also had to abandon the race. Ford's cars suffered from many mechanical problems, such as defective seals and transaxles, and had to be brought in one by one for long pit stops or retirements. Ford's mechanics made more and more repairs, but eventually almost all of the manufacturer's cars had to retire. Gurney and Foyt had to have a transmission replaced and were still fifth, but six hours before the finish they also had to give up. The only Ford factory car that could still threaten Ferrari, the No. 1 of Bruce McLaren and Lucien Bianchi, had to significantly reduce its speed due to overheating. This entry eventually finished the race in seventh place, 73 laps behind the winner.

With half an hour remaining until the finish, three Ferraris occupied the first three positions, each separated by several laps. They reduced their speed so that they could cross the finish line side by side. This was in response to Ford's photo finish at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unlike in that race, where the two leading Fords had completed the same number of laps, the leading No. 23 Ferrari was three laps ahead of the second-placed No. 24 entry, while the NART-entered 412 P finished a further 26 laps behind in third. The photo taken of this finish was kept in Enzo Ferrari's office for a long time. The first Ford, the private J. W. Automotive entry of Dick Thompson and Jacky Ickx, finished sixth, behind two Porsches with much smaller engines. The race is referred to as "Enzo's revenge" by various media outlets. Ferrari led for more than twenty hours during the entire race.

Official results

Sources:

Finishers Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps 1 P + 2.0 23 Ferrari s.p.a. Lorenzo Bandini Chris Amon Ferrari 330 P4 666 2 P + 2.0 24 Ferrari s.p.a. Mike Parkes Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 330 P4 663 3 P + 2.0 26 North American Racing Team Pedro Rodríguez Jean Guichet Ferrari 412P 637 4 P 2.0 52 Porsche of Stuttgart Hans Herrmann Joseph Siffert Porsche 910 618 5 P 2.0 55 Squadra Tartaruga Switzerland Dieter Spoerry Rico Steinemann Porsche 906LH 608 6 S + 2.0 11 J. W. Automotive Dick Thompson Jacky Ickx Ford GT40 601 7 P + 2.0 1 Shelby American Bruce McLaren Lucien Bianchi Ford GT40 593 8 S + 2.0 20 William Wonder Inc. William Wonder Raymond Caldwell Ford GT40 573 9 GT 2.0 54 RBM Motors Jack Ryan Bill Bencker Porsche 911S 555 10 T 2.0 61 George Drolsom George Drolsom Harold Williamson Porsche 911S 542 11 T + 2.0 72 Ring Free Oil Racing Team Paul Richards Ray Cuomo John Norwood Ford Mustang 526 12 T + 2.0 19 Howmet Corp. Ray Heppenstall Bill Seeley Ford Falcon 518 13 GT 2.0 73 Peter Marinelli John Tremblay Larry B. Perkins Volvo P1800 500 14 GT + 2.0 43 Cannons Auto Service Dana Kelder Ara Dube Triumph TR4A 499 15 T + 2.0 21 Brock Yates Brock Yates Charles Krueger Dodge Dart 498 16 T + 2.0 66 Tom Yeager Tom Yeager Walt Hane Peter Feistman Ford Mustang 498 17 GT 2.0 86 Kenneth G. Chambliss Bill Eve Ernie Croucher Pete Glenn MGB 493 18 GT + 2.0 42 Cannons Auto Service Steven Sommer Guido Levetto Triumph TR4A 491 19 T 2.0 75 Ike Maxwell Ike Maxwell William Martin Volvo 122S 485 20 T + 2.0 71 Ring Free Oil Racing Team Anita Taylor Smokey Drolet Janet Guthrie Ford Mustang 484 21 S + 2.0 32 Peter Clarke Peter Clarke Edward Nelson Ferrari 250LM 484 22 T 2.0 89 Ross Bremer Ross Bremer Don Kearney Billy Turner Ford Cortina Lotus 477 NC T 2.0 77 Precision Auto Inc. John Bentley Brian Beddow Alfa Romeo GTA 465 NC P 2.0 96 Jim Baker Donna Mae Mims Suzy Dietrich ASA 411 459 NC P 2.0 84 Jim Baker Dick Ganger Al Weaver Ken Goodman MGB GT 406 NC T 2.0 74 Arthur Mollin Racing Ent. Arthur Mollin Art Riley Volvo 122S 400 NC T 2.0 90 Del Russo Taylor Del Russo Taylor Bob Pratt Charles Lyon Alfa Romeo GTA 360 NC GT + 2.0 46 Richard Robson Richard Robson Rajah Rodgers Bill Buchman Jaguar XKE 320 NC GT + 2.0 48 Atlas Van Lines Tim Burr Buell Owen Clint Cavin Triumph TR4 264

Did not finish

Class No Team Drivers Chassis Laps P + 2.0 3 Shelby American A. J. Foyt Dan Gurney Mercury GT40 464 T + 2.0 36 Roger Penske George Wintersteen Joe Welch Bob Brown Chevrolet Camaro 456 P + 2.0 33 Écurie Francorchamps Willy Mairesse Jean Blaton Ferrari 412P 401 GT + 2.0 18 Roger West Roger West Bobby Allison Shelby GT350 343 P 2.0 34 Harrah Modern Classic Motors Charlie Kolb John Fulp Ferrari Dino 206S 341 P + 2.0 28 North American Racing Team Jo Schlesser Masten Gregory Peter Gregg Ferrari 365P2 338 P + 2.0 14 Chaparral Cars Inc. Bob Johnson Bruce Jennings Chaparral 2D 334 GT + 2.0 67 Dos Caballos Racing Inc. Fred van Beuren Paul Jett Don Pike Shelby GT350 313 T + 2.0 76 John McComb John McComb Dave Dooley Ford Mustang 312 P + 2.0 31 David Piper David Piper Richard Attwood Ferrari 365P2/3 311 P + 2.0 6 Holman & Moody Lloyd Ruby Denis Hulme Ford GT40 299 P + 2.0 5 Holman & Moody Mario Andretti Richie Ginther Ford GT40 298 P + 2.0 2 Shelby American Ronnie Bucknum Frank Gardner Ford GT40 274 T + 2.0 40 Craig Fisher Craig Fisher George Eaton Chevrolet Camaro 258 P + 2.0 4 Holman & Moody Mark Donohue Peter Revson Mercury GT40 236 P 2.0 51 Porsche of Stuttgart Gerhard Mitter Jochen Rindt Porsche 906E 194 T + 2.0 16 Joie Chitwood Joie Chitwood junior Jack McClure Chevrolet Camaro 186 GT + 2.0 45 Joe Hines C. C. Canada Joe Hines T. J. Kelly Triumph TR4 186 P 2.0 53 Porsche of Stuttgart Udo Schütz Rolf Stommelen Gijs van Lennep Porsche 906 170 S 2.0 56 Charles Vögele Charles Vögele Walter Habegger Porsche 906LH 146 GT + 2.0 29 Pedro Rodríguez Carlos Salas Guterrez Hector Rebaque senior Ferrari 275 GTB/C 136 P 2.0 47 Fred Opert Racing Peter Gethin Fred Opert Roy Pike Chevron B4 106 S + 2.0 9 Brescia Racing Corse Umberto Maglioli Mario Casoni Ford GT40 93 P + 2.0 15 Chaparral Cars Phil Hill Mike Spence Chaparral 2F 93 P + 2.0 8 Jim White Chevrolet Inc. Tony Denman Bob Brown Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport 72 T 2.0 82 Harry Theodoracopulos Harry Theodoracopulos Sam Posey Jim Haynes Alfa Romeo GTA 69 S + 2.0 7 Herb Byrne Herb Byrne Dick Thetford Russell Beazell Shelby Cobra 56 GT + 2.0 44 Ray Stoutenburg Ray Stoutenburg James Taylor Roger McCluskey Triumph TR4A 22 T 2.0 87 Chet Freeman Chet Freeman Al Weaver John Marshall Ford Cortina Lotus 18 GT 2.0 63 Dockery Ford Inc. Bob Grossman Martin Krinner Shelby GT350 1

Did not start

Class No Team Drivers Chassis T + 2.0 22 JoKar Racing Associates Frank Karmatz Raymond Caldwell Plymouth Barracuda S 2.0 58 Rod Savyer Tony Dean Trevor Taylor Porsche 906 T 2.0 85 Jim Baker Ken Goodman Jim Baker Alfa Romeo GTA

References

External links

Race report on The Morning Call