LM24: Ford GT40 Stories - David Hobbs

RACER looks back at the legendary Ford GT40 program that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four consecutive wins from 1966-1969 in a series of new interviews with the iconic drivers who represented the Blue Oval.

After making six Le Mans starts from 1962-1967, David Hobbs was drafted in to partner with Paul Hawkins in 1968 and the late motorcycle champion and Formula 1 ace Mike Hailwood in 1969. Coming off the 1967 event where he partnered with F1 champion John Surtees in a Lola T70, Hobbs was searching for new opportunities and found a home with Ford during its final two attempts with the GT40 at Le Mans.

Hobbs and Hawkins had little to celebrate after the car broke early in the 1968 race, but teammates Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi were able to secure the win. With Hailwood at his side the following year, the duo helped Ford to farewell the 24 Hour with a fine third as teammates Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver won in a sister GT40.

On how the Ford opportunity came together: "At the end of 1967, things looked a little bleak. I got a call from David York who worked for John Wyer (left) at the Gulf team, and asked me if I would drive the GT40 in 1968 and 1969. Obviously, I said, 'absolutely.' I mean, that was my first real proper factory drive. And I had already been driving now for 10 years because I started in 1959. His rationale for asking me was, if you are good enough to drive for John Surtees, you are probably good enough to drive for us."

On his Ford GT40 debut and the odd Sept. 28-29 race date: "1968, of course, the race was held in a funny time of the year, in September because of the election or a strike or something in June. And, of course, the other car, the regular drivers, both were injured, Brian [Redman] and Ickx. They had Lucien Bianchi and Pedro [Rodriguez] driving. We were leading the thing at eight o'clock at night when the engine broke.

"He and I both complained about vibration from the car on Thursday night's practice. And on Friday, they were doing the strip-down in this garage right outside the hotel. And they found the exhaust pipe was just touching the frame. They said, do you think that is the vibration?

"So we took [the GT40] out on the road, the local village road. And we blasted down there at 150 miles an hour with me sitting on the floor on the passenger side and Paul driving. [I said] "What do you think? [Paul said] "I don't know, it's hard to tell out here." Anyway, the f***ing thing broke the next day when we were leading. Of course, the other two did win it."

On the 1969 race: "In 1969, [it] was the last year of the Le Mans start. So Jackie Ickx expressed his displeasure by just walking across the road, whereas I, on the other hand, made a very good start and was in the leading bunch. Right behind me, after going to the White House [corner], [Porsche 917 driver] John Woolfe crashed at White House and was killed. Took Chris Amon out in the Ferrari, and did all sorts of other damage. Of course, Jackie Ickx was behind [us]. So the end of two hours, I had a lap lead on Ickx and Oliver in the other car. And we maintained that lead right through to five o'clock in the morning, when I had a brake failure going down to the Mulsanne hairpin.

"I went down the escape road and came back to the pits slowly. David York said, 'Well, it needs new pads.' I said, 'It is more than pads because it was so sudden'. He said, 'Leave the technical stuff to us and you just worry about the driving'. They changed the pads which was quite a [task] in those days.

Above: The Ford GT40 of David Hobbs and Mike Hailwood trail the sister care of Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver at Le Mans, 1969.

"And I went out, and of course, surprise, surprise, there were still no brakes. So I come back in. Of course, have to go through the pit row again and take all the bodywork off. They found a hole in the line. In those days the Girling calipers had an exterior pipe that went from one side of the caliper to the other. It wasn't cast into the caliber. And the wheel weight chipped a hole in it. So they had to change the pipe and then bleed all the brakes, and put the thing together again.

"Meanwhile, the other car had caught and passed us. If you read John Horsman's book Racing in the Rain, even he admits we should have won that race. In the end, we came in third because that terrific race for the lead between Jackie Ickx and [Porsche's] Hans Hermann really should've been a battle for second because we were in control that entire race.

"That was a bit of a disappointment to me, that one, not winning that. We came in third which is all very well, but not like winning."

On the John Wyer Ford GT40 team: "They did everything right. They had it organized, travel was well organized, everything was well organized. The cars. Great mechanics, great crew. Good leadership, John Wyer was not exactly a laugh a minute but he knew what he was doing. Team leader, David York, had a lot of experience. John Horsman was a good engineer.

"I mean, we had everything. It would be like driving for Audi today. For me it was just a dream come true. They paid real money, they paid $750 for the short race, and $1,000 for the big ones: Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona. It was a wonderful opportunity for me. And with a bit less bad luck – I don't mean I needed more good luck – but with a bit less bad luck I could have won 1968 and 1969 very easily. So that was a bit of a disappointment."

On being the team's second option: "We did have some good results; won some 1000kms. The only downside of the team was that David York was a bit like [Red Bull Racing's] Dr. Helmut Marko with Sebastian Vettel. And he just thought Jackie Ickx was the best thing since sliced bread. And he was pretty damn good, I have to say. A bit younger than me, of course. He was only about 22 and I was 30. So that was a slightly unsettling thing, because Watson Glen, the 1000K in 1968, me and Paul [Hawkins] had a lap lead on the Ickx-Bianchi car. And they made me slow down to let Ickx win it. They wanted Ickx to win it.

"There was no reason at all because it [awarded] manufacturer's points, not driver's points; it didn't matter to the team who won it. So we came in first and second but they made me give it up for Jackie Ickx. It was my first good go on a really good team so I wasn't about to get myself fired by ignoring team orders.

"But the next day at Elmira International Airport, the Gulf [oil] people where there. They were so disappointed and so upset with what had happened, they gave me and Paul $1,000 at the airport, each, because they felt that we really should have won it. Other than that, I enjoyed driving for them enormously."

On Ford's return to Le Mans in 2016: "Obviously, I wish him all the success in the world and they are run by a great team. They've got some great drivers there. But the GT category is pretty damned tough now. With the 911, the latest derivatives of the 911, and of course the [Corvette]. It is great to see [Ford] back and I must say the car looks the part. It looks glorious."