Extensive research suggests that star race driver ken miles might have survived the reported fatal crash at riverside on august 17, 1966. Ken miles was already a champion race car driver when he took the wheel for ford at le mans 1966, but his victory over ferrari would make him a racing legend. Ken miles biography, family life and everything about. Le mans engineer ken miles and his role in 1966 race victory. The ford v ferrari movie depicts automotive designer carroll shelby matt damon and british driver ken miles christian bale as mavericks who fight corporate interference, namely from fords racing director, leo beebe josh lucas. The one nascar race for ken miles race results and driver. Ferrari is highliting the life and death of engineer ken miles, sparking interest in finding out what really happened the day ken died. Short biography of ken miles, race car driver snaplap.
Ken served in the british army during wwii and landed at normandy on june 26, 1944. Kenneth henry jarvis ken miles 19181966 find a grave. Ken miles was a british racing engineer and driver who is known for his racing career in the us with the american motorsport teams. Not the best start to his racing career, but the experience fueled his competitive fire. He also drove the pairs pride and joy, the gt40, in the epic race but was cheated out of first place due to a pr stunt. New film le mans 66 delves into the life of ken miles, the. As seen in ford v ferrari, a young peter, who idolized his dad, and car designer carroll shelby were at riverside raceway in southern california on august 16, 1966. Jan 25, 2020 shelby, ken miles, and phil remington designed the gt40, and after years of losing to ferrari, ford finally won the le mans in 1966 contrary to what is depicted in the film, miles actually did compete in the 65 race, and he didnt finish completing only 45 laps because the gearbox malfunctioned. Miles won the 24 hours of daytona and the 12 hours of sebring in 1966, and placed second at le mans. Ken miles when asked by a rich and naive person if they could become a race car driver miles grew up in england, and was a tank driver in world war ii. See more ideas about ken miles, ford gt and race cars. But miles is also known for missing out on the le mans win in 1966. Ken miles, portrayed by christian bale in the upcoming movie le mans 66, was a rogue figure who drove for ford during the race.
Miles won the race, proving the race ability and viability and airworthiness of the venice crewtuned pony car. The car won its class on the way to 4th overall in 1964, the first year of the ford gt40 program, but driver bob bondurant thought the car could have won the. Drivers lloyd ruby and ken miles enjoy victory lane following their win in the first 24 hours of daytona at daytona international speedway driving a ford mk ii for shelby american racing. Britishborn ken miles was a gifted race car engineer and driver. Nov 11, 2019 ken miles, portrayed by christian bale in the upcoming movie le mans 66, was a rogue figure who drove for ford during the race. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Nov 24, 2019 jimmy clark, ayrton senna and two southern california sports car drivers.
Mar 01, 2003 extensive research suggests that star race driver ken miles might have survived the reported fatal crash at riverside on august 17, 1966. In 2001, he was inducted into the motorsports hall of fame of america. Nov 19, 2019 peter miles was 14 years old almost 15 at the time of his fathers fatal crash. Peter miles is not exactly a secondgeneration driver, although his father, ken, was one of americas leading sports car drivers in the 1960s, but he is a secondgeneration racing personality. Ken miles, the driver behind fords victory over ferrari. The english actor learned to drive a race car for his role as driver ken miles at the bondurant high performance driving school near chandler. The original miles special was a remarkably successful machine and because ken make it look so easy, it was undoubtedly the inspiration for most of the homebuilt specials that. Recalling his early life, ken miles born in birmingham, west. Driving a stock mg td at the pebble beach road race, miles was disqualified for reckless driving after his brakes failed. What happened to pete miles kens son in ford v ferrari.
Nov 14, 2019 christian bale, right, plays brit driver ken miles. Nov 15, 2019 ken miles was a race car driver hired by shelby as a test driver. Ken miles 1918 1966 was a britishborn naturalized american racing driver who was active in the 1950s and 1960s, gaining a significant success in the sports car racing. His most successful season was 1966 when he was an overall winner at daytona 24 hours and sebring 12 hours in a ford gt. Nov 14, 2019 ken miles, an eccentric engineer and skilled driver, hailed from birmingham. There is a film on youtube of the 1964 motor trend 500 from riverside. Born in 1918 england, ken miles enjoyed a deep fascination with cars their mechanics from a young age. Christian bale, right, plays brit driver ken miles.
Kenneth henry miles 1 november 1918 17 august 1966 was a britishborn, naturalised american sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the us, and with american teams on the international scene. Race car driver ken miles puts a cobra through its paces. Nov 15, 2019 he died in a fiery car accident on august 17, 1966, at the riverside raceway. Inducted into the motorsports hall of fame of america in 2001, he won 14 straight victories in the scca in 1953 using a car he designed and built himself. Le mans engineer ken miles and his role in 1966 race. Dave in a fiery crash at indy in 64 and ken testing.
Test driver for ford and carroll shelby in the development of the gt40. Ken miles bio, net worth, death, car race driver, award. When carroll shelby and ford gave up on the car ken miles. The true story of ken miles mysterious death that ford v. The real ken miles from ford v ferrari is a legend whose. It follows the rivalry that scorched around the track of the famous 24hour racing competition between the ford and ferrari teams, in which bale plays ken miles and damon is carroll shelby on the ford team visionary american car designer shelby and the fearless british driver miles together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal. Kenneth henry miles 1 november 1918 17 august 1966 was a sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his career in the usa.
Shelby, ken miles, and phil remington designed the gt40, and after years of losing to ferrari, ford finally won the le mans in 1966 contrary to what is depicted in the film, miles actually did compete in the 65 race, and he didnt finish completing only 45 laps because the gearbox malfunctioned. He is an inductee to the motorsports hall of fame of america. This car won the first race in which it participated pebble beach, 1953 and formed the basis for his being regarded as the finest under1,500cc car driver in the west. Jan 23, 2020 visionary american car designer shelby and the fearless british driver miles together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for ford motor company and take on the dominating race cars of enzo ferrari in 1966. Late in the race, miles was well ahead of the competition, on his way to ending ferraris dominance at le mans and becoming the only driver to win the worlds three biggest endurance race.
Miles was born on 1 november 1918 in sutton coldfield, a short distance. Lets know more about the racer through this article. And then there was this from a story in car and driver in 2003 where they interviewed a retired cop and cobras and ford race car collector named fred jones who claimed that ken miles had survived. The car being driven by ken miles and his codriver lloyd ruby won the race by five laps, so there was no dive to the finish. Its her love of cars and driving that stop her from fearing what could happen to ken on the race track. Ken miles was an english sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the us, and with american teams on the international scene. Shortly after his fathers death, peter went to work for kens friend dick troutman at the troutman and barnes custom car shop in culver city, ca. Kens young son peter and shelby witnessed him getting into the car, driving out on the tack, and moments later, the. The unstoppable ken miles at the wheel of his ford race car during le mans 24 in june, 1966 credit.
Ken miles reallife son talks about collaborating with. He died in a fiery car accident on august 17, 1966, at the riverside raceway. In it, the film shows ken miles flipping and presents it as if the crash happened in 1964. Ford gt40 drivers ken miles and dan gurney were dicing for the lead, coming dangerously close to knocking each other out of the race. The actor didnt actually do any of the driving in the film. Ken miles at 12 hours of sebring, sebring international raceway, 27 march 1965. May 06, 2016 race car driver ken miles puts a cobra through its paces. Kenneth henry miles 1 november 1918 17 august 1966 was a british sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the us and with american teams on the international scene. After serving in the british army in world war ii, miles moved to california to pursue a career as a race car driver, in cars he was designing himself at the time. Ted sutton l and jim marietta to honor that achievement and its driver, the original venice crew has announced a special edition of its shelbyauthorized continuation gt350. In 1961, he was the winner of the 1961 us road racing championship. The win was the first in 40 years for an american manufacturer in international competition, and it proved miles prowess behind the wheel. Ken miles at the 24 hours of le mans race, june 1966 the. Profile for racing driver ken miles from united states.
Were carroll shelby and ken miles really as integral to the development of fords gt40 race car. Peter miles was 14 years old almost 15 at the time of his fathers fatal crash. Ken miles, the driver behind fords victory over ferrari at. The pair had inherited victory from fellow ford driver ken miles in car no1, who had earlier pulled out a lead of almost four laps over amon and mclaren in car no2, before being ordered to slow down by the team, in order to engineer a deadheat finish, and a powerful photo opportunity. Nov 17, 2019 the car being driven by ken miles and his co driver lloyd ruby won the race by five laps, so there was no dive to the finish. Nov 18, 2019 ken miles was an english sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the us, and with american teams on the international scene. Ken miles, an eccentric engineer and skilled driver, hailed from birmingham. Carroll shelby once threatened his drivers with a hammer. Ken miles, the human being, does not differ much from ken miles, the effervescent and brummieaccented character played by christian bale in ford v.
On august 17, 1966, ken miles died when the ford jcar he had been testing for almost an entire day at californias riverside international raceway flipped, crashed, and caught on fire, then broke. The deaths of ken miles and dave macdonald youtube. Ferrari, focuses on british driver ken miles, an unsung motorsports hero. Ken miles was a race car driver hired by shelby as a test driver. Peter miles is not exactly a secondgeneration driver, although his father, ken, was one of americas leading sports car drivers in the 1960s, but he.
This should be something that comes up in ford v ferrari as it will play an important part in the relationship between mollie and ken. Something that many people dont realize is that mollie miles was a driver to. Feb 05, 2020 and then there was this from a story in car and driver in 2003 where they interviewed a retired cop and cobras and ford race car collector named fred jones who claimed that ken miles had survived. Through his work for carroll shelby, miles got involved in fords gt racing program. Ken miles was born on friday, november 1, 1918 age 47 years. New film le mans 66 delves into the life of ken miles. Miles grew up in england, and was a tank driver in world war. Emigrating to the us in 1951, he designed and constructed a 1954 mg race car known as the shingle which dominated sports car racing on the west coast. Unable to watch another driver compete in the car he helped build, miles jumped in the driver seat and clinched a victory for ford at the 1965 daytona continental 2,000 km race. Also, ken miles wasnt even the one driving at the end. While his lone nascar race wasnt a great success, ken miles legacy as a driver remains as one of the finest racers of that era. To do so, the brand enlisted car designer carroll shelby matt damon and driver ken miles christian bale to come up with a car that could beat the italians.
Miles died in a crash while testing fords j car later that year. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. Tragically, miles died shortly after the period in which the film is set, coming downhill at the riverside course when his j car unexpectedly. Carroll shelby once threatened his drivers with a hammer in. He never said very much about the war, but could often be seen at racetracks wearing an old jacket, much like a knight would wear his suit of armour after victory in a joust.
Ken miles was key in fords triumph at le mans in 1966, developing and racing the ford gt40, as depicted in the film le mans 66. Peter miles was born on september 28, 1950 to ken miles and his wife, mollie miles. Jimmy clark, ayrton senna and two southern california sports car drivers. He was a tank sergeant in the british army during world war ii.
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