STORY OF THE DAY: The Leading Ferrari Falters at Le Mans

John Surtees and Ludovico Scarfiotti retired works Ferrari 330 P2 number 19 from the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car possessed the pace to contest the lead, but it joined the other principal factory prototypes on the retirement list as NART’s older 250 LM survived to victory.

The race exposed the difference between speed and endurance security. Surtees and Scarfiotti could exploit the 330 P2’s power on the long straights, yet the sustained mechanical demands of Le Mans ultimately ended their challenge and transformed the likely finishing order.

The 330 P2 placed a four-litre, twin-cam V12 behind the driver in an advanced semi-monocoque-style structure combining tubes and stressed panels. Its open body was shaped for high speed, and its substantial power made it one of Ferrari’s fastest prototypes, though also a demanding endurance proposition.

Surtees was a British multiple motorcycle world champion and Ferrari’s reigning Formula One champion. Scarfiotti was an Italian works driver, hill-climb champion and 1963 Le Mans winner. Both understood high-powered machinery, making their retirement a loss of one of Ferrari’s strongest and most technically perceptive crews.