STORY OF THE DAY: The Private Ferrari That Outlasted the Works Cars

Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory won the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans in North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 LM number 21. Their victory, achieved after the faster works prototypes failed, became Ferrari’s sixth consecutive Le Mans win and its last overall triumph there for 58 years.

Number 21 endured early difficulties, yet the drivers and NART crew continued rather than surrendering. As leading Fords and factory Ferraris retired, the robust 250 LM moved forward. Ed Hugus was associated with the entry as reserve driver, but the officially credited winning crew remains Rindt and Gregory.

The 250 LM used a mid-mounted 3.3-litre Colombo V12 in a tubular chassis beneath closed Pininfarina-designed, Scaglietti-built bodywork. Although denied GT homologation, it proved an excellent privateer prototype: fast, comparatively mature and sufficiently durable to exploit the failures of more highly developed works machinery.

Austrian Rindt was an emerging single-seater star who would become the posthumous 1970 Formula One world champion. American Gregory was a fearless Grand Prix and sports-car veteran. Their contrasting careers met in a victory defined by speed, resilience and willingness to keep an imperfect race alive.