FXF Stories: David & Goliath - Ford v Ferrari at Le Mans

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most recognizable stories in the Bible. The story starts acknowledging the big picture: on one hill is the Philistine army in all its might, and to the one adjacent to it, the Israelites. Both armies are primed to fight, the only thing between one another, a valley. The stage is set brilliantly just as the main antagonist is introduced.

Goliath, a Philistine champion, is no unimpressive sight. Decked out in bronze armor head to toe, he stands at 9 feet, 9 inches, making him an utter dominating force on the battlefield. Goliath calls out to the Israelites, "why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me." He then further sweetens the deal, stating " if he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 1 Samuel 17:8‭-‬9 NIV.

When the Israelites heard this, they were utterly terrified. See, the Israelites didn't have a "supersoldier" like Goliath. Rather they were an army made up of regular soldiers that were supplemented by God's grace on the battlefield.

For forty days, tension escalated as day by day Goliath relentlessly taunted the Israelites, the army fleeing every time he came in sight. One day, as the youngest of Jesse's sons, David, came to deliver food and supplies to his brothers and the rest of Saul's army, David overheard the Philistine's clamour. When hearing about the monumental reward the king was offering for Goliath's death (including great wealths, his daughter in marriage, and family tax exemption), David volunteered to fight the towering warrior, much to the dismay of King Saul.

Saul was against it, saying “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:33‭-‬37 NIV.

With this, Saul reluctantly agreed, giving David the honor of fighting the giant. In preparation for the fight, Saul dressed David in a coat of armor, a bronze helmet, and his own tunic. When David went to try his new garment out, he found himself unable to walk, and due to this unfamiliarity, went into battle without the protection. Taking his staff in his hands, he took five stones from the stream, along with his sling, and went to face Goliath.

When he reached Goliath, Goliath looked him over, and seeing he was little more than a boy, thought himself readily victorious. Despising David for his health and handsomeness, Goliath cursed him by the Philistine's gods, taunting him. Standing off with Goliath, David proclaimed, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45‭-‬47 NIV.

And with this, the battle began, but it would be short-lived. As Goliath moved to attack David, so too did David run to meet him. The two barreling to clash, David loaded a stone into his sling and shot it right at the forehead of the Philistine. The stone hit! Sinking into his forehead, Goliath fell facedown onto the ground, he was dead. David then went over to him, took his sword out its sheath and cut off his head.

When the Philistines saw that their great warrior was dead, they fled, running for their lives as the Israelites pursued them with a great forward surge. This began the rise of David.

So what does this have to do with racing?

A lot more than you think, actually.

In the 1960's, America's Ford Motor company found itself in the same predicament, a David in the midst of a timeless battle with their Goliath: Ferrari.

In the early 1960s, Ford spiritually wasn't doing so hot, and (rightly so) had a bit of a brand image problem. Losing touch with younger buyers, Ford wanted to rekindle its 'coolness' in an aim to reclaim its relevance. The way the company decided to go about this was by purchasing Enzo (Ferrari)'s Italian race team, Scuderia Ferrari, and get Ford Motor Company some much needed racing glory. This plan however, fell apart in its final stages, after numerous lengthy negotiations with the Italian where he backed out in the final moment, deciding rather to sell to Italian marquee Fiat. This made Henry Ford II incredibly angry, and with this grave insult prompted Ford to create his own car to take on Ferrari at Le Mans, sparking the most bitter rivalry Auto Racing has even seen.

In 1964 Ferrari's domination was getting out of hand, having won every Le Mans 24 hours running of the decade; and Ford was not having it. Ford wanted revenge, and being so, started its own racecar development program, with the help of Carroll Shelby, for the top class. Debuting the GT40, Ford unleashed its new creation on the French circuit in 1965. The race would start encouragingly, but early on things would take a turn for the worse. All the Ford GT40s entered would fail to finish the race, each retiring due to head gasket issues, leaving Ferrari to take yet another win.

The embarrassment for Ford was utterly overwhelming, and in fact almost caused the program to be scrapped. Kept alive with pleas from his advisors, Henry Ford II, and the Ford Motor Company returned the next year with an updated GT40, the Mk.II. This time around, the car would hold up much better. With the reliability situated, the Fords took the fight to Enzo and his Ferrari's, dominating the race. Miles ahead, the trio of Fords sauntered over the line, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the historic formation finish.

Henry Ford II would go on to slay his Goliath several more times with his GT variants, achieving the last laugh against a faltering Ferrari side that hasn't seen victory in a Le Mans 24 hour since; revitalizing a David vs. Goliath-esque rivalry that continues over 50 years later to this day in the modernized counterparts of both teams.