The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

for him. It was the drivers, themselves, being very careful with the cars and the idea that we’re not going out to break new records but By God, we’re going to finish. And Shelby, of course, the head of everything, who bore with us and babied us along and who said, “ Look, I’ve got faith in you to do the job – do it your way. ” SMITH: The final thing is, what’s it like to drive? Your driving style, as I’ve been able to observe off and on, is your exuberance and joy of driving. MILES: I enjoy driving, yes. You have to tailor your driving to the car. If you can’t you might as well quit. SMITH: But you didn’t have any problems with that. MILES: No. In racing you’ve got to be blunt. Once you say to yourself “ I’ve reached my level ,” then you’re through. You’ve got to keep learning and the Ford GT40 is a challenge to me. I’ve never driven a car before that has handled as well or demanded such finesse. It is a car that, in order to get the absolute most out of it, you’ve got to drive very, very accurately. It isn’t like a Cobra where you just throw the thing around in a wild fashion. SMITH: The Ford GT doesn’t seem like a fun car to drive. Could you say something about what it feels like to drive it? MILES: It isn’t a fun car to drive, but once you accept the fact that you’ve got to drive carefully and accurately, it’s a very easy car to drive. It’s a car with which I personally wouldn’t pick to go out in private. I wouldn’t want to go out in private with a GT40 for five laps and say, “ That was a good run. ” I think you’d kill yourself in that, quite easily. SMITH: You’re not saying that it’s treacherous... MILES: No, but what I am saying is that it is extremely stable up to a cer- tain point. And like all modern cars, once you go beyond that point, brother – look out. Which is typical of any modern car. You refine the road- holding to a point where you are get- ting absolutely the most out of your contact with the ground that you could possibly get. If you slip over the edge you are asking for a little bit of trou- ble. Although I will say this, this car is much more forgiving than, for exam- ple, a Lotus Elite. SMITH: You’ve had some bad experi- ences with them, didn’t you? With wheels keep falling off and what not? MILES: Well, yes I did, but aside from that, I recall, for example, a Lotus 18 – a car which has a very, very sharp edge, which you dare tread. SMITH: The GT40 has a high degree of roadholding... MILES: You’ve got to look around the curve. Provided you recognize its lim- itations, it’s a beautifully easy car to drive. SMITH: Does attention to driver en- vironment seem to pay off very well? MILES: It’s a very comfortable car. At Daytona it was the first time in years that I got out of a car without a blister on my hand and with only minor bruises which I know how to correct next year. It just needs a little padding in one area and the padding has to be designed for me. I have relatively short legs and relatively long arms, and sit in a different attitude than a great many people in the car and I bruise myself in different places. SMITH: How did Ruby make out in the car? MILES: Very well. He thought it was a beautiful car, too. SMITH: Whose idea was it to have him drive? MILES: Carroll’s. You see, Carroll used to drive for Lloyd Ruby at one time. This is quite a switch, to have Lloyd Ruby driving for him. Lloyd has a lot of experience with tracks and cars. He’s a good, consistent driver and he’s the sort of driver that is very easy to get along with. He’ll come in off the track after having driven the car in practice and you say, “ Well, Lloyd, what do you think? ” and he’ll say “ Good. Fine. No trouble .” “ What do you want changed? ” “ What do you want to change anything for? It’s running beautifully .” SMITH: Most drivers seem to come in and they want everything changed. MILES: So, I discussed a few changes with him. I said, “ Look, I think it wouldn’t hurt to put a little heavier rear sway bar on it. What do you think? ” And Lloyd said, “ Do you think we need that? ” And I said, “ Yeah, maybe it would be a good idea. ” So we tried it and we both liked it. The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 50