Chris Amon has died

From Chris Amon, we can remember multiple moments in his great career in motorsport, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1966 will forever be remembered in history. 50 years ago, the New Zealander and his teammate and compatriot Bruce McLaren, offered its first success to the legendary Ford GT 40 in the endurance test, the American brand thus succeeding in dethroning the Ferrari, until then sovereign in Sarthe.

Before this key stage in Chris Amon's career, the Bulls native had started at international level in F1 within the Parnell team in 1963, but also in the United States in Can-Am with McLaren.

After his success at Le Mans, Amon joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1967, both in F1 and sports cars, with a victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona that same year. The New Zealander, however, failed to win a race in the premier discipline counting towards the World Championship, nevertheless accumulating 11 podiums.

Amon would finally leave Ferrari's F1 program at the end of 1969, moving to March then Matra and Tyrell before retiring at the end of 1976. Chris Amon died at Rotorua Hospital after a long battle with cancer.

The entire AUTOhebdo editorial team sends its sincere condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.