Page "John Wyer" Paragraph 6

With backing from Gulf Oil and their teammanager J-O Bockman, Wyer created the Ford-powered Mirage M-1, a prototype that won the 1967 1000 km Spa.

Due to a rule change that came in effect for 1968, prototypes were limited to 3000cc, while sportscars could have 5000cc if at least 50 were built.

This applied to the two-year-old Ford GT40s, which were modified by Wyer.

As a surprise, Wyer won the World Sportscar Championship for Ford in 1968 even though the 2200cc Porsche 907 were considered favorites at the beginning of the season.

The superior power of the 5000cc V8 allowed them to win on fast tracks, and especially at Le Mans two years in a row in 1968 and 1969, even though they were outclassed at twistier tracks.