Ken Miles
British racing driver (1918-1966) · United Kingdom · On the map · Athletes · Died at 47
An English engineer who could both design a race car and drive it faster than almost anyone - then got written out of the win that should have crowned his career.
Peaked 2 Nov
Read more often than usual, most of all on 2 November.
1.9 times the usual readers on 2 November. 4,330 readers on 2 November, against about 2,316 a day before the rise.
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About this person
Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles was born 1 November 1918 in England and came to the U.S. with a rare double skill: he could tune an engine and pilot it at the edge. Teaming with Carroll Shelby, he helped develop the Ford GT40, the machine built to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. In 1966 the car finally won, but Miles was ordered to stage a photo finish and lost on a technicality. The GT40 went on to take Le Mans in 1967, 1968, and 1969; Miles never saw it. He died testing a prototype on 17 August 1966, two months after the race. He's in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari brought the story to millions who'd never heard the name.
