Gulf Racing still a heavy hitter at Le Mans

By topgear, 26 June 2019
1

It has been 50 years since Gulf last won the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour outright, but that has got more to do with the dominance of manufacturer teams and their seemingly unlimited budget. However in the recent Le Mans race, Gulf Racing fielded two cars which at the end of the day, proved to be a successful outing.

The Gulf Racing LMP1 race car run by DragonSpeed caught a lot of attention, as it was the American race team’s swansong in the World Endurance Championship series, including the Le Mans race. Race fans were delighted with the iconic Gulf blue and orange livery on the DragonSpeed BR1 car which earlier during testing was sporting a plain white body colour. The livery was also a throwback to the Gulf Ford GT40 which crossed the finish line ahead of the entire competition in 1968, 1969 and 1975.

1

Aptly, the very same Ford GT40 which won the 1968/69 races appeared on race day and did a lap of honour in front of 252,000 spectators at the La Sarthe circuit. Only then did the race cars take their place on the grid – with the 2019 Gulf LMP1 car starting from seventh place.

The Gulf-DragonSpeed challenger started the race with competitive pace, only to be hampered by a freak bodywork issue on top of an intermittent gear selection problem. This forced the car to spend some time in the pit garage, with the DragonSpeed crew working hard to repair it during a few lengthened pit stops. But the gear actuation issue kept coming back, with the final one occurring near midnight two-thirds of the way through the circuit and forcing the #10 Gulf LMP1 machine to be parked and retired.

Gulf Racing also took part in the GTE-Am category with a Porsche 911 RSR which finished the race in eighth place (in class). The result sees the #86 Porsche finish at sixth place overall in the World Endurance Championship 2018-2019 season.

The Le Mans crowd was in clear appreciation of the Gulf racing heritage and colours. For example, Gulf licensee, Grand Prix Originals, was doing great business in its shops, while the range of Gulf-branded clothing sold by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – the Le Mans organiser – was similarly proving very popular.

Additionally, Gulf hosted 50 guests coming from as far as Thailand and Argentina who got the opportunity to meet a member from the winning 1969 Gulf JW Automotive team, Maitland Cook, who provided everyone with insights regarding racing operations during the 1960s and 1970s. Guests then celebrated the 50th anniversary of Gulf’s second outright victory at Le Mans with a cake cutting ceremony.