Photo : Pascal SAIVET - www.visionsport-agency.com

9/24 – Sunday, 9th December: Gulf, two colours, three teams, one legend. The blue and orange livery of middle east oil company Gulf entered motor sport history with three wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1968-69-75). In 2012, three teams have kept alive this prestigious heritage.

Entered in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including of course the Le Mans 24 Hours, OAK Racing (LM P1 and LM P2), Gulf Middle East Racing (LMP2) and Aston Martin (LM GTE Pro) provided three perspectives on their relationship with the Gulf heritage.

OAK Racing: Gulf with a French accent. Driver and owner of the team based in Le Mans, Jacques Nicolet: "For me, Gulf, this is the movie 'Le Mans' and Steve McQueen, as well as a symbol of passion in the heart of endurance racing. In addition, I am lucky to have a beautiful car that carries these colours, the Mirage M3 that ran the World Championship from 1968 to1969 with Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver."

Gulf Racing Middle East: This team was established in the UAE by the French driver Fabien Giroix, who pays homage to the history of Gulf in endurance racing: "When I went to the Le Mans 24 Hours with my father, it was at the time of the Gulf Mirage cars that followed the Porsche 917. We hope to continue this historic tradition, with two different liveries on our Lola-Nissan coupe, as was done in 1970 and 1971 with the 917. “

Aston Martin Racing: Gulf English and Mexican. When Gulf won for the first time at Le Mans in 1968, it was with a Mexican driver, Pedro Rodriguez. In 1970 and 1971, he became one of the leading drivers of the Porsche 917. Another Mexican Adrian Fernandez drove the famous blue and orange for part of the 2012 season, in the Aston Martin Vantage GTE he shared with Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner: "Pedro was one of our greatest heroes, both capable of winning at Le Mans and in Formula 1. Like him in his time, I carry the colours of Gulf and my compatriots begin to make the connection, especially those of my generation.”

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo: SHANGHAI (REPUBLIC OF CHINA) SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI RACE, October 28, 2012. Driving their Aston Martin Vantage GTE, Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner won in Gulf colours in the LM GTE Pro class at the end of the last round of the FIA World Endurance Championship 2012.