1968/69/75: Victory at Le Mans

The 24-hour race at Le Mans is Gulfs biggest motor sports sponsorship deal, and the first victory for Gulf-Ford came in 1968. It was the Gulf-Ford GT40 that won it with Rodriguez and Bianchi leading them to victory.

JACKIE ICKX - LeMANS 24 HRS

Three Gt40s entered the race, they were up against Porsche's four new 908's, which were faster but ford had the advantage with the handling on corners and more down force. Brian Muir buried his GT40 in the gravel and it took three hours to dig out and had a wrecked clutch, the second one had to retire with a broken gearbox, but the winning GT40 had a clear advantage after only four hours over the Porches and held it firmly all the way through without a hint of mechanical fault, it was a textbook win, with no problems but a dream come true for Gulf and Ford.

Amazingly the following year the Gulf Ford GT40 lead them to their second victory at Le Mans, with Ickx and Oliver leading the way. Ickx was the starting driver and luckily avoided at fatal accident at the Whitehouse on the opening lap. The opening hours of the race were fateful for the Porches with its first 917 losing control and hitting the barrier at a great speed, breaking the car into and killing the driver. Many of the Porsches dropped out with oil leaks and accidents, with only Ickx's and Oliver's GT40 and one Porsche 908 of Hanns Herrman and Larrouse left in the race it was a close race. The Porsche was faster on the straight but the heavier GT40 could hold out on the corners and handled much better. They kept overtaking each other again and again until the last three laps Ickx was consistently ahead, he was low on fuel and would normally have made a pit stop but with only a few laps to go he decided it was a risk worth taking, and the Porsche ‘s brakes warning light had come on, both men took the risk as it was going to be the closest victory in Le Mans history. The Gulf Ford GT40 crossed the line with only a 70m advantage, a breathtaking success for Ickx and Oliver.

The third Gulf Le Mans victory came in 1975 with the Gulf Ford Cosworth GR8. Bell and Ickx again driving the car. In 1975 the world was still in crisis and there were cut-backs in racing with growing concerns about energy saving, new regulations insisting that the cars must cover 20 laps before refilling their tanks rather than the usual 14 laps, were brought in. So many teams gave up on victories at Le Mans; it had forfeited its world championship status. The race was slower than usual with Ickx's and Bell driving the car no faster than necessary, after the leaders were delayed by an electrical fault the Gulf-Ford Cosworth naturally took the lead, however the drivers were worried as every time they turned the corner there was a loud thumping noise but when it was checked over in the pits, mechanics could find no faults. However they managed to hold the lead until the end, Gulf Oil's third victory at Le Mans.