The McLaren F1 GTR - circa 1996(ish...)
A pair of new McLaren 12C GT3 racers will be campaigned in Gulf Oil livery in 2012, the first time the two brands have been reunited since the mid 1990s.
The two McLarens will be campaigned next year by the officially sanctioned Gulf Racing team, and the cars will be prepared with the 'classic' sky blue and orange livery - not the dark 'corporate' blue that the McLaren F1 GTR dabbled with in the mid 1990s for reasons somebody probably still remembers...
Gulf Racing is a private team run owned by a bunch of er, 'wealthy' racers who are in the racing game for love, and not the money. Its members are Frédéric Fatien, Roald Goethe, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Mike Wainwright. (Goethe also owns the fabulous Gulf racing car collection acquired/looked after by Duncan Hamilton Ltd.)
The new McLaren GT3 racer...
Their relationship with Gulf is not a traditional sponsorship deal because (as far as we can ascertain), the guys paint their cars blue and orange because they like 'em that way - no money actually changes hands.
This year they've been campaigning an Aston Martin Vantage - which you should be able to see in the Autosport 6 Hours at Silverstone next month - following a spell with Lamborghini. Interestingly, the team has decided not to run with the new Aston Vantage GT3 racer featured here.
"One only has to look at the heritage of the McLaren MP4-12C to see what a superb racing car it promises to be," says Mike Wainwright. "Our Team Manager, David Price, worked with McLaren in the era of the F1 GTR and knows first-hand what the company is capable of in terms of production, support and technology.
"We are convinced this is the right path for us to take to allow us to fully enjoy our racing - which, don't forget, we do for leisure and pleasure and not as a profession. McLaren GT assures its teams of a race car that will be high quality, reliable and drivable and that sounded perfect for us."
...and the team's 2011 Vantage
The team says it may continue to run its Vantage next year too, but a programme hasn't been confirmed.
Meanwhile Aston Martin Racing's own tie-up with Gulf continues to the end of 2012, but it will be interesting to see whether the relationship continues beyond that, given Aston's less than spectacular current form. (And perhaps given McLaren's reported interest in returning to endurance racing on its own account...)
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