24 Hours of Le Mans

Gulf livery voted best paint scheme by SpeedTV visitors

© Planetlemans - Gabriel Portos

For longtime fans of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the iconic colours of Gulf-liveried cars conjures memories of Steve McQueen, the movie ‘Le Mans,’ and his stunning Porsche 917 that carried Gulf’s baby blue and orange design.

While many cars have since carried the Gulf colors, the marriage of two storied brands—Aston Martin and Gulf, at a race where the two are cast into the history and lore of the event, was a dream convergence for sportscar racing fans. More than half of the votes by SPEEDtv.com readers went to the Gulf Oil Aston Martin DBR9’s in the ‘Best Paint Scheme’ poll.

The only possible improvement on the partnership between Gulf and Aston Martin would come in the form of a win—something the 009 car driven by David Brabham, Antonio Garcia, and Darren Turner achieved in dominant fashion for the second successive year.
Both Gulf DBR9’s were surrounded by fans and photographers wanting to get their own shots of the stunning cars.

For Brabham, 2008 was the second time he’d raced at Le Mans in Gulf colours—the first time came in 1996 in a McLaren F1. As the Aussie found, the reaction to the Gulf-Aston was a bit of a surprise. “When I drove the Gulf McLaren in ‘96, I don’t remember it being as big a deal as this year with Aston Martin. This years reaction was much bigger. I think only in the future that we will fully recognize the significance of this win, being two in a row, and this year with the beautiful livery of Gulf.”

With 55% of the votes by SPEEDtv.com’s readers going to the Gulf-DBR9’s for ‘Best Paint Scheme,’ Sarah Durose, Motorsport Communications Manager for Aston Martin, was happy to accept the unique ‘voted for by the fans’ award on behalf of the manufacturer. “The Aston Martin DBR9 is a stunning car in any livery, but this year, resplendent in the famed blue and orange livery of our partner Gulf Oil the car looks absolutely beautiful. On behalf of Aston Martin and the Aston Martin Racing team I would like to thank the SPEEDtv.com readers for choosing the Gulf liveried DBR9 as their favourite livery for Le Mans 2008!”

Even covered in dirt and grease, the beauty of the blue and orange cars was evident throughout the 24 hour race!