TGR StaffThe Gulf Racing story stretches back to the 1930s, but the iconic Gulf Racing logo and colors we all know and love wouldn’t arrive until the 1960s. It has endured and today can still be found at race tracks and cars around the world. Its icon status has inspired all kinds of products, apparel, and of course Gulf Racing Inspired Watches.
It was in 1966 that Grady Davis, vice-president of Gulf Oil bought a Ford GT40 and partnered with John Wyer. For the next nine years, Ford GT40’s and Porsche 917’s would wear the Gulf Oil livery, bringing home three world championships, three overall victories at Le Mans, and cementing the brand’s legacy in motorsports forever.
While Pedro Rodriguez and Jo Siffert made the Porsche 917 a champion, Steve McQueen’s 1971 film ‘Le Mans’ made the Gulf Livery 917 a legend. Gulf would go on to win Le Mans again in 1975 with a Mirage Ford driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell. You would also see the Gulf logo on the side of Bruce McLaren’s Can-Am, Indy, and Formula 1 cars.
Gulf never stopped racing, today you can find Gulf livery on championship-winning Aston Martins and Porsches, Gulf Racing Fuels sponsors events around the world to this day. But the late 60s and early 70s is the era that is most associated with the Gulf Racing brand, and it is that era that has inspired so many of these amazing watches.
