Great liveries

As I was going through some of my 2007 Goodwood "Festival of Speed" pictures, I paused to admire the beauty of a 917 Gulf Porsche (below). My girlfriend who just happened to walk by said that: "The colors on that car don't match."

Yes, she is referring to the iconic Gulf Oil colors. Well, I almost showed her the door. Blasphemy I tell you!

This gave me the idea to write a piece on the greatest motor sport liveries. In my humble opinion, the top five are: 

No. 1. Gulf Oil 

Gulf oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The brand was synonymous for its association with auto racing, as it famously sponsored the John Wyer Automotive Team in the 1960s. The signature light blue and orange color scheme associated with its Ford GT40 and Porsche 917 is one of the most famous corporate racing colors and has been replicated by other racing teams sponsored by Gulf. Much of its popularity can be attributed to the 1971 film "Le Mans" in which Steve McQueen's character drives for the Gulf Team.

No. 2. John Player & Sons

Simply known as Player's, John Player bought the business in 1877 from William Wright. The tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England, began sponsoring Team Lotus with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf colors at the 1968 Monaco GP, continued with the Lotus 72, which changed back to the black and gold John Player Special colors in 1972 and ended in 1986 with the Lotus 98T (pictured). Furthermore, BMW owned the JPS livery in touring car racing in Australia in the 1980's.

No. 3. Marlboro

Marlboro is the largest selling brand of cigarettes in the world. Made by Philip Morris USA, it was first introduced in 1928 and was famous for its billboard advertisements, magazine ads of the Marlboro Man and its long associated history in the sponsorship of motorsport. In 1972 it sponsored the F1 teams of BRM and Iso Marlboro-Ford. In 1974 it sponsored only the McLaren Team for two years. When Ron Dennis took over McLaren in 1981 Marlboro returned and together they dominated F1 until 1996. Emerson Fitipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna all drove for Marlboro.

Ferrari's association with Marlboro started in the mid 1980s as a secondary sponsor and in 1993 it became their primary sponsor.

No. 4. Martini

The Martini & Rossi distillery produces Martini vermouth The Martini sponsorship of motorsports began in 1968 under the Martini Racing name with its distinctive dark blue, light blue and red stripes on white or silver cars. 

During the 1970s, Martini became famous icw Porsche as its iconic 917 won the 1971 24 hours of Le Mans. it sponsored many Porsche cars throughout the 1970s. During the 1980s, it sponsored the Italian Lancia teams with the Group 5, Group 6, Group C.

Martini's association with F1 started with Tecno in 1972-1973 and moved to Ecclestone's Brabham in 1975. For the 1979 season, Martini sponsored Team Lotus. 

The WRC Porsche also enjoyed Martini's sponsorship along with the Lancia Works Team. In 1992 Martini racing started with Touring car racing.

Finally, starting in 1973 Martini Racing sponsored the powerboat owned Carlo Bonomi and Cesare Fiorio which competed in the Powerboat World Championship, winning the series in 1975 and 1976.

No. 5. Rothmans

Rothmans Int'l plc was a British tobacco manufacturer founded by Louis Rothman in 1890. Rothmans sponsored the factory Porsche team, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1982 with a 1-2-3 with the Porsche 956. They won another three times during the 1980s. Rothmans' association with the WRC started in 1982 and ended a decade later. Between 1985 and 1993, they sponsored the works Honda Team in the Motorcycle racing GP wining four championships.

Gege's choice: Silk Cut

Silk Cut is a low tar cigarette brand produced by the Gallahar Group, a division of Japan Tobacco, and was first introduced in 1964. Silk Cut sponsored the succesful Jaguar XJR sportscar that competed in the World Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  The XJR-9 took six victories in 1988 with, amongst others, fellow Dutchman Jan Lammers at the wheel, and deposed Porsche for the first time since 1980 from winning at Le Mans. It was Jaguar's first victory at Le Mans since 1957.

Finally, I believe these recent Martini Racing pictures deserve mentioning, wouldn't you say!

Thanks for reading.

Source: Wikipedia

Photo credit: own library, piston head (#17), panathinaeos.worldpress (Lancia)