The legendary blue and orange colors of the Gulf Oil Company that adorned the 24 winners of the Le Mans 24 hours in 1968, 1969 and 1975, in 2012 are carried by three teams in three of the four classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

OAK Racing, on two fronts. The only team supported by Gulf to be present in both prototype classes, they delivered a solid performance at Sebring. Despite the retirement of the OAK Pescarolo LMP1 three hours before the finish due to engine failure, the LMP2 Morgan finished third in the category of competitors in the FIA World Endurance Championship. OAK Racing remains a favourite in LM P2, where they built their reputation, and will undoubtedly remain a candidate for the top 5 in LMP1.

Gulf Racing Middle East, a difficult start. Present in 2011 in the LM GTE Am class of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the team based in Dubai this year decided to move into prototypes, entering two Nissan powered Lola coupes in LMP2. In his first appearance in this class they experienced difficulties in Sebring. In the #28, Fabien Giroix, Maxime Jousse and Stefan Johansson were delayed by several problems, but still finished the twelve hours of racing, winning points for seventh place in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The #29 however, driven by Frédéric Fatien, Keiko Ihara and Jean-Denis Deletraz spent most of its time in the pits, the victim of a persistently overheating engine. This prevented the trio of drivers from doing the required number of night laps required to participate in the race.

Aston Martin Racing, a promising comeback. For their return to LM GTE Pro, the Aston Martin factory team won third place in class at Sebring behind Ferrari and Porsche, with Adrian Fernandez, Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner. The potential of the of Vantage GTE, combined with the results so far for the team (two consecutive victories in the late LM GT1 category at Le Mans 24 Hours 2007 and 2008) suggests that Aston Martin Racing will be a regular candidate to the podium.

The second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship will be at Spa-Francorchamps (ticket information here).

Reactions of OAK Racing and Aston Martin Racing after the Sebring 12 hours. 
OAK Racing/Morgan partnership in LMP2

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo : SEBRING (FLORIDA, USA), SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, SEBRING 12 HOURS, , WARM-UP, 17 MARCH 2012. Although delayed by problems, the sole Lola-Nissan of Gulf Racing Middle East took the chequered flag.