Photo : Arnaud CORNILLEAU / ACO

 

The unmistakable light blue and orange colours of the Gulf company have won Le Mans on three occasions: 1968, 1969, and 1975. Racing connoisseur based in the Middle East, Roald Goethe now owns over 30 cars. " But the idea to form a collectio around the Gulf livery didn't exist at the start," he said. Coming from 60s generation myself, the cars from the end of that decade are what inspired me the most. I became friends with a collection car dealer, Adrian Hamilton, son of Duncan who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1953. When I could afford to purchase a Ford GT40, which was my dream car as a boy, Edwin had a factory example of the car painted in Gulf colours. After receiving the car, that's when the idea to give a direction to the collection came about, and today it stands at 29 cars in Gulf livery." Recently, Roald Goethe became the proud owner of the Gulf McLaren F1 GTR driven by Sir Lindsey Owen-Jones, current president of the FIA Endurance commission, drove to a fifth place finish at Le Mans in 1996!

In Bahrain, Roald Goethe will join Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall at the wheel of the No.96 Vantage V8, current leaders in the LM GTE Am class, with whom he contested this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.  " I'm learning a lot from Stuart, who has become a good friend, as has Jamie. It's a real privilege to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship, especially when you have the opportunity to do it with Aston Martin (also partners with Gulf since 2008), it's hard to do better! It puts a bit of pressure nonetheless because you have to be at a high level of performance. But when you start racing later in life, I've only been racing for three and a half years, you also have to know how to keep your feet on the ground.  I've done a few vintage racing events like the Le Mans Classic, for example, but the extra motivation commes from one day adding a car with which I've actually raced in the 24 Hours with."

Click here  to learn more about the upcoming 6 Hours of Bahrain, last round of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt - ACO

Photo : LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, RACE, JUNE 22, 2013. Driving with Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall, Roald Goethe finished the 90th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans sixth in the LM GTE Am class.