Mirage (race car)

Mirage (race car)
Mirage M1
1974 Mirage GR7

The Mirage race cars were built by J.W. Automotive (JWA) at Slough in England to compete in international sports car races in the colours of the Gulf Oil Corporation.

For the 1967 season, JWA built and raced the M1, a Sports prototype based on the Ford GT40. The M1 used the standard Ford GT40 V8 engine in various capacities up to 5.7 litres. The highlight of the M1's short racing career was without doubt the victory by Jacky Ickx and Dick Thompson in chassis M.1003 in the 1967 Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km.

The M2 was built in 1968 for the new 3 Litre Group 6 Prototype class, but the BRM V12 powered cars were rarely raced and met with no success. The revised M3 of 1969 was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV V8 but again this model saw little use, JWA having largely concentrated on racing Ford GT40s during these two years. After competing with Porsche 917s during the 1970 & 1971 seasons, JWA developed the new Ford Cosworth powered M6 model to race as a Group 5 Sports Car in the new World Championship for Makes from 1972. Again the only victory was at Spa, in the 1973 Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km.

Gulf Oil sponsorship, which had continued each year from 1967 took a new turn in 1974 when the new GR7 model was badged as a Gulf Mirage GR7.

In 1975 the team obtained its last victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the GR8 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell. The other car finished third with Vern Schuppan and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. The race was excluded from the World Championship for Makes by the CSI because of the rules introduced in that race regarding fuel consumption in the wake of the oil crisis.

Upon Gulf Oil’s sponsorship withdrawal from international sports car racing in late 1975, American entrepreneur and former racing driver Harley Cluxton III purchased the Mirage team and all associated manufacturing rights from John Wyer and the Gulf Research Racing Company. As a Group 6 Prototype entrant, and later a Group C Prototype entrant, Cluxton continued successfully contesting the Mirages at Le Mans as a two car team. With primary sponsorship from JCB Excavators, Elf Lubricants, and Renault Sport, and under the continued management of John Horsman and counsel of John Wyer, the Mirages finished second overall in both 1976 and 1977, behind Porsche’s factory Martini 936s. In all, from 1974 to 1978, the Mirages never finished outside of the top-ten positions at Le Mans, posting a first, two seconds, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and a tenth.

Mirage race cars were the first to wear the legendary powder blue and marigold livery of Gulf Oil, the first to post race wins for Gulf Oil, and the last to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall for Gulf Oil. As well Mirage is one of only two independently constructed racing car marques to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall since the post-World War II return of the Grand Prix d’Endurance in 1949.

References

  • Time and Two Seats (© 1999 by Motorsport Research Group)

External links

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