Mirage

Mirage is no ordinary constructor: it is the racing marque created in 1967 by JW Automotive Engineering, the operation of John Wyer, one of the greatest strategists in endurance racing history. Wyer was the man behind Ford's Le Mans triumphs of 1968 and 1969, and then the Porsche 917s of the early 1970s — always associated with Gulf's mythical blue and orange colours, which under his stewardship became the most famous livery in motorsport. The first Mirages, derived from the GT40, raced from the late 1960s, but it was in the mid-1970s that the marque wrote its page of glory. In 1975, as endurance racing recovered from the oil crisis and Le Mans imposed unprecedented fuel-consumption rules, the Ford-Cosworth-powered Mirage GR8 entered by Gulf Research Racing won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the wheel, two giants: Jacky Ickx, taking his second victory at La Sarthe, and Derek Bell, claiming the first of the five wins that would make him a legend of the race. Run under the sign of fuel economy, the race rewarded the impeccable management of Wyer's team, true to its reputation as the watchmaker of 24-hour racing. That 1975 victory was also a symbolic passing of the torch: it united in a single crew the master of the era (Ickx) and the man who would dominate the following decade (Bell), in the Gulf colours that had already accompanied Wyer's finest hours with Ford and Porsche. The Mirages continued their Le Mans career through the second half of the 1970s with strong finishes before the marque gradually faded from the grids. Mirage remains a cult name for enthusiasts today: that of a small English constructor which, carried by a great man and an immortal livery, wrote its name on the roll of honour of the world's greatest race. The GR8 itself remains a star of historic endurance events, still wearing the blue and orange that made it immortal.

• Country : GBR
• Founded : 1967
• Le Mans wins : 1
• First win : 1975
• Last win : 1975