Marco Ruf from GRAND PRIX ORIGINALS held an exclusive Interview with Roald Goethe, the owner of the
ROFGO Collection at the Retromobile. Find out why Roald Goethe is so interested in Gulf and how everything started.

You're obviously a big Gulf fan, why is that?
Ever since when I was a boy seeing those cars in gulf colours racing at Le Mans and elsewhere in the sixties and seventies, I was fascinated by those cars and their drivers, lets not forget it was a time when GT and prototypes races were as big an event as Formula 1, if not bigger, and the Formula One drivers in those days raced in general in Le Mans as well, it was one and the same crowd ! And then there was that day when over a nice pub lunch with my very good friend Adrian Hamilton (of Duncan Hamilton) we had that spark of making the iconic gulf livery the central theme of a collection, well and after a record two years it all came together, we couldn't have done it without eachother, sharing the same passion and enthusiasm!

When did you start collecting the Gulf racing cars?
About two years ago.

Which one was the fi rst car you bought out of this collection?
The GT 40

Did you ever met one or some of the original drivers of this collection?
Yes, I met a few ,but it is really with two in particular I developed a friendship, that is Richard Attwood, who of course is famous for his Le Mans victory in a Porsche 917 and then there is Vern Schuppman , who raced the Gulf Mirage a little later. Both drivers raced my gulf 917 in last year's Le Mans Classic, and it was great fun!

How many people work on the cars all day?
Two

Which car has the highest market price?
Well, probably the Porsche 917 but the GT 40 and the Porsche 908/3 are not far behind...

Do you use the cars for racing/track days?
Not all of them (not yet at least) though all the cars are on the button and race ready. However, so far we have only used the Posche 908/3 and the Porsche 917 in historic races ,though the Aston DBR9 GT1 is a regular participant on some track days, a great car to drive as well.

Will you add the new AMR LMP 1 car to your collection after the coming season?
Yes for sure.

You have one tank of petrol left to use – which car and where would you use it?
Good question ! I'd use it for the Porsche 908/3, drives and handles like a go-kart on steroids, and I would do it at Spa, my favorite track, or another Le Mans Classic drive, magical at night!

Why did you select Retromobile as the place to show this collection the fi rst time ever?
Because we felt that Retromobile was the premier show to exhibit such a collection for the fi rst time where all the cars could be seen together.

Thank you Roald, for this interview and for making this great display here in Paris possible.

In chronological order the 14 cars are:

• 1967 Mirage – Chassis No.10002 – the first Gulf-liveried car to run at Le Mans
• 1968 Ford GT40 – Chassis No.1084 – 4, SPA 1000 km, Hawkins/Hobbs
• 1969 Brabham BT26 – Chassis No.BT26/4 – 1 German GP, Ickx
• 1970 McLaren M14 – Chassis No.M14/A2 – 2 South African GP, Hulme
• 1971 Porsche 917 – Chassis No.026 – 2 Le Mans 24 Hours, Attwood/Muller
• 1970 Porsche 908/3 – Chassis No.12 – Nurburgring 1000 km, Siffert, DNF
• 1974 Mirage – Chassis No.704 – 4, Le Mans 24 Hours, Bell/Hailwood
• 1994 Kremer K8 – Chassis No.K8/07/SP – 6, Le Mans 24 Hours, Bell/Lassig/Donovan
• 1996 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail – Chassis No.022 – 3, Hockenheim 4 Hours, Bscher/Nielson
• 2006 Courage C65 LMP2 – Chassis No.07 – 7, Le Mans 24 Hours, Gosselin/Ojeh/Ragues
• 2008 Aston Martin DBR9 – Chassis No.007 – 4 in GT1, Le Mans 24 Hours, Frentzen/Piccili/Wendlinger
• 2009 Aston Martin LMP1 – Chassis No.DBR1-2/2 – 1, Asian Le Mans series, Okayama, Mucke/Primat
• 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo – GT2 Championship, Giroix/Goeth