Iconic sponsors - Martini

There have been some iconic sponsors over the years and one of those that always encapsulates the glamour of motor sport is Martini.

Martini & Rossi, producing Martini vermouth at a distillery based in Turin, began its sponsorship program in 1958 as Martini International Club, founded by Count Metello Rossi di Montelera. The first cars to carry sponsorship were two Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ's in the Daytona 3 hours of 1962.

In 1968 Martini Racing was then formed to enter two Porsche 907's in several sports car races in 1969 to back up the Porsche factory effort. This started a long and successful association with Porsche.

The brand's association with F1 began in 1972 with the Italian Tecno team. After a couple of unsuccessful seasons, the Martini brand switched to Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team for the 1975 season.

For 1979, the Lotus team benefitted from their support. However, despite having the '78 World Champion, Mario Andretti, not a single win was achieved, and the sponsorship deal ended at the end of the season.

Martini colours made a very minor appearance on the Ferrari's in 2006, but they came back in a big way with Williams in 2014 - a deal that lasted until the end of 2018.

Martini were heavily involved in rallying sponsoring the works Lancia's from 1982-1992 and works Ford's from 1999-2002. They also supported the works Lancia's in sports car racing from 1981-1986.

The photo shows the Brabham Alfa Romeo BT45/3 (1976) and Porsche 917K (1970) @fosgoodwood 2017.

The BT45 was designed by the great Gordon Murray and powered by an Alfa Romeo flat 12. This is chassis 3 which was used over 3 years – first in 1976 driven by Carlos Pace who achieved a best of 4th in France, and Carlos Reutemann. Another two drivers also raced the car towards the end of the season – Rolf Stommelen and Larry Perkins. It was updated to “B” spec for 1977 and driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck who achieved a best of two 3rds in Germany and Austria, and John Watson. For 1978, it was updated to “C” spec and used in the first two races of the season by Niki Lauda and John Watson. This car is still owned by Bernie Ecclestone.

The Porsche 917K is chassis 21 powered by a 4.5 Litre flat 12. It was raced by Gerard Larrousse and Gijs van Lennep to a 9th place finish in the Watkins Glen 6 Hours of 1970. The livery is often referred to as the “psychedelic” colour scheme.

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