Castrol

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Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oil products for most lubrication applications. The brand is part of the BP Group of companies, but has retained its separate identity.

Castrol was founded on March 19th 1899 by Charles "Cheers" Wakefield in Swindon, England. It was originally named the Wakefield Oil Company. In 1909, the company began production of a new automotive lubricant named 'Castrol' (a contraction of castor oil, from which it was made). The company developed specific oil applications for various applications of the new internal combustion engine, including automobiles, motorcycles, and aircraft.

The land speed record has been broken 21 times by cars using Castrol lubricants, most recently ThrustSSC, which was driven by Andy Green and achieved 1220 km/h (763 mph) — faster than the speed of sound.

In 1966, Castrol was acquired by British oil company Burmah, which was renamed Burmah-Castrol.

In 2000, Burmah-Castrol was acquired by the then BP Amoco plc (now renamed BP plc) Castrol branded lubricants continue to be sold around the world and are, in many countries, market leaders.

Castrol also manufactures A747 and is considered by many^{[citation needed]} to be the premier oil for 2 stroke racing motorcycles. It has a distinctive smell that can be recognized instantly and is often nostalgic.^{[citation needed]} Other brands offered by Castrol include Castrol GTX and Castrol Syntec synthetic oil. Castrol has been an active sponsor of NHRA drag racing, especially with John Force's funny car under the GTX brand. The company has also sponsored the Brewco Motorsports #27 car in the NASCAR Busch Series, driven by Casey Atwood. On October 29th 2006 Castrol will sponsor the Bugatti Veyron in its landspeed record attempt to set a new Guinness record in the road-going production car category.