Ecurie Ecosse impresses on returnposted in LMANS01 | 08 | 2011
SCOTLAND'S MOST FAMOUS sportscar team, Ecurie Ecosse, returned to its base in Edinburgh after starting and completing its first 24-hours race in almost 20 years. And already thoughts have turned to next year's Le Mans 24-Hours, a race the team famously won in 1956 and '57.
Under the watchful eyes of boss Hugh McCaig, the team not only got its Saltire-liveried Aston Martin DBRS9 (check out Lewis Houghton's pix from Spa) to the finish of the 24-Hours of Spa, but outperformed a number of 'works' teams with budgets significantly higher than the Scots outfit.
"I'm delighted with the outcome," McCaig explained today after flying back from the race at Spa-Francorchamps, the circuit which hosts the Formula One Belgium Grand Prix.
"Our objective was always, first and foremost, to finish the race, and we achieved that. But we outperformed quite a few of the much larger works-backed teams which had been significantly bankrolled."
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The Ecurie Ecosse car — driven by two Edinburgh racers, Alasdair McCaig and Andrew Smith, supported by English duo Joe Twyman and Oliver Bryant — finished a highly creditable 20th overall and ninth in the GT3 class.
More than 60 cars started the race which was punctuated by a series of heavy rainstorms which swept across the Ardennes area.
"The boys did a fantastic job," McCaig continued. "Conditions were tough, but the lads did exactly what they were told and drove the car perfectly. And as with all 24-hours races, it could have been a whole lot worse."
The race car, prepared by Barwell Motorsport, suffered problems with its engine management system (ECU). The first failure caused the car to stop out on-track, but fortunately Bryant was able to replace the burned-out ECU with a spare before returning to the pits.
The second problem happened just as Smith was approaching the pits and the Scot brought the car straight back to the garage.
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"We lost about 20 minutes while the guys tried to identify the source of the problem," McCaig explained, "but in the end the drivers all just managed to drive round the problem by being lighter on the throttle."
It was an expensive "mystery' problem though; each ECU cost £10,000.
The team's thoughts have already turned to next year with plans to tackle the world's most famous endurance race, the Le Mans 24-Hours, being discussed.
"We received approaches from a couple of significant sponsors keen to commit to next year," McCaig continued, "and that's been a real boost for the team.
"Obviously getting an entry to Le Mans is difficult — there's only something like 56 cars allowed to start — but we'll be doing everything we can to get a place.
"We'll probably also enter a major sportscar championship for next season as well, but for the next couple of days I think we'll just recover from the weekend."
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Jim McGill
Photo: Lewis Houghton