Ecurie Ecosse returns to actionposted in GT21 | 02 | 2012
SIXTY YEARS AFTER it was formed, Scotland's legendary motorsport team, Ecurie Ecosse, will take a major step towards returning to the Le Mans 24 Hours by contesting two championships this season.
The decision by the Edinburgh-based team, which famously won the world's most gruelling 24-hours race at La Sarthe with its Jaguars in 1956 and '57, signals its full-time return to motorsport.
"Ecurie Ecosse has been out of the racing limelight for too long," team boss Hugh McCaig admitted today from his Penicuik base.
"Ultimately we want to be back at Le Mans, and this is a fantastic step in the right direction. It's a very exciting development for Ecurie Ecosse.
We looked at a number of options for 2012 following the race at Spa last year. With the combination of the Z4 GT3 and guys at Barwell, I believe we have the right ingredients in place to achieve success." — Hugh McCaig
"We dipped our toe in the water last year by doing the Spa 24 Hours, and we came through that remarkably well. "What we achieved there also seemed to stir a lot of interest around the world, so we've committed ourselves to a full season racing this year."
Ecurie Ecosse will run a BMW Z4 GT3 in both the British GT Championship, and the Blancpain Endurance Series, which again includes the 24 Hours of Spa. The car, resplendent in its blue-and-white Saltire livery, will be prepared by Barwell Motorsport.
McCaig, the burly, quietly-spoken Scot, is a fierce competitor and has a reputation for getting what he wants. He's also a lifelong Ecurie Ecosse enthusiast.
After its back-to-back wins with the D-Type Jaguars at Le Mans, the team founded by David Murray and Wilkie Wilkinson enjoyed continued success. Such was the lure of the team that Formula One world champs Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart, and other famous names such as Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham, all drove for Ecurie Ecosse.
The severe financial woes of Murray led to the once proud team falling into limbo in 1971, but in the early Eighties McCaig reignited the dormant global passion for the team. In 1986 he led Ecurie Ecosse to the C2 category of the World Sportscar Championship, winning at Spa on its way to the title.
"Ultimately we want to be back at Le Mans"
Now he has set himself the target of re-establishing Ecurie Ecosse back at the very pinnacle of world endurance motorsport.
"Ultimately we want to be back at Le Mans," McCaig continued, "and this is a fantastic step in the right direction. It's a very exciting development for Ecurie Ecose.
"We looked at a number of options for 2012 following the race at Spa last year. With the combination of the Z4 GT3 and guys at Barwell, I believe we have the right ingredients in place to achieve success.
"We also have a team of ambitious and talented young drivers. They have shown their commitment to this programme through a tireless effort to put the deal together in an extremely challenging economic environment."
"Major boost to have Scottish backing"
Ecurie Ecosse will again run the four drivers — Edinburgh pair Alasdair McCaig and Andrew Smith, plus English duo Oliver Bryant and Joe Twyman — who completed the race in Belgium last year.
The British GT Championship rounds will be contested by Oliver Bryant and McCaig, with Smith and Twyman filling two out of three seats in the team’s Pro-Am Blancpain campaign. The third slot has yet to be filled.
And the team has attracted a number of major sponsors, including one of Scotland's largest motor groups, Aberdeen-based John Clark.
"To have the support of Scottish businesses is a major boost for us," McCaig, who has also seen backing from as far afield as the Cayman Islands, said.
"It's fantastic to be back racing full-time, and we look forward to flying the flag for Ecurie Ecosse and Scotland around the world."
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Jim McGill