Olly has top 10 finish in Spa 24 Hours!
ECURIE ECOSSE TAKES STRONG TOP-TEN FINISH ON SPORTSCAR COMEBACK
Legendary Scottish racing outfit Ecurie Ecosse made a successful return to international sportscar competition last weekend with a top‐ten class finish at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Held at the iconic Spa‐Francorchamps circuit in Belgium the twice‐around‐the‐clock race is one of the most demanding on the motorsport calendar, and with a bumper entry of over 60 cars also ranks amongst the most competitive.
With this in mind the team was thoroughly satisfi ed with Sunday’s result, which saw their #79 Aston Martin DBRS9 finish ninth in the highly competitive Pro‐Am class and 20th overall.
The team’s driver quartet of Alasdair McCaig, Andrew Smith, Joe Twyman and Oliver Bryant stayed out of trouble throughout the event and were able to work around some late‐race gremlins on the Saltire‐liveried GT3 car to take the chequered flag. Aside from an issue with the ECU the car ran faultlessly as Aston Martin Racing Partner Team Barwell Motorsport, with whom Ecurie Ecosse contested the event, lived up to their reputation as a slick and professional operation.
Having made their successful sportscar comeback after an 18‐year absence, Ecurie Ecosse are now focused on contesting further events as they work towards achieving their long‐term goal of returning to the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours, a race the team triumphed at in both 1956 and ’57.
Hugh McCaig, Team Boss: “We’ve achieved what we set out to and that is extremely satisfying. The drivers were all excellent and apart from one minor incident ‐ which was caused by dropped oil from another car ‐ the race was trouble free. We had some problems with the ECU that meant the drivers had to nurse the car towards the end, but they managed this very well indeed.”
Alasdair McCaig: “Spa has been a great experience ‐ the night stints in particular were phenomenal ‐ and we’ve capped that with a strong result. We had a tremendous atmosphere in the garage all weekend and the Barwell Motorsport crew deserves recognition for that: they were first class. Overall this has been a great way to bring Ecurie Ecosse back and bodes well for the team’s future.”
Andrew Smith: “Spa has been a fantastic experience both on and off the track. The support we’ve had is staggering and we’ve built some excellent relationships with sponsors over the course of the weekend. Working with Barwell has been a pleasure, and of course the event itself was a fantastic challenge. Overall there’s so much to be positive about going forward.”
Joe Twyman: “The aim for this race was to go the distance and so to have done that ‐ and without a scratch on the car ‐ is brilliant. We could have finished even higher had there not been problems with the ECU, but ninth in class is still a terrific result. This is an excellent platform upon which to build for Ecurie Ecosse’s future.”
Oliver Bryant: “It’s great to have achieved our goal of reaching the finish and to do so in the top ten of what is a very competitive class is fantastic. Having worked with the Barwell boys before I knew they’d do a fantastic job and I wasn’t disappointed. I’d certainly like to be involved with Ecurie Ecosse’s long‐term plans so we’ll begin work on that soon, but right now I’m just proud of what we’ve achieved at Spa.”
ENDS
- Categories: 2011 Season, Ecurie Ecosse, News
- Tags: Ecurie Ecosse, Spa-Francorchamps, Sportscar Racing Comeback
