|
Showing posts with label European Le Mans series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European Le Mans series. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
European Le Mans Series Podium at the Red Bull Ring in Austria
Monday, 20 May 2013
A few photographs from the weekend at Imola by Peter May.
 |
| Joe Twyman getting in before Free Practice 1 |
 |
| Free Practice 1 was wet. |
 |
| Ollie Millroy |
 |
| The Ecosse Z4 exits Tamburello with the city of Imola behind |
 |
| In amongst the GTE and Prototypes in FP2 |
 |
| The exit of Tosa |
 |
| Andrew Smith qualified on Saturday morning |
 |
| L-R Joe Twyman, Andrew Smith, Ollie Millroy (and friends) |
 |
| On the grid before the start of the Imola 3 Hours |
 |
| Lap 1 going into the first chicane |
 |
| Z4 at speed |
 |
| Podium for 3rd place in GTC |
 |
| Joe Twyman, Ollie Millroy & Andrew Smith |
 | ||
20/05/2013
Ecurie Ecosse claims hard-fought ELMS podium at Imola
The team’s Barwell Motorsport-run BMW Z4 GT3 enjoyed its last competitive outing at Rockingham as part of the British GT Championship with drivers Oliver Bryant and Marco Attard at the start of May, but with the squad’s focus now firmly back on the ELMS, the Imola event would represent their first dry race in the championship.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session was completed by Smith, who recorded a time of 1m45.8s to line up fourth in class for that afternoon’s three-hour race.
Smith remained aboard for the race’s opening stint where he was up against the other teams’ much more experienced “Pro” drivers. 50 minutes later Twyman took over and also settled into a solid rhythm before he was handed a 30-second stop/go penalty for a pit-lane speeding infringement, losing the car over a minute to the class leaders.
With 90 minutes remaining, and following another faultless turnaround from the Barwell pit crew, Millroy embarked on his double stint lying seventh. Although this would be Ollie’s first ever race among the much quicker sports-prototypes that share the ELMS grid, he expertly tempered outright speed with traffic management, and overcame a light rain shower, to haul the BMW up to fourth despite the extra Balance of Performance weight starting to take its toll on the brakes. P4 then became third on the final lap when the Lamborghini ahead was forced to pit in order to avoid a maximum “Pro” driver time infringement.
The team left the Italian circuit on Saturday evening delighted to have maintained leads in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships ahead of the next ELMS round at Austria’s Red Bull Ring on July 19/20.
Ollie Millroy, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: “We lacked pace in the dry at Imola so I think we did extremely well to come away with a podium, and it proves that our overall strategy is correct. Races like this are extremely important when trying to win a championship. We’ve got a lot to work on before Austria to ensure that we can maintain our points lead.”
Andrew Smith, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: “Imola is full of atmosphere and it was a privilege to race our BMW there at such a high level. The aim was to maintain our championship lead and we achieved that, but the GTC class is getting much more competitive now and with very few other cars running Bronze drivers we are going to have to work extremely hard to keep it up.”
Joe Twyman, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: “Every time I get in the car I am learning, so to come away with a podium from my first ELMS race was fantastic. The Barwell crew were superb as always and sharing the car with Andrew and Ollie is always a pleasure. I am not in the car again until the Hungaroring in September but I will continue to work hard on my fitness and in the simulator in order to pick up where I left off in Italy!”
Mark Lemmer, Barwell Motorsport Team Principal: “We struggled a bit for pace at Imola with the substantial extra Balance of Performance weight we had to carry, but I’m really satisfied that with some good strategy calls we managed a very strong points haul.”
Ecurie Ecosse’s next competitive outing sees the team head to Silverstone for round four of the British GT Championship on May 26 where they will field regular drivers Bryant and Attard.
2013 European Le Mans Series - Top three GTC Drivers’ points after two of five races:
1. Ollie Millroy/Andrew Smith / Ecurie Ecosse / BMW Z4 GT3 / 40 points
2. Lorenzo Case/Stefano Gai/Andrea Rizzolo / AF Corse / Ferrari 458 Italia / 36
3. Alasdair McCaig / Ecurie Ecosse / BMW Z4 GT3 / 25
= Fabio Babini/Viktor Shaitar/Kirill Ladygin / SMP Racing / Ferrari 458 Italia / 25
2013 European Le Mans Series - Top three GTC Teams’ points after two of five races:
1. Ecurie Ecosse / BMW Z4 GT3 / 40 points
2. AF Corse / Ferrari 458 Italia / 36
3. SMP Racing / Ferrari 458 Italia / 25
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Ecurie Ecosse
Photo credit: Peter May
Click on individual images to download
For more information on Ecurie Ecosse please visit www.ecurieecosse.com
Follow our blog: ecurieecosse.blogspot.com
Follow Ecurie Ecosse on Twitter: @ecurie_ecosse
Follow Ecurie Ecosse on Facebook
Click here for the press release (PDF)
Click here for the Ecurie Ecosse Association Membership Pack
Click here for the Ecurie Ecosse 60th Anniversary Ltd Edition Bremont Chronometer Watch Presentation
Follow Ecurie Ecosse Drivers on Twitter: @alasdair_mccaig @oliverjbryant @andrewsmitht70 @joetwyman1986@olliemillroy
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Andrew Smith
Tel: +44 (0)7710 644 366
| ||
 |
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES ROUND 1 SILVERSTONE
| ||
15/04/2013
Stunning European Le Mans Series debut for Ecurie Ecosse at Silverstone
The team experienced mixed weather conditions during Friday's free practice, but by the end of session two the Ecurie Ecosse BMW was the quickest GTC car and fourth fastest GT overall. With series rules dictating that the driver setting the fastest time during the 20-minute qualifying run must start the 3-hour race, it was decided that Smith would tackle the session so as to allow BMW Scholarship driver Millroy to complete the crucial final two stints. Following a night of rain the circuit was wet early on Saturday morning, but by the time qualifying came the track was almost completely dry. On Smith’s first ever new-tyre run he set a strong pace with a quickest lap of 2m03.737s leaving the Ecurie Ecosse BMW second in the GTC Class, 0.25s shy of pole and in the midst of the much quicker GTE pack. Smith started the race on slick tyres but with rain falling during the green flag lap conditions were extremely slippery. An on-track incident caused a safety car on lap two while the rain was becoming heavier, though series regulations stipulate that drivers cannot pit during the first three laps of a caution period. Smith made the call to stop for wet tyres immediately after the restart while the class-leading Audi stayed out. After a lightning-quick turnaround from the Barwell crew Smith was able to set a strong pace on fresh Michelins, while the GTC pole-sitting Audi driven by Porsche Supercup race-winner Kuba Giermaziak eventually emerged from its stop a lap down on the Ecurie Ecosse BMW. Following a swift changeover Smith handed the BMW to McCaig, who went on to complete a superb stint in treacherous conditions as standing water started to collect across the circuit. Despite contact from an optimistic prototype at Abbey corner on his opening lap, the Scot consistently set strong lap times to maintain the team’s class-leading position. As conditions continued to worsen another safety car was deployed and McCaig pitted once the window opened to hand over to Pro driver Millroy. With the heavens remaining open track conditions were deteriorating quickly, leaving a number of competitors unable to maintain control behind the safety car. Millroy did an exceptional job keeping the BMW on the island without incident after the team was given permission to increase its average speed to catch the pack. Sadly the race only continued to 75% distance before the red flags appeared, denying Millroy the opportunity to show his exceptional wet weather pace which could undoubtedly have pushed the team considerably further up the overall classification. Nevertheless, Ecurie Ecosse claimed maximum points with a class win and top-10 overall finish, a superb start to the team’s European Le Mans Series campaign. Hugh McCaig, Ecurie Ecosse Team Principal: "Our inaugural ELMS race was certainly a baptism! The conditions during practice and the race were changeable and unpredictable, but the whole team adopted a sensible driving approach. This, coupled with inspired tactics by Adam Hardy, gave us a brilliant class victory and 10th overall, a superb effort by the whole crew." Andrew Smith, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: "We came to Silverstone to win the GTC class and that’s exactly what we did. The Barwell crew did a fantastic job as ever. I had the best of the weather and certainly the easiest stint, while Alasdair did an amazing job keeping the car on the circuit in horrific conditions. I’m gutted for Ollie as for a second race running he was only able to drive behind the safety car, but we bagged maximum points and I’m now very much looking forward to Imola." Alasdair McCaig, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: "My stint was certainly a game of survival due to the treacherous conditions. The team did a great job as ever and our strategy was spot on. This was a fantastic way to start our ELMS campaign and I am looking forward to getting back in the car at the Red Bull Ring." Ollie Millroy, Ecurie Ecosse Driver: "This is a fantastic result for the team and a great start to the season. Of course, none of us want to finish a race behind the safety car, but the conditions were too dangerous to continue. It was difficult to even keep the car in a straight line! However, we made the most of the conditions and came away with lots of momentum to carry through to Imola." Mark Lemmer, Barwell Motorsport Team Principal: “We set out to win our home race at Silverstone and bank maximum points towards our Le Mans Series title campaign and, thanks to a faultless performance from the drivers, pit stop crew and engineers we were able to do so in style." Ecurie Ecosse’s next competitive outing sees the team head to Rockingham for round three of the British GT Championship (5 May) with drivers Oliver Bryant and Marco Attard. Round two of the European Le Mans Series takes place at Imola on 18 May where Millroy, Smith and Joe Twyman will share driving duties.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Ecurie Ecosse
Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography - www.jakobebrey.com
Click on individual images to download
For more information on Ecurie Ecosse please visit www.ecurieecosse.com
Follow our blog: ecurieecosse.blogspot.com
Follow Ecurie Ecosse on Twitter: @ecurie_ecosse
Follow Ecurie Ecosse on Facebook
Click here for the press release (PDF)
Click here for the Ecurie Ecosse Association Membership Pack
Click here for the Ecurie Ecosse 60th Anniversary Ltd Edition Bremont Chronometer Watch Presentation
Follow Ecurie Ecosse Drivers on Twitter: @alasdair_mccaig @oliverjbryant@andrewsmitht70 @joetwyman1986 @olliemillroy
OB
|
Friday, 12 April 2013
EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES SILVERSTONE
A few photos from today's practice sessions at Silverstone. Our BMW Z4 GT3 set the 3rd quickest time in FP1 and 1st quickest time in FP2 in the hands of Alasdair McCaig, Andrew Smith and Ollie Millroy. The circuit was very wet in FP1 and dried towards the end of FP2 allowing us to run slicks in the closing stages. We'll post more photos as the weekend goes on! Follow us on twitter for updates @ecurie_ecosse
Photo credits: Jakob Ebrey and Marcus Potts
Free Practice 1
Free Practice 2
OB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)