Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse will return to the British GT Championship in 2016 with a fresh look after securing McLaren customer status, a 650S GT3 and two new drivers in the form of Alasdair McCaig and Rob Bell.
The historic outfit has been a perennial championship challenger since entering the series in 2012 under the stewardship of Barwell Motorsport, whose trademark blue and black BMW Z4 GT3 helped Marco Attard secure the 2014 British GT Drivers’ crown.
But his decision to move with Barwell to the Blancpain Endurance Series sees two new faces joining Ecurie Ecosse’s British GT effort.
McCaig has played an integral role in the Scottish squad’s return to modern motorsport, finishing fifth overall with them in his only British GT campaign to date in 2012 before contesting the Blancpain Endurance Series and ELMS over the following three years.
The Scot was quick to pay tribute to the role Barwell had played in Ecurie Ecosse’s story.
“As this exciting chapter begins for Ecurie Ecosse, it brings our partnership with Barwell Motorsport to a close and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best for the season ahead,” he said. “Barwell laid the foundations for my GT racing knowledge and I owe that to Mark Lemmer and his fantastic team.
“As for the season ahead, I’m looking forward to driving alongside Rob who has a wealth of experience and I am sure we will be challenging for top results from the first round.”
Meanwhile, McLaren factory driver Bell brings with him significant experience of the 650S GT3 as well as more than a decade of sportscar racing expertise and success.
But while the 36-year-old’s CV already includes two Blancpain Endurance Series victories, an Asian Le Mans Series GT class title and Gulf 12 Hours podium in the car, this will be his first full-time domestic programme since finishing fifth in the 2002 Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship.
McLaren GT managing director Andrew Kirkaldy added: “The level of competition in British GT has always been high but is rapidly becoming one of the world’s toughest GT3 championships, and it will be great to see a McLaren wearing the famous Ecurie Ecosse colours for the first time.
