Legendary sportscar outfit Ecurie Ecosse powered by Black Bull were left frustrated following their European Le Mans Series outing at the Hungaroring (14 September) after a rival car eliminated their BMW Z4 GT3 from a near-certain podium finish.
The Barwell Motorsport-run outfit arrived in Hungary as GTC class championship leaders following a season-opening victory at Silverstone and subsequent top-three results at Imola and the Red Bull Ring.
Fielding a driver line-up of Ollie Millroy, Joe Twyman and Alasdair McCaig, the team used free practice to evaluate car set-ups for Saturday’s three-hour race, leading to the highly experienced Ecurie Ecosse-Barwell Motorsport engineers making some bold set-up changes on Friday evening.
These would prove irrelevant however when they arrived at the circuit for GT qualifying on Saturday morning, with heavy rain turning the session into a lottery. The team elected to run Twyman in the monsoon conditions, allowing him to gain valuable circuit knowledge ahead of the race, while Millroy would take the controls for a single installation lap at the conclusion of the 20-minute session.
McCaig was behind the wheel when the team lined up fifth on the grid for Saturday's race and, after producing a fantastic start in the tricky damp conditions, the Scotsman delivered a consistent 45-minute stint before handing the car to Millroy.
Though the circuit was now starting to dry the team decided it was still too early to send Millroy out on slick tyres for the start of his 85-minute stint, so the youngster completed five laps on wets before pitting to make the switch. He then delivered an outstanding shift aboard the Z4, setting the GTC class pace and eventually pitting in P2 with 45 minutes remaining.
Twyman took over the car with the team's fourth podium of the year on the horizon, only for a GTE-class Ferrari to make heavy contact with the BMW just 15 minutes from the chequered flag. The damage to the front suspension was severe, and despite the Barwell Motorsport crew's best efforts there was not enough time to carry out the required repairs. As such, the outfit suffered only their second retirement in two seasons of competition.
The team are now focussed on preparations for the season-closing ELMS race at Paul Ricard in France (27/28 September) where they will attempt to regain lost ground and secure the GTC class title.
Ollie Millroy: "It is a real shame to have retired from the race this weekend after such a strong showing from the whole team. We made some set-up changes on Saturday night and the car was a dream to drive for my stint. I really thought we were on for another podium but sometimes motorsport can be cruel. We now need to do everything we can to try and win the championship at Paul Ricard in a fortnight's time."
Alasdair McCaig: "We showed fantastic pace in the race and the changeable conditions really suited us. It was unfortunate to be taken out of contention the way we were, but we'll be back for the championship fight in two weeks at Paul Ricard."
Joe Twyman: "As usual the team did an amazing job, as did Ali and Ollie. But it’s hard to take the positives from this one as we were robbed at the end of the race by the incident with the Ferrari. Though the driver has received a five thousand euro fine and a ban from the ELMS, that doesn't get us our points back!"
Mark Lemmer, Barwell Motorsport Team Principal: "With 20 minutes to go we were just 30 seconds off the leader and looked set for another top result. To be so carelessly taken out by another competitor at such a late stage was a really cruel blow. All we can do now is look ahead to Paul Ricard."
GTC Drivers’ Championship (top-three after four of five races)1. Babini/Ladygin/Shaitar (SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia) – 75 points2. Case/Gai/Rizzolo (AF Corse, Ferrari 458 Italia) – 70 points3. Millroy/Smith (Ecurie Ecosse, BMW Z4 GT3) – 55 pointsGTC Teams’ Championship (top-three after four of five races)1. SMP Racing, Ferrari 458 Italia – 75 points2. AF Corse, Ferrari 458 Italia – 703. Ecurie Ecosse, BMW Z4 GT3 – 55
