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Ecurie Ecosse
left frustrated as strong showing goes unrewarded in Hungar
Photographs by:- Peter
May.
THE legendary sportscar
outfit Ecurie Ecosse powered by Black Bull were left frustrated
following their European Le Mans Series outing at the Hungaroring on
14 September 2013, 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 3 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 3 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 5th 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 4th 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 2 seasons of competition.
The team are now focussed on preparations for the season closing
ELMS race at Paul Ricard in France, over 27 September 2013, to 28
September 2013, 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 2 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 3 after 4 of 5 races)
1. Babini/Ladygin/Shaitar (SMP Racing Ferrari 458
Italia) – 75 points 2. Case/Gai/Rizzolo
(AF Corse, Ferrari 458 Italia) – 70 points
3. Millroy/Smith (Ecurie Ecosse, BMW Z4 GT3) – 55
points
GTC
Teams' Championship (Top 3 after 4 of 5 races)
1. SMP Racing, Ferrari 458 Italia – 75 points
2. AF Corse, Ferrari 458 Italia – 70
3. Ecurie Ecosse, BMW Z4 GT3 – 55 |
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New drive to get
children reading for pleasure
A programme to get more
children in Liverpool reading for pleasure has been launched, in
partnership with the National Literacy Trust. The Liverpool Reading
Quality Mark is being developed with 22 schools initially; focusing
on promoting reading for enjoyment. A recent study conducted by the
Institute for Education found that children who read for pleasure
are likely to do significantly better at school than their peers. It
follows the publication of 'From Better to Best' by the Liverpool
Education Commission, chaired by former Secretary of State Estelle
Morris, Baroness of Yardley. It recommended that no child in the
City, if capable, should leave primary school unable to read. The 3
infant, 13 primary, 1 special and 5 secondary schools taking part in
the pilot have been selected for their outstanding work promoting
reading for pleasure and involving parents in supporting their
child's learning. The scheme was launched on Thursday, 19 September
2013, in Discover, the children's section of Liverpool's new Central
Library on William Brown Street. Pupils who are reading champions at
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School and Alsop High School will join
headteachers, education, culture and libraries staff who are
spearheading the initiative. Councillor Jane Corbett, Cabinet member
for education, said:- "We have made tremendous progress over the
last few years improving standards of literacy in schools, but we
know we can do more. The Liverpool Reading Quality Mark will
showcase and celebrate the very best work and the success stories,
which can be used as an exemplar to support other schools. All the
evidence shows that children who have better literacy skills are
more likely to have improved life opportunities and go on to secure
a decent job. We owe it to our children to do all we can to make
this happen. This is part of our commitment to implementing the
excellent recommendations made by the Liverpool Education
Commission." The pilot will feed in to the Year of Reading 2014,
spearheaded by the Liverpool Learning Partnership in which schools
support and challenge each other. Cllr Lana Orr has recently been
appointed by Mayor Joe Anderson as Mayoral Lead for Reading and will
be working alongside the Learning Partnership on the project. A 2nd
group of 25 further schools will join the pilot project in February
2014 and the 1st schools are expected to be formally accredited in
May 2014. In 2012, 86% of 11 year olds in Liverpool achieved Level 4
or above in reading at Key Stage 2, close to the national average of
87%.
Merseytravel
helps Ian get on his bike!
A TravelWise competition
encouraging people to leave their cars at home and take up cycling
to work or their nearest rail station has been won by Wirral man Ian
Walker.
The competition, to win a new road bike and safety equipment, was
organised by TravelWise - Merseytravel's sustainable transport
campaign, in partnership with Merseyrail.
Ian, from Wallasey was one of over 280 respondents who completed a
questionnaire about how employees usually travel to and from work,
and their cycling habits. He said:- "With this bike I can
cycle the nine mile round trip from my home to Seacombe and then
complete my journey to work on the ferry, saving me time and money."
Georgia Dufton from The Disclosure and Barring Service, one of the
TravelWise Employers Network members that took part said:- 'We
are thrilled to have been part of the Summer Cycling Campaign.
Working in partnership with Merseytravel through the Employers
Network Programme, our Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group have been
promoting sustainable travel to and from work, encouraging
colleagues to think about the alternatives to car travel and how
this could improve their health."
The TravelWise Employers Network offers businesses across Merseyside
access to bespoke consultancy support, helping them to give their
staff and visitors choice about how they travel to work, alleviating
car parking pressures, increasing health and wellbeing and giving
the best advice in order to maximise productivity where staff travel
and transport is concerned.
Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel said:- "As a
keen cyclist myself, it's great to see so many people using their
bikes to get to work. There are now secure storage facilities across
most stations on the Merseyrail network, which helps people to fit
cycling easily and conveniently into their daily commute."
As part of the TravelWise programme 'Freewheeling'
free cycle training is available to anyone over 16 who lives and
works in Merseyside.
The initiative is offered as part
of the Department for Transport Local Sustainable Transport Fund. To
find out more visit:-
LetsTravelWise.org or call:-
0151 330 1253.
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