Team Ecosse is a Scottish-based racing team, formed in 1996 to compete in the Internet Amiga F1GP Championship. After several years off, the team returned to action in 2005, competing in the V8Thunder online championship, based on the NASCAR 2003 simulation.

The team has had a great deal of success at V8Thunder, with many race wins and championships. In the Winter 2006 season, David West was crowned Lites champion and Team Ecosse won the Lites team championship for the second time. This feat was surpassed in the Winter 2007 season, with Derek Howe winning the Inters title, Team Ecosse winning the team championship in both Trucks and Inters, and Steve Smith winning rookie honours in Inters and Trophy.

In 2007, beginning to look beyond oval racing, the team was restructured into two divisions - stock car and open wheel. A touring car division was added in 2008 as the team became more willing to embrace different racing disciplines.

The team is now almost twelve years old. In the past the team has competed in ICS, PRS, NTRL, and Amiga F1GP and GP2 offline racing leagues.

Picture courtesy of Alan Strang

In practise Morten was at the front, together with Steve and Thomas, which suggested a good race for the Team Ecosse drivers. David and Davey struggled with their cars during practice but by the end were looking pretty good. However, Davey took a risk and made last minute changes in Happy Hour which resulted in rev limiter problems on the straights.

The other Team Ecosse drivers were at the back of the field, patiently waiting for the right time to commence their move to the front. Thomas managed to stay there and eventually took 2nd place from Martin Buchan in a thrilling fight! Davey managed to hold the vMaxSR drivers behind him and ended up 4th, despite his problems. Unfortunately for Steve, his engine blew during a restart.

As the flag dropped, the team began to patiently work its way through the field, keeping a close eye on the newbies that were an unknown factor, and an even closer eye on some of the veterans known for their 'destructive' nature. Davey would show great pace, working his way towards the front, in what would end up being a roller coaster night for him - on the track, and emotionally.

As the race progressed, the carnage began to ensue, with Davey and Thomas find themselves the proud owners of bent sheet metal. Once again Davey's crew worked tirelessly, unwilling to give up, patching up his battered truck. Meanwhile the sly veterans, Steve and Derek, had very quietly worked their way to the front of the pack.

As the laps ticked off, and the field thinned, the silence on the team channel was broken when Thomas declared the expiration of his engine. The green would fly again, and Steve would take his #09 Subway truck the the front of the pack... but the yellow would soon come out.

Leading the pack to the final restart, the #09 would quickly get pressured by Ian Smiff's #06, after pulling to Steve's outside, Yosh would pack Steve spoiler with air, making him loose into Turn 1, and shuffle him back to 7th a place finish. Derek would stick to Ian's bumper and hold on to a second place finish, while Davey, seemingly coming out of nowhere, would race his way to third (after restarting at the back of the pack 10 laps earlier) and Jonas would round out the top five in his #65 River Restless Silverado.

As it turned out, he finished a comfortable 4th, and so Team Ecosse was crowned the team champions. This is the team's first such title outside of the V8Thunder NR2003 league, so congratulations to Alan and Brian for their efforts!

The opening race was predictably frantic, but both Team Ecosse drivers started well and moved into the Top 10, only to hit problems later on. Alan finished just outside the points in 17th, with Erik further back in 22nd after having to make a stop for fuel.

The feature race was much better for the team, and the longer duration allowed Alan and Erik to move up the field and show what they were capable of. Despite starting from the back, Erik brought his E90 home just inside the Top 10, while Alan also picked up points in 12th.

An unspectacular start for the team, but reasons to be confident for the second round at Mid-Ohio.

Picture courtesy of Alan Strang

Picture courtesy of Alan Strang