1950s driving force ready for revival

It was 1956 - 55 years ago this summer - and Edinburgh-based Ecurie Ecosse, a motorsport minnow born and raised in a tiny mews garage, lovingly nurtured by a handful of racing enthusiasts armed with a bellyful of determination and not much cash, was about to take the chequered flag at the toughest endurance race in the world.

The remarkable victory, largely down to the devilishly good-looking Flockhart and his fellow driver, a straight-talking gritty Glaswegian called Ninian Sanderson, a sporty Jaguar that had been cleverly modified by chief engineer Stan Sproat and the extraordinary vision of team founder, chartered accountant David Murray, is legendary.

And it was made even more incredible when, against all odds, this small but bold Scots team returned the following year to do it all over again. Even better.

For in 1957 Ecurie Ecosse took not only the chequered flag but second place too.

Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin - with motoring hero Stirling Moss in the driver's seat - Lotus and Maserati cars had been left trailing in the precocious Scots' team's wake. And that was, surely, a victory that could never be repeated...

Today Stan, the mechanic whose clever behind-the-scenes tinkering with the D type Jaguar's engine give Ecurie Ecosse the edge over its Fifties' rivals, has an eye on the future.One of just a handful of survivors from that original world-beating Fifties team, he's thrilled by news that the modern Edinburgh-based team that carries the Ecurie Ecosse name is planning a bold return to the international arena.

The Ecurie Ecosse colours will be back on the starting grid this summer: the privately run team has now forged an alliance with Aston Martin Racing to enter one of their sleek DBRS9 GT3s in the 24 Hours of Spa, an endurance race held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, in July.

It will be the first time the revived team has been in full action on the international sports car racing scene since the 1990s when it took the British Touring Car Championship before fading from the headlines.

In a sharp reminder of Ecurie Ecosse's Fifies' heyday, team boss Hugh McCaid has also spoken of his dreams for a spectacular return to the world's oldest sports car endurance race, Le Mans, as soon as next year.

"I wish them all the luck in the world," smiles Stan, a remarkably sprightly 87-year-old widower. "Of course the competition is very different these days to what it was back then. But I hope they are successful.

"It would be wonderful to see the name back at the top."

Stan sits in his smart semi-detached house in Blackhall which he somehow managed to build with his bare hands in between carefully honing those Le Mans beating D-Type Jaguar engines and trips to race circuits the length and breadth of Europe.

The walls of his upstairs study are testament to those glory days. The black and white framed photographs are slightly faded now but there's no mistaking racing legend and one time Ecurie Ecosse driver Jackie Stewart, pictured alongside Stan, team boss David Murray and other members of the squad with the converted bus that served as the team's car transporter in the background, or the delight on the team's faces in another image, snapped just moments after that legendary 1956 victory.

On another wall, in pride of place, is a wooden steering wheel taken from one of the Ecurie Ecosse cars, the silver plate that sits in the middle engraved with a dedication of appreciation to team chief Murray and signed simply, The Boys.

It's the kind of the memorabilia that typically hangs on museum walls - the Museum of Scotland has an Ecurie Ecosse display - and there are many collectors who lust after rarities from a racing team which burned blindingly brightly for such a short time.

But for Stan, the pictures, letters and scribbled notes, the invitation to a civic reception to mark the Ecurie Ecosse victory and sketches of engine modifications, simply make up a remarkable chapter from when his skills as a sports car mechanic were among the best in the world.

He joined Merchiston Motors in Merchiston Mews in 1952, just as chartered accountant and racing fan David Murray was launching Ecurie Ecosse and having its drivers' three XL120 Jaguars painted in the deep metallic Saltire blue.

Stan had already seen the world and plenty of drama during the war with the Royal Navy. His first posting on a motor torpedo boat turned out to be the longest trip undertaken by such a vessel and ended with him being chased by Nazis and spending months in Bombay. Later he was on board a vessel sent to France in the immediate aftermath of D-Day where he vividly remembers rescuing two French agents: "They were still bombing when we got there," he recalls.

"We picked up two agents, girls, in short skirts and high heels - very smart - with machine guns over their shoulders and covered in blood.

"They'd been picked up by the Germans, tortured and then rescued."

Back on civvy street an advert in the Edinburgh Evening News led him to a job as a garage mechanic where he learned the skills that would lead to victory at Le Mans.

Charismatic accountant and garage owner David Murray had a great passion for racing cars which he yearned to develop into a full-scale team, in spite of the danger, the expense and the fact he'd never sat a driving test in his life.

Soon Ecurie Ecosse was on the starting grid. The first race on April 6, 1952 resulted in victory for driver Bill Dobson's XK120 Jaguar and a second place for team mate Ian Stewart.

It was a hint of things of come. By 1956, Stan had risen to chief mechanic at Ecurie Ecosse, splitting his time between carrying out repairs to taxis - Merchiston Motors' bread and butter - with carrying out highly technical modifications to the team's new D-Type Jaguar XKD 501 cars' engines.

By the time the team arrived at Le Mans - with driver Sanderson arriving by mini bus with a crowd of his Glasgow mates intent on enjoying French hospitality to its fullest - all their hopes were pinned mostly on just finishing the race.

"That's all we wanted, just to finish it," grins Stan. "No one really thought we'd win."

But they did.

A remarkable chain of events - a combination of accidents, driving conditions, incredible performances from the drivers and Stan's engine tweaking - saw the Ecurie Ecosse colours take first place.

To do it again the following year, in first and second place, was stunning.

Sadly, though, the team's brilliant performance couldn't be repeated. Their 1958 Le Mans outing was scuppered: changes to the cars and new regulations had a devastating impact on the team when both their Jaguars suffered serious engine problems and were forced to retire.

The team limped on for a few more years only to fizzle out.

Now, however, a new breed of Ecurie Ecosse drivers is preparing to steer the name back to the forefront of British sports car racing.

It would, agrees Stan enthusiastically, be incredible to see Ecurie Ecosse back on the winner's podium.

"I hope they do it," he smiles. "It would be quite something, wouldn't it?"

For more information about Ecurie Ecosse, go to www.ecurieecosse.com.

TWISTS AND TURNS

ECURIE Ecosse stunned the world with consecutive Le Mans victories. But the small Edinburgh team could not continue to out-perform the giants of the racing world. Even drivers such as Sir Jackie Stewart - he raced with the team in an Ecosse Tojiero in 1962 - struggled to come close to matching the astonishing success.

The team began to unravel in 1968, when boss David Murray was summoned to appear before the Inland Revenue. Fearful of bankruptcy, he fled to the Canary Islands, leaving the team in a part-time manager's hands. It eventually folded in 1971 and Murray died four years later from a heart attack after a minor road accident.

Penicuik enthusiast Hugh McCaig revived the Ecurie Ecosse name in 1984 and went on to win the C2 category of the World Sports Car championship two years later.

The team's last major track outing was in 1992, for the British Touring Car Championship. However, it continued to function behind the scenes, helping to nurture some of Scotland's most successful modern racing drivers, including Allan McNish, David Coulthard, David Leslie, John Cleland and Dario Franchitti.