Ecosse to field Sims in Spa 24 Hours

BMW factory driver Alexander Sims will race his regular Ecurie Ecosse BMW Z4 in the Spa 24 Hours next month.

Sims, who is a race winner for the Barwell-run Ecosse team in the British GT Championship this season, will join the squad's regular Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am line up of Olly Bryant, Andrew Smith and Alasdair McCaig in the Belgian event on July 26/27.

Barwell boss Mark Lemmer said: "It's great that the factory have made Alexander available to us - he's proving to be the star pro driver in British GTs."

Sims, who contested last weekend's Nurburgring 24 Hours with the factory Schubert BMW team, said he was confident that Ecosse would be a contender for Pro-Am honors at Spa.

"The Pro-Am category looks typically strong, so I'm really looking forward to working with Olly, Andrew, Alasdair and the whole team in trying to fight for the win," he explained.

World Endurance Championship LMP2 frontrunner Olivier Pla will also race a BMW Z4 at Spa. The Frenchman will drive for the TDS Racing squad alongside Nicolas Armindo, Benjamin Lariche and Eric Clement, with whom Pla has raced in selected BES rounds over the past two years.

Pierre Thiriet, who finished second in LMP2 in the TDS Ligier at the Le Mans 24 Hours earlier this month, will join the team's GT squad for Spa and drive alongside Nick Catsburg, Henry Hassid and a to-be-announced platinum-grade driver.