Seventy years after its place in Jaguar history was sealed at Le Mans, Ecurie Ecosse is back on the international endurance racing grid. The famous Scottish name has partnered with Blackthorn Racing for a campaign in the 2025–26 Asian Le Mans Series, marking a significant moment in the team’s long and storied life.
For Jaguar enthusiasts, Ecurie Ecosse needs little introduction. The team’s victories at Le Mans in the 1950s, achieved in Jaguar D-Types, remain among the most celebrated achievements by a privateer outfit. This new programme does not revisit that machinery, but it does reconnect the Ecosse name with the endurance racing world that made it famous.
A Modern Programme, A Historic Name
The Blackthorn partnership sees the car entered as Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn, combining modern GT racing ambition with one of British motorsport’s most respected identities. The timing is deliberate: 2025 marks 70 years since Ecurie Ecosse’s first Le Mans win, making the return to endurance racing more than symbolic.
Rather than chasing nostalgia, the team has chosen to compete with a contemporary GT platform. The entry will run an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, a proven and competitive car suited to the demands of the Asian Le Mans calendar. While not a Jaguar, it reflects the reality of modern endurance racing and allows the focus to remain on performance and results.
Asian Le Mans: A Proper Test
The Asian Le Mans Series offers a demanding schedule of long-distance races across Malaysia and the Middle East. Six four-hour events provide a true endurance test for cars, drivers and teams, with strong international GT competition throughout the field.
For Blackthorn, the series is more than a one-season exercise. The team has been clear that this programme is about building credibility, consistency and results, with ambitions that extend beyond Asia. For Ecurie Ecosse, it represents another step in returning the name to the level of racing where it belongs.
Early Signs of Intent
Initial outings have shown the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn entry running competitively among established GT teams. While endurance racing is rarely decided in a single session or race, the early pace suggests the partnership has the foundations needed to challenge across the season.
The emphasis has been on clean execution, reliable performance and learning quickly — the same principles that underpinned Ecurie Ecosse’s success in period, even if the cars and circuits have changed dramatically since the D-Type era.
Why This Matters to Jaguar People
Even without a leaping cat on the nose, this programme matters to Jaguar enthusiasts. Ecurie Ecosse’s story is inseparable from Jaguar’s golden years at Le Mans, and seeing that name back in endurance racing reconnects the present with one of the marque’s proudest chapters.
It is a reminder that Jaguar’s competition history was shaped not just by factories, but by determined, intelligent private teams who knew how to win on the world stage. Seventy years on, the colours may be different, but the intent feels familiar.
Ecurie Ecosse & Jaguar – The Key Moments
1956
Ecurie Ecosse secures outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Jaguar D-Type, delivering one of the most famous wins in British motorsport.
1957
The team repeats the feat, achieving back-to-back Le Mans wins and confirming the D-Type as the dominant endurance car of its era.
Late 1950s
The metallic-blue Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars become enduring icons, symbolising privateer excellence at the highest level of the sport.
Decades On
Though the original team steps away from frontline competition, the Ecurie Ecosse name remains closely linked to Jaguar heritage and endurance racing culture.
2025–26
On the 70th anniversary of its first Le Mans victory, Ecurie Ecosse returns to endurance racing in partnership with Blackthorn, competing in the Asian Le Mans Series.
One Response
I joined Ecurie Ecosse as a junior member in 1957. Of course when the D type was no longer competitive they moved on to other makes such as Tojeiro and the Cooper Monaco and even an Austin Healey Sprite but without the success of the Jaguars they raced. Their main British competitor in the 1950’s was Aston Martin so it is hugely ironic that the new EE will be racing an Aston. Of course there is no Jaguar today that could be raced. The glory days are long since gone. The last Le Mans win was 1991, I believe but nevertheless I wish EE well. Readers might find it interesting that I still have a framed Christmas dinner menu for 1958 when I attended as a young boy the EE dinner at the Saxon Mill, Guy’s Cliffe, Warwick with my mother. On this menu are the autographs of Max Trimble, Innes Ireland and Ivor Bueb, all EE drivers as well as Jack Fairman ( works D type driver) and David Murray who founded EE; also for Jaguar, Lofty England and W. Heynes penned their autographs. This is a treasured memory of mine.