At a Press Conference at Scotland's Knockhill Circuit, a new Scottish Ferrari team under the name of Scuderia Ecosse was announced.

It will be developing a Ferrari 360GT with the ultimate aim of making a future assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Marino Franchitti will develop the 360GT

The Scuderia Ecosse team will be managed and run by long time Ferrari specialists and international Ferrari Challenge competitors Stewart Roden Motorsport based on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Roden also runs two 360/Chs in the Club's Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge.

"We have the Ferrari factory's full endorsement of our programme" said team owner, Stewart Roden, "It's been a dream of mine since I used to race cars, so I'm delighted to see that dream turn into a reality".

The driver tasked with the responsibility of developing the car is the 2001 British GTO Champion, Marino Franchitti, whose Scottish blood and Italian heritage make him an ideal candidate for the Scuderia Ecosse project. "I'm extremely delighted to have been asked to undertake the development of the car" said Marino, "and Stewart has laid a fantastic foundation on which to build this project".

No announcement was made about which series the team would compete in, nor who the race drivers would be.

The magnificent Scuderia Ecosse transporter

The car was rolled out in front of a large crowd of journalists and media representatives, Marino completing a handful of laps in the recently delivered car. The development programme will begin immediately. Marino will dovetail his Scuderia Ecosse development programme with his current Risi Competizione Ferrari 360GT USA race programme.

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