Barwell and The Bull join forces

After 10 years as title sponsor of its race cars, Black Bull whisky chairman Euan Shand has acquired a stake in Barwell Motorsport to become a co-owner of the team. 

The partnership has become a staple at GT races around Europe, with the distinctive Black Bull livery marking out Barwell's cars — _currently Lamborghini Huracan GT3s — _in both the British GT Series and GT World Challenge Europe, and Shand's investment will help propel the team towards bigger goals, including an entry at the famed Le Mans 24 Hours. 

A self-confessed life-long motorsport fan, Shand has always had a fascination with speed, from building model cars as a boy to rebuilding his own cars and engines as he got older, admitting that he 'enjoyed getting as much speed out of my basic cars' as he could. With family ties to motorsport too, future involvement was almost certain. 

"My father used to take me to hillclimbs and races as a boy and, as soon as I was old enough, I went to my first British Grand Prix, at Brands Hatch, way back in the day," Shand recounts. "My uncle — _who I never met as he sadly passed away in an air crash on the way to Le Mans — _raced a Lagonda, so I was always intrigued by that and started going to Le Mans in the early '90s. I've only missed three 24 Hours since! 

"Having sponsored a rally car in the late '80s and early '90s, I was quickly convinced by Barwell to do the same with their GT cars and, as such, have been a partner of the team since 2013. Now, after ten years together, that relationship has led to me buying into the team, and I'm excited to see where the future will take us." 

Shand is credited with revitalising the Black Bull brand after his 2001 acquisition of the company, which was founded in 1864 in a humble Dundee grocery and spirits store. Following a resurgence in its traditional markets and growth in many new ones, Black Bull now has a presence in over 50 countries and offices on three different continents as it continues to evolve along with the whisky market itself. 

Similar foresight will now be added to the experienced Barwell team as it looks to build upon a record of success that dates back to the 1960s. Since starting its GT racing programmes at the end of 2005, Barwell has won multiple titles in both the Blancpain Endurance Series/GT World Challenge Endurance & Sprint Cups and the British GT Championship and is also a three-time class winner of the prestigious Spa 24 Hours and remains an official partner of Lamborghini Squadra Corse. 

"Although we have seen Euan as part of the Barwell family for the past 10 years, we are delighted to welcome him as an official member," team principal Mark Lemmer commented. "Black Bull has been amongst the most recognisable sponsors in GT racing for the past decade but, with Euan's involvement, we have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline that will take both Black Bull and Barwell to greater heights."