Barber Pro Series

Last updated
Barber Dodge Pro Series
CategoryFormula racing
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico
Inaugural season1986
Folded2003
Constructors Mondiale (1986–1997)
Reynard (1998–2003)
Engine suppliers Saab (1986–1994)
Dodge (1995–2003)
Tire suppliers BFGoodrich Comp/TA R (1986–1987)
Goodyear Eagle (1988–1997)
Michelin Pilot (1998–2003)
Last Drivers' champion Flag of Brazil.svg Leonardo Maia (2003)
Official website Official website

The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. [1] [2] It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in North America, although the schedule did sometimes include a few ovals.

Contents

This series is often confused with Skip Barber's long-standing amateur racing series which has always used different and significantly less powerful cars. The amateur series currently has regional and national components.

The Barber Pro Series was a spec series, in which all cars were identically prepared by Skip Barber Racing. From its beginning in 1986 to 1994, the series was known as the Barber Saab Pro Series; the spec car was a tube-frame Mondiale chassis (basically a Formula Ford 2000 design) powered by a turbocharged 16-valve Saab 16v engine. For the seasons 1986 and 1987, the cars used street-legal racing tires, but for the 1988 season they used Goodyear Racing Eagle slicks instead.

History

The idea was discussed as early as 1979 as a way to get Saab involved in serious motorsports in the United States. Len Lonnegren, PR boss at Saab Cars USA, had heard that Skip Barber was planning to launch an open-wheel "spec car" professional race series, and that it was to run on the same IMSA programs as the GTPs and Camel Lights. Originally Barber had planned on using small displacement naturally aspirated 1,600 cc Dodge engines, but was talked into using turbocharged Saab engines instead. Saab provided engines and spare parts, as well as the assistance of an engineer nicknamed "Turbo Anders" who flew over from Sweden rather frequently once things got rolling. The engines were basically stock 1,985 cc 16-valve twin-cam turbo engines with an output of 225 hp. The engines differed from street versions in that the boost was increased, emission control systems were removed, fuel-injection settings revised and a racing exhaust fitted, together with dry-sump lubrication. [3] Mondiale, based in Northern Ireland was contracted to supply the series with chassis. The first race was run at Meadowlands and was won by Brian Till. By 1991 the marketing strategy at Saab changed and Saab USA did little more than provide the engines.

In 1995, the Saab engine was replaced with a production car 240 hp 3.2 L 24-valve Dodge aluminum sixty degree V6 engine and the series name was changed to the "Barber Dodge Pro Series". The series continued to use the original tube frame Mondiale chassis. In later years, the engines produced 265 hp. SCCA Pro Racing took over the organization from IMSA. The first Dodge powered race was won by Geoff Boss. [4] In 1997 it was announced that Reynard would design and build a new car for the Barber Dodge Pro Series. The Mondiale chassis was retired after twelve years of racing in 1998. [5] The organization was taken over by Professional Sports Car Racing. PSCR was formed by Andy Evans and Roberto Muller after they bought IMSA. For 2002, after CART took over the series, the Skip Barber Challenge was launched. This series comprised three race-weekends. The series was run by the Skip Barber Racing School but used the same cars as the pro series. Both seasons were won by Matt Franc. After the CART organization filed for bankruptcy in early 2004 the Barber Dodge Pro Series was initially put on hiatus. [6] The assets were transferred to Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC who decided not to run a 2004 Barber Dodge Pro Series. [7] As a result, the Skip Barber Racing school decided to focus on the Skip Barber National Championship. [8]

Statistics

RacesChassisEngineCountry
211Mondiale (143)Saab (107)USA (201)
Reynard (68)Dodge (104)Canada (9)
Mexico (1)
WinsDrivers
11 Rob Wilson
10 John Robinson, Nilton Rossoni
7 Robbie Buhl, Jeremy Dale, Leonardo Maia, Todd Snyder
6 A. J. Allmendinger, Robert Amren, Kenny Bräck, Bruce Feldman, Fredrik Larsson, Jeff Simmons
5 Geoff Boss, Derek Hill, Rino Mastronardi, Jerry Nadeau
4 Jon Fogarty, Bryan Herta, Sepp Koster, Ken Murillo, Nicolas Rondet, Thomas Schie
3 Diego Guzman, Mark Hotchkis, Harald Huysman, Page Jones, Willy Lewis, Alex Padilla, Matt Plumb, Jaki Scheckter
2 Tim Colwell, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Eric Kielts, Ashton Lewis, Juan Pablo Montoya, Rocky Moran Jr., Memo Rojas, Barry Waddell
1 Justin Bell, Townsend Bell, John Bigham, Andy Boss, Marc Breuers, Jeff Bucknum, Steve Cameron, Davy Cook, Hans de Graaf, Dan Di Leo, Tom Dolan, Ricardo Dona, John Estupinan, Juan Manuel Fangio II, Mauro Fartuszek, Will Langhorne, Tony Leivo, David Martinez, Chris Menninga, Tim Moser, Leo Parente, David Rocha, Bernard Santal, Alexandre Sperafico, Rafael Sperafico, Brandon Sperling, John Tanner, Brian Till, Robby Unser, Michael Valiante, Roger Yasukawa, Luis Zervigon, Andrés Ruiz E

[9]

Cars

Mondiale

Mondiale Car Company was contracted to build cars for the Skip Barber Racing School and the Barber Saab Pro Series. [10] [11] The Pro series car was based on the Formula Ford 2000 chassis Mondiale had experience with. The chassis was a spaceframe design. The powerplant came from the Saab 900 and Saab 9000 production car.

Reynard

Reynard launched the Reynard 98E for the 1998 Barber Dodge Pro Series. This car featured a carbon fiber monocoque. The engine came from the second generation Dodge Intrepid. The suspension, brakes and radiators were made by Chrysler. The bodywork was designed using computer-aided drafting (CAD). [12] The car was designed by Andrew Thorby and Adrian Reynard. The car was initially tested at Mallory Park and Snetterton by Rob Wilson. In the USA testing was conducted by Robbie Buhl. [13]

Series champions

YearDriverRookie of the yearSkip Barber ChallengeCarEngineSanctioning body
1986 Flag of the United States.svg Willy Lewis Mondiale Saab IMSA
1987 Flag of the United States.svg Ken Murillo Mondiale Saab IMSA
1988 Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Feldman Mondiale Saab IMSA
1989 Flag of the United States.svg Robbie Buhl Mondiale Saab IMSA
1990 Flag of New Zealand.svg Rob Wilson Mondiale Saab IMSA
1991 Flag of the United States.svg Bryan Herta Mondiale Saab IMSA
1992 Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Amren Mondiale Saab IMSA
1993 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenny Bräck Mondiale Saab IMSA
1994 Flag of Colombia.svg Diego Guzman Mondiale Saab IMSA
1995 Flag of South Africa.svg Jaki Scheckter Mondiale Dodge SCCA Pro Racing
1996 Flag of Sweden.svg Fredrik Larsson Flag of the United States.svg Derek Hill
Flag of the United States.svg Tony Renna 		Mondiale Dodge SCCA Pro Racing
1997 Flag of the United States.svg Derek Hill Flag of France.svg Nicolas Rondet Mondiale Dodge SCCA Pro Racing
1998 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons Reynard 98E Dodge SPORTS CAR
1999 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons Flag of the United States.svg Roger Yasukawa
Flag of the United States.svg Paul Miller 		Reynard 98E Dodge SPORTS CAR
2000 Flag of Brazil.svg Nilton Rossoni Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Reynard 98E Dodge SPORTS CAR
2001 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Rondet Flag of Brazil.svg Rafael Sperafico Reynard 98E Dodge CART
2002 Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Allmendinger Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Allmendinger Flag of the United States.svg Matt Franc Reynard 98E Dodge CART
2003 Flag of Brazil.svg Leonardo Maia Flag of the United States.svg Colin Fleming Flag of the United States.svg Matt Franc Reynard 98E Dodge CART

Other notable drivers who have raced in the series include Juan Pablo Montoya, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Danica Patrick, Jeremy Dale, Townsend Bell, Michael Valiante, David Martínez, Memo Rojas, Rocky Moran, Jr., Al Unser III, Andy Swett, Jerry Nadeau, and Ernesto Viso.

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The 2001 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the sixteenth season of this racing series. The championship was decided in the final round. Nicolas Rondet won the championship over Sepp Koster and Matt Plumb. Rafael Sperafico won the Rookie of the Year title.

The 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the fifteenth season of this racing series. The championship was won by Nilton Rossoni. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Rookie of the Year title. This was the first season the series raced outside of the United States. The Barber Dodge Pro Series supported the CART World Series at the Molson Indy Vancouver

The 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the eighteenth and final season of the series. All races were run in support of the 2003 CART World Series. The season consisted of ten races of which four were run abroad, one in Mexico and three in Canada. Leonardo Maia won the championship and Colin Fleming won the Rookie of the Year title. This was the first, and only, time the series raced in Mexico.

The 1987 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the second season of the series. All drivers used Saab powered BFGoodrich shod Mondiale chassis. Ken Murillo won the championship.

The 1990 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the fifth season of the series. All drivers used Saab powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. Rob Wilson won the championship. Wilson was the first non-American to win the Barber Saab Pro Series.

The 1991 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the fifth season of the series. This was the first season the class had a title sponsor, Zerex. All drivers used Saab powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. Bryan Herta won the championship.

The 1992 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the seventh season of the series. Zerex continued to support the racing series. All drivers used Saab powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. Swede Robert Amren won the championship.

The 1993 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the ninth season of the series. Zerex continued to support the racing series. All drivers used Saab powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. Swede Kenny Bräck won the championship. Bräck raced in the International Formula 3000 the following season.

The 1994 Barber Saab Pro Series season was the tenth season of the series. All drivers used Saab powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. 1994 was the final season the Saab H engine was used. Diego Guzman won the championship.

The 1995 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the eleventh season of the series. Dodge replaced Saab as the series engine provider. 1995 was also the first season the series was sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. All drivers used Dodge powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. South African Jaki Scheckter won the championship.

The 1996 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the eleventh season of the series. All drivers used Dodge powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. Derek Hill and Tony Renna were named co-Rookies of the Year and were awarded a paid half-season of the 1997 Barber Dodge Pro Series.

The 1997 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the twelfth season of the series. All drivers used Dodge powered Goodyear shod Mondiale chassis. This was the final season the series used the Mondiale chassis and Goodyear tires.

The 1998 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the thirteenth season of the series. For this season the Dodge powered Reynard 98E was introduced. Michelin had become the sole tyre supplier.

The 1999 Barber Dodge Pro Series season was the fourteenth season of the series. All cars are Dodge powered, Michelin shod, Reynard 98E chassis.

References

  1. ↑ Racing for America: Barber Dodge
  2. ↑ The Auto Channel: 2004 Barber Dodge Pro Series
  3. ↑ Showcasing Talent, Motor May 1988
  4. ↑ "SBRS: Miami results". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ "SBRS: Reynard new Barber Dodge chassis". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Barber Dodge Pro Series takes one-year hiatus". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  7. ↑ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Champ Car statement on Barber Pro hiatus". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ "SBRS: Barber statement on Pro Series hiatus". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Barber-Saab/Barber-Dodge Championship (1986-2003)". Motorsport Winners. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Reynard Dodge 98E". Skip Barber. Archived from the original on February 15, 1998. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Vehicles". Skip Barber. Archived from the original on December 24, 1997. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Racing - Barber Dodge". Reynard Motorsport Ltd. Archived from the original on March 3, 2001. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  13. ↑ "SBRS: Reynard new Barber Dodge chassis". motorsport.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
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