Year of Skip Barber ... (Continued)
Barber raced a variety of machinery in the 60s and the 70s, ranging from sports cars to high-powered formula cars. Barber delivered some shining moments while in the driver’s seat, including beating Jim Clark in an identical car at the then Mosport in his first professional race and setting the ultimate lap record at Lime Rock Park to help push his name to the top of call sheets. Along the way, he won three SCCA National Championships, set 32 different lap records, and earned the President’s Cup. Success in Formula Ford ultimately propelled him to drive for the March factory in Formula 1 and Formula 5000 with help from team owner, Gene Mason. He ran six Formula 1 races while the first March Formula 5000 car was being built. The highlight of this period was outqualifying Ronnie Peterson, Niki Lauda, and Henri Pescarolo, who were also driving Marchs at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1972. Unfortunately, the brakes were gone by
the 10th lap and Skip spent the day waiving competitors by.
The March 5000 car was one that Barber will freely declare as being a “disaster” and basically ended his career. Shy and not
Skip racing the March in 1973
good at promoting himself, Barber usually drove cars the owners or manufacturers wanted to sell. At that time, the guru of track racecar engineering in North America, Carrol Smith, said “he was the fastest guy who never made it big.” He occasionally raced Porsches in IMSA over the next few years. Barber was only beginning to build a lasting legacy in American motorsports. Believing that racing was a coachable sport, he formed the Skip Barber Racing School in 1975 at Lime Rock and Thompson started with four students and a pair of borrowed Formula Fords. Since then, over 400,000 students have become racers and champions. He was President of the Road Racing Driver’s Club during this time.
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