Westley Barber

[Vortex]

Does anyone know what Westley Barber is doing this Year ?

[Sato san]

i thought he was looking at F3 .......but he done a F3000 test as well didnt he ?

[O'Schumacher]

He tested for Arden in F3000 at Misano in November 2002. He won't drive for them though. Townsend Bell & Bjorn Wirdheim have already signed.

Westley should be in F3 this year. If he isn't, what do you have to do?

[Russfeld]

given his career progression the last few years, id say karting

[Muppet]

He wants to do F3000 this year then Zip Formula in 2004, Nissan WS in 2005, step back to F3 in 2006, then F1 in 2007 which by then will be the equivalent of FRenault with all the cost savings and everyone would have lost interest anyway and the big money will be in ASCAR. ;-)

[El_Gibleto]

He's still short enough to fit a cadet kart!

[racingdick]

in autosport today hes looking to go to america and dothe us formula ford 2000 series. slicks and wings i think..
same route that danny wheldon took

[caro_line69]

If he doesn't do something soon, in a top class like F3, he's gonna' find himself being yesterday's news.

There are so many new prospects at the end of every year, for classes like F3, F3000 and F1, that if he doesn't get a move on there'll be no seat for him and no one will be interested in him.

Caro_line
The only line to take

[Super Tourer]

For lad, keeps going around in a circle career wise. Pity as he did a good job in the F3000 test, but simply doesn't even have an F3 budget.

He should go well in the US.

[Russfeld]

I thought he did most of a season in 99 of F3?

[Sato san]

yes , he did race for Manor when they ran Pizzonia to the title.......On the face of it , this doesnt look such a great move for Westley in the short term , but long term it may be a smart move , he doesnt have the money he needs to race in a leading championship in Europe , so the States could be a good direction to head .....

[Russfeld]

Itll be more of the same though. A 250,000 for a season of F2000, then 1mil for Atlantics and with less chance of raising sponsorship for road racing.

[O'Schumacher]

I remember Westley doing F3 in 2000, but didn't his winning the French Renault Campus championship help pay for that. Anyway, he lost his drive to Marcos Ambrose Mid-Season.

[El_Gibleto]

Westley did Campus in 1998, French F3 class b in 1999(very well) British F3 with ADR & Manor in 2000, FFord with Heywood in 2001 and won the FFord championship in 2002.

[Jonny Apex]

Originally posted by O'Schumacher
I remember Westley doing F3 in 2000, but didn't his winning the French Renault Campus championship help pay for that. Anyway, he lost his drive to Marcos Ambrose Mid-Season.

Westley, of course, was a big rising star when he won the Elf Fastrack scholarship and his place in the French Campus series, exclusively for students of Elf's La Filiere driver programme based out of Le Mans. He won the first round to become the youngest British driver in history to win a car race (now lowered thanks to T-Cars). He also went and won quite a few more rounds - eight in total - and the title itself before the end of the season. Not bad for a chip shop owner's son, considering others came from far more privileged backgrounds and were linked to established racing names etc.

This part-paid his way into La Filiere's B class F3 team in the French series. It was not fully funded and he had to find the rest himself. He couldn't and quit before the season ended (I don't remember Ambrose 'replacing' him, though).

So to a half season or so of British F3 with Manor in 1999. Things clearly did not progress as he had hoped for and he also had a bad run with ADR. Personally, I do not believe this was down to a lack of ability. I think it was a lack of confidence and having to run on a shoestring budget. Generally, you can't do that if you want to win in F3.

Taking the decision to step down to FFord cannot have been easy for he would have known he would be an easy target for lesser mortals to take cheap shots at. Some, sadly, still do. Even he joked about it at the time - wow, a driver able to laugh at himself. It's wearing a bit thin now, though.

Meantime, he has managed to get his career - which some were telling him was over at 18! - back on track. The people saying he should have won FFords because of his past experiences tend to be the same who call into question his talent. Get real. You must be half decent to beat England and Heylen.

The USA is perhaps not his preferred route, but it is again a sign of his resilience. It could be a very wise move and I sincerely wish him well.

[Russfeld]

That was touching

[Sato san]

Originally posted by Jonny Apex
It could be a very wise move and I sincerely wish him well.

yes , so do i .....going to the States may open up many different doors to him , look at Wheldon , racing at the INDY 500 this year.

[El_Gibleto]

Westley has always been able to drive a racing car, perhaps he got to F3 too young, but he had the guts and detrmination to race in FFord and win the championship. His racecraft is a lot better now than when he first drove in F3.

He deserved to suceed, I that people are working very hard to help him get a good drive.

[DavidStHubbins]

I reckon Barber has a best selling novel in him. IMO.


Good luck to him in the US though.