Barbour is back!!

[sportscarsRULE]

Dick Barbour will debut a two-car R-GT team at the ALMS Mid-Ohio round. HELL YEAH!!!!!

[nsxr]

wait R-gt thtas what the lambo was called. Can you give us more information?

[Edmonton]

Originally posted by nsxr
wait R-gt thtas what the lambo was called. Can you give us more information?

http://www.racingfanatics.com/Sebrin...ni_in_alms.htm

[jhansen]

I saw that this morning. This is definitely good news for the rather skimpy ALMS GTS class.

[JAG]

Good to see some of the rumoured cars now begining to arrive.

[Fab]

Terrific news !

But just a thought, even if it does'nt fit very well with the topic : SaleenS7R predicted some months ago that GT cars were the future of rock n' roll... I think he could be right...

[JAG]

Originally posted by Fab
Terrific news !

But just a thought, even if it does'nt fit very well with the topic : SaleenS7R predicted some months ago that GT cars were the future of rock n' roll... I think he could be right...

Not in Europe, or in there current spec.

[PascaLM]

I thought that the Lambo R-GT had perfecting problems ?

[The Badger]

He's involved with some "Tracy" something or other , whats that all about ?

GTS needs this entry big time at least in the ALMS . I thought that the GTS battle at Sebring left a lot to be desired !!!

Great news , Now I got a Dick Barbour Juniour Porsche Team jacket , what will I do with that !!!

[The Badger]

Barbour returns with Lambo
Veteran sportscar boss to run two Murcielagos in the ALMS


Barbour's last ALMS team won the 675 LMP class in 2001


Veteran sportscar team owner Dick Barbour will team up with US businessman and racing driver Tracy Krohn to run a pair of semi-works Lamborghini Murcielago R-GTs in the GTS class of this year's American Le Mans Series.

The newly-formed Krohn-Barbour Racing team was unveiled at Sebring on the eve of the 52nd annual 12 Hour race and will make its debut in the second round of the ALMS at Mid-Ohio in June, with a view to completing the rest of the nine-round calendar.

Although it will be a privateer team, Krohn-Barbour will be officially affiliated with the Lamborghini factory.

Krohn will be one of the drivers, but the rest of the line-up is as yet undecided. Barbour, who will return as a team owner for the first time in three years, will be attempting to become the first man to win ALMS titles in three different classes, having won the GT crown in 2000 and the 675 LMP class in '01.

Barbour, who will operate the team from his base at Road Atlanta, said: "I've been searching for the right opportunity to get back into racing and I'm very grateful to Tracy Krohn and Lamborghini.

The battle for the GTS class just heated up in a big way
Scott Atherton

"The Lamborghini is a glamourous and popular car off the race track and our goal with the car is to take a good battle to the Corvettes and other cars in the GTS class on the race track."

Krohn, who will drive a Porsche for PK Sport at Sebring this weekend, said: "We are going to field a first-class racing team, and we look forward to mixing it up with the other competitors."

Scott Atherton, president and CEO of the ALMS, said he was delighted to welcome Lamborghini to the series as a constructor. "Many manufacturers and teams are looking at the GTS class and we feel it is going to be an area of tremendous growth," he said.

"Anyone who knows Dick Barbour knows he only races to win - races and championships. With this in mind, the battle for the GTS class just heated up in a big way."

[gwyllion]

Wow, Krohn Barbour will discontinue their ALMS Lambo program :confused:

Krohn-Barbour Racing discontinues Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT program

Krohn-Barbour Racing has made the decision not to enter its two Lamborghini Murciélago R-GTs in the next round of the American Le Mans Series, the season finale at Laguna Seca, California, on October 14-16.

Krohn-Barbour Racing was established this year by successful businessman Tracy Krohn and sports car legend Dick Barbour, and has contested most rounds of the ALMS since taking delivery of the two Lamborghinis in mid-June, shortly before the second of the series’ nine races. The team’s two cars have been driven by David Brabham/Peter Kox and Tracy Krohn/Scott Maxwell.

Krohn explained: “With regret we’ve decided to say no to going to Laguna Seca, and to discontinue our racing program with the Lamborghinis. We always knew the Lamborghini would need some development work, being a new race car, but we went into this program having been promised a level of factory support that in my opinion was not delivered.

“Krohn-Barbour negotiated with Lamborghini ahead of the season and reached an agreement in good faith. Krohn-Barbour has honored all of its commitments. Unfortunately Lamborghini didn’t provide the draft contract until the day before delivery of the second car, and in my opinion this failed to reflect the original agreement. Discussions with Lamborghini at Petit Le Mans last weekend failed to resolve this.

“This is a disappointment, but it’s also an opportunity. There are other race cars and other types of race cars out there. Krohn-Barbour Racing has set very high standards in preparation, engineering, and presentation, and is evaluating options with a view to a new program in 2005 and beyond.”

“Looking back on 2004, I’d like to make special mention of our technical partner Pirelli. In particular, I’d like to thank Peter Tyson [Vice President, Advertising, Public Relations and Motorsports] and Guy Mannino [President and CEO of Pirelli Tires North America] for their commitment and support.”

Okay, the pace of Lamborghinis was disappointing and there was little improvement in speed and reliability. I guess Dick Barbour was expecting more support.

I hope this doesn't affect DAMS ...

Sad news.

['70 Mach 1]

Crud .... I was looking forward to seeing the Lambo's at Laguna...

Maybe Joest will come back and run a factory Lambo GTS program?

[paul-collins]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an ACO-spec Lambo.

[gwyllion]

I assume that the main problem is the fact that the R-GT is largely a private project by Reiter, with some (limited) support from Lamborghini (and Audi Sport), comparable to Prodrive Ferraris, and not a factory effort, like Porsches and Ferrari 360 and 575 GTCs.

[paul-collins]

The main problem is horsepower.

[Tim Northcutt]

and big belches of black smoke whenever the car was downshifted as it went into corners...

Maybe he is eyeballing one of those "Shaw Chassis Technologies" chassis for a full assault in 2005...

[jhansen]

This really is too bad. The team wanted to be successful. Either they couldn't cut it, or in reality they were not supported as promised. Hopefully they do find a new platform for 2005 and will return to the series. And while the cars "belched" black smoke I was still looking forward to seeing them at Laguna in person. Magnificent looking cars. We sure could use the support in GTS. I'd like to see Krohn-Barbour rerturn in that class with a solid car.

[Tim Northcutt]

I saw them as tehy rolled through their first IMSA scrutineering at Mid-Ohio on the Friday morning of that race weekend.......


It was just me, my son, the team and the IMSA officials....got a GREAT look at the Lambo, inside and out...

It was beautiful....

and it is too bad our West Coast fans who are going to Laguna won't see it....

[skycafe]

Originally posted by jhansen
And while the cars "belched" black smoke I was still looking forward to seeing them at Laguna in person.

I saw no smoke evident in two days at Road Atlanta, and they did sound and look fantastic-while not being very effective against the Corvettes......

[Fab]

Originally posted by paul-collins
The main problem is horsepower.

The team seems to mention "too much downforce" due to the shape of the car, leading to a slow max speed...

[marcush.]

the main problem is Reiter is a small company and they are outsourcing almost everything and at the same time they just have no money to spend as the funding comes only from the sale of road going lambos.
This leads to small development speeds and after reading an article over reiters Project maybe they are a bit lacking knowledge/experience as well.The whole project would need to get concentrated and guided by a strong leadfigure and could well do with some additional funds.
Horsepower ....is seldom the course for non success.

[pounetbf]

...and the very main problem is probably $$$$, as there is no sponsor on the lambo...

[marcush.]

money is not always a guarantee for success .....look at toyota in F1....they are up against the likes of Sauber and Jaguar who spend less money together than Toyota on their one project....

[73_Gstock]

The #6 car belched black smoke on downshifting into Turn 7. The #5 car did not seem do the same.

They were beautiful. They sounded great. The #5 was a lot faster than the #6, it was pretty obvious when Krohn was in the car.

Errgh, there was something else I was going to add and right out the window. . . .

[73_Gstock]

Oh yeah, shame the #5 got DQ'd at Turn 10. It was running third at the time. Spun in someone else's oil. Stalled and didn't restart. The crew came over and handed the driver a wrench which was NOT even used by the driver and they DQ'd it on the spot. Didn't even let him drive in.

I thought it was a harsh penalty.