SBRS: Sebring testing February 2-3

Barber Dodge Competitor Testing Starts Feb. 2 & 3

SEBRING, Fla. (Jan. 30) - With competitor testing scheduled to begin February 2 and 3, Martin Stenshorne, Gregg Borland and the latest "Big Scholarship" winner, Shane Donley, head the list of the first group of Barber Dodge drivers to begin Reynard Dodge testing prior to the March 21 Sebring season-opener. Said Pro Series Manager Steve Sewell, "I’ve booked the Sebring test circuit for every Monday and Tuesday of February so that every driver will get four test days prior to the opener." There are no vacant seats as all 30 Reynard Dodges have been accounted for through at least the first six events.

Rocky Moran, Jr., 1997 Rookie of the Year Nicolas Rondet and Todd Snyder are set for the first days in their cars Feb. 16 and 17, along with "dark horse" Giovanni Anapoli, while Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Samer Hindi, Will Langhorne and 1996 championship runner-up Thomas Schie get their first taste a week later.

The FIA-standards crash test in England of the Reynard Dodge is scheduled for April but an unscheduled "test" has already occurred: two weeks ago, one of the test drivers, in middling damp/dry conditions at Moroso, stuffed it in the fast (120 mph) Esses complex. Broke the car in half—but exactly where and how it was supposed to. "Yep, it was a big shunt, but the motor sheared from the tub exactly as it was designed to,’ said Sewell. "We had the car back together less than 30 hours later, no tub damage. Over the years, whenever we crashed one of the space-frame Barber Dodges in that corner, invariably they were write-offs."

Round 1 of the 1998 SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned Barber Dodge Pro Series is Saturday, March 21, just before the start of the 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by the Chrysler Corporation. The ESPN2 telecast of the Barber Dodge race is TBA.

Entry list follows. . .

Sebring Barber Dodge Entry List (1/30/98)

Car # Driver/Hometown Sponsor(s)

1 Charles Willis/Germantown, Tenn. Chateau de Ville Executive Townhomes

2 Jamie Menninga/Pella, Iowa Menninga Electric

3 Townsend Bell/Santa Barbara, Calif. Tate & Snyder Architects; Patrick Bell & Co.

4 Thomas Schie/Oslo, Norway

5 Samer Hindi/Los Angeles, Calif. American Couriers; 1 Pen; Newport Int’l Trading

6 Peter Boss/Narragansett, R.I. Cross Pens; Border Patrol; Driving Impressions

9 Giovanni Gulinelli/Padova, Italy

10 G. J. Mennen, Jr./Austin, Texas MBf U.S.A.; Corbin, Ltd.; Fluid Packaging; Bills Khakis

11 Todd Snyder/Sheffield, Mass. ZIPPO

12 Jarrett Boon/Phoenix, Ariz. Shell Vacations; Orange Tree Golf Resort

15 Memo Rojas, Jr./Mexico City, Mexico

18 Giovanni Anapoli/Montecchio, Italy Vergani Racing, s.r.l.

22 Eric Tresslar/Denver, Colo. Jms. Mathews Racing; H&S Tools; LCT

26 Nick Rondet/San Diego, Calif. ’97 Barber Dodge "Rookie of Year"

27 Alex Gurney/Newport Beach, Calif. Team KOOL Green

34 Martin Stenshorne/Hokksund, Norway Zeta Invest; m@rkedsprofil

36 Nilton Rossoni/Curitiba, Brazil Foster Group

40 Tom Woods/Rancho Cordova, Calif. Middlefork Ltd. Partnership

52 Jon Fogarty/Portola Valley, Calif. Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards

55 John McCaig/B.C., Canada Presenting Italy-Women’s Fine Boutique

59 Gregg Borland/Elkhart Lake, Wis. Chicago Soft; Taco Bell

71 Rocky Moran, Jr./Coto de Caza, Calif. Shultz Steel Co.

76 Will Langhorne/Washington, D.C. Firebird Lubricants

77 Scott Mayer/Franklin, Wis. QPS Staffing Service, Inc.

85 Brian Pelke/Lansing, Ill. Kay Mfg. Co.

94 Owen Trinkler/Nashville, Tenn. Nationwide Insurance

95 Victor Gonzalez, Jr./Hatoray, P.R. Gonzalez & Assoc.; Charlie Auto Star Body Xpert

00 Shane Donley/Las Vegas, Nevada Skip Barber’s "Big Scholarship; Cedar Roofing

xx Matt Robinson/Grove City, Ohio Robinson Investments

xx Jeff Simmons/East Granby, Conn.

xx Sepp Koster/Antwerp, Belgium

xx Owen McCauley/Ireland -end