Role model for young car enthusiasts
Media
Testimonials
What's new
Elli Magic
The Victorian circuit racing season wrapped up for 2010 at Phillip Island, with the annual Island Magic.
Mark Eddy took out the CUE Production Sports Car one-hour enduro in his Audi R8, leading home the Porsche GT3 Cup S of Max Twigg and Shaun Juniper, Earlier Eddy and Scott Bargwana (Lotus HPE) split the wins in the sprint races on a wet Saturday.
In his latest drive of John Gourlay’s Audi A4 for the foreseeable future, Darren Hossack romped to victory in the $50K sports Sedan feature race, with Graham Smith and Chris Muscat completing the podium.
Elliot Barbour – in his first Formula Ford race – emerged on top in the Fiesta Class and Brett Francis in the Kent Class in the Formula Ford final. Samantha Reid and Reis Howell were second and third of the Fiesta cars, with Greg Woodrow and Andrew Goldie on the Kent podium.
Leanne Tander won two of the three Improved Production races, holding out David Loftus to win the final, while Daniel Reinhardt took a clean sweep in Formula Vee. Fraser Ross (Historic Touring), Chris Lewis-Williams (Porsche 944) and Brendan Avard (HQ Holdens) also left with silverware.
Big names create a little magic
Darren Hossack, Leanne Tander and Elliot Barbour were all big winners at the 20th anniversary Island Magic meeting at Phillip Island on November 28.
Hossack (Audi-Chev) comfortably won the traditional 50K Plate despite an early setback in the very wet qualifying session. Pole position went to South Australian driver Simon Podlewski in his ex-Drift car Nissan 180SX, but as the track dried out Hossack got further in front to win all three races including the feature.
“It’s always a prestigious meeting to win and next to winning a national title it’s the one that you want to win” said Hossack. “If it was my last drive in the car, then certainly it’s at the best track to have it.”
NSW driver Graham Smith was a welcome visitor in his turbocharged Calibra, taking second place over former winner Chris Muscat (Mazda RX-7).
In Improved Production, Leanne Tander left the Island with her second Matthew Flinders plate, and a new lap record, after a race-long battle with the extraordinaryTurbo Toyota Starlet of David Loftus. Local Champion Kane Vereker (Mazda RX7) was third, Tasmanian Ray Hislop was a major challenge to Tander until he crashed out on lap six.
Former 944 Challenge driver Elliot Barbour (Mygate SI11) made a brilliant Formula Ford debut, winning all three races including the main Trophy race. Samantha Reid (Spectrum 09) moved up the Duratec-powered class to take second. Brett Francis (Van Diemen RF02) won the Kent-engined class ahead of Greg Woodrow.
Barbour breaks through
With numerous victories and poll positions in the Porsche 944 Championship Series already under his belt, Elliot Barbour has moved a step closer to his goal of racing V8 Supercars.
Barbour, 19, competed in his first Formula Ford race last weekend at Phillip Island and blitzed the field. Team owner Josh Evans wasn’t expecting much. In fact, he told the Beaumaris driver to use the race as part of his “settling in” period.
But in his first race in his new car, barbour qualified fastest, won the pole and dominated the entire weekend of racing. He captured the final race by 7.5 seconds, nearly the length of the straight.
“It was a good start considering it was the first time he put his bum in the car” said proud mum Jenny Barbour.
Barbour races at Winton this weekend in the final Formula Ford Series race of 2010 and another good showing could help him find a sponsor for 2011. “We desperately need a sponsor. I’m just a working mother paying the bills, but if your child has a passion you have to help him reach it” Jenny Barbour said.
As part of the next stage of his development, Barbour has signed with Evans Motorsport’s Young Guns squad.
“After meeting the impressive young team and crew and seeing its facilities it was a pretty easy decision” Barbour said.
He’ll race in next year’s Formula Ford Series from Round 1 in early March and plans to take part in all of the series’ state races and a handful of national events.
Evans says Barbour should do well. “Elliott has a very mature and focussed attitude towards his racing and I think this will be a huge benefit in his progress. Although he has never driven a Formula Ford before, his experience and success in driving a number of different vehicles has helped him adapt quickly” Evans said.
Jenny Barbour says her son is completely focused on cars. “He lives, eats and works with them” she said.
Barbour works for Fasttrack Racing, Mercedes and G-Force Events and among his duties is teaching a defensive driving course.
Hard to get in much trouble on the track when you’re so far in front.
Elliot Barbour signs for 2011 with Evans Young Guns Squad
2011 holds greater challenge and excitement for Elliot as he moves closer to his dream of driving at the top of his profession. His next step is driving in the State and National Formula Ford Series.
Elliot can’t wait to get behind the wheel of his new Mygale Formula Ford. He has driven a number of different types of vehicle but history shows that if you want to progress your career to a professional level you need to do Formula Ford.
Elliot had been keeping a close eye on Evans Motorsport results in both the National and Victorian State Championships and seeing the impressive young team, having met the crew and seen their facilities – his decision was pretty easy and he signed off on a deal.
Team owner Joshua Evans is equally excited by the signing of Barbour and predicts 2011 will be another strong year for the team. "Elliot has a very mature and focussed attitude towards his racing and I think this will be huge benefit to his progress. Although he has never driven a Formula Ford before, his experience and success in driving a number of different types of vehicles should help him adapt quite quickly".
2010 Elliot was invited to drive one of the series prepared cars at the recent Phillip Island round of the Australian MINI Challenge. Although having no experience in driving a MINI, and unfamiliar with the front-wheel-drive technique of driving, Elliot impressed. He won Race 2 of the weekend and finished 3rd for the round.
 |
 |
2010 Phillip Island round of the Australian MINI Challenge
2010 Elliot was invited to drive one of the series prepared cars at the recent Phillip Island round of the Australian MINI Challenge. Although having no experience in driving a MINI, and unfamiliar with the front-wheel-drive technique of driving, Elliot impressed. He won Race 2 of the weekend and finished 3rd for the round.
Elliot wins 2009 Porsche 944 Challenge Championship November 2009
2009 - Elliot wins the Porsche 944 Challenge Championship. He is believed to be the youngest driver ever to do so. During the season he achieved 3 pole positions, 6 race wins and 3 round wins from six rounds, including 5 fastest laps in a race (3 at Winton and 2 at Sandown).
 |
 |
Elliot had a successful test drive in a V8 Supercar – September & November 2009
 |
 |
Outstanding 6th place – Philip Island “Island Magic”
21 November 2009 – Elliot joined Keith Kassulke in his Nissan GTR Skyline achieving an outstanding 6th place finish in the Philip Island ‘Island Magic’ Sports Car event against V12s and V10 world class sports cars.
Role model for young car enthusiasts
Elliot is a role model for young, impressionable car enthusiasts by demonstrating how to participate and enjoy high powered cars safely.
With recent young driver car accidents, Elliot’s safe driving skills and message for young drivers is well sought by the media. Elliot is praised for adopting a responsible attitude towards fast cars. Coupled with Elliot’s driving success, Elliot is an ambassador for young drivers.
Media
Elliot has a respected media profile which adds considerable value to any sponsorship.
The media’s interest in Elliot boasts TV interviews, articles and photographs, He has been featured in a number of newspaper and magazine articles focusing on his driving talent and confidence.
- Motorsport News / eNews - 28 September 2009
- Coxy’s Big Break – 15 August 2009
- In car TV coverage on Foxtel and SBS on Inside Speed
- Vic State Racer – article and photograph
- The Age (News) – 11th of December 2007 page 2
- Historic Touring Car Association of Victoria – Issue February 2006
- Racer Australia – Issue April/May 2007
- Auto Action – Issue December 12-18th 2007
- KartSportNews.com – February 2006
- Foxtel and SBS television – Inside Speed
An integrated PR program will continue for EBR this year offering further opportunities for sponsor exposure.
Testimonials
“The Mercbits team helped Elliot on his next step up the ladder in Motor Sport from Karting to cars. Elliot didn't have the budget to run a car and at 16 years old, 6ft tall and a young man’s build, he had definitely outgrown karts and wasn’t going to fit into a formula ford.
We decided to put him in a HQ Holden, probably not the given choice of a prospective world champion, but one of the hardest classes in Australia to be neat, quick and clean and an excellent learning curve for a young driver.
Elliot is a rapid learner; after showing him how to adjust rear brakes, he then adjusted them himself to suit his own driving needs. We only had to show him how to put front pads in once. His knowledge of the mechanical workings of a car is quite advanced for someone so young.
This Young fellow is still learning, will drive the wheels off it, but will not do anything super silly and will try and bring it home in one piece.
As a young bloke, my wife Sue and I are proud to be associated with the boy; he is polite and still refers to us as his other Mum and Dad.”
Merc-Bits
“I am lucky enough to have made a career and a very good living out of my hobby, “Motor Racing” in the thirty odd years I have been racing I have been fortunate enough to work with, and for the very best in Australian and International motor sport the likes of Larry Perkins, Denny Hulme , Win Percy, Jim Richards, George Fury and Fred Gibson to name but a few in that time. I have also worked with and seen some young “guns” come onto the scene including Russell Ingall, Mark Webber, Mark Skaife, Glen Seton and Craig Lowndes.
I have been extremely fortunate in the last couple of years to have a young guy called Elliot Barbour come to our team and drive one of our cars, his enthusiasm is to say the least infectious, but his car control and speed are something else again, not since Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife have I seen a young bloke so fast and yet so in control and well organised. He is not just a maniac who can drive fast, he genuinely has an understanding of the car and what is going on underneath him, a rare quality in one so young.
It is my honest opinion that he has all the attributes of a top race car driver and with a little bit of polish and guidance can go all the way to the top of Australian Motor Racing and perhaps further.
The other very endearing quality of Elliot is that he is genuinely a really nice kid and presents extremely well to both children and adults alike I hope that his endeavours to become a full time “racer” are successful and I will certainly be doing everything in my power to help him achieve that goal. If there are any potential sponsors out there that would like to talk to me regarding Elliot please don’t hesitate to call me on 0428 328 646.”
RSR
Rod Smith Racing Australia
“In September 2010, we were fortunate to put a last minute deal together to run Elliot in one of our Mini Challenge cars at the V8 Supercar Enduro support at Phillip Island. This was Elliot's first race in Mini Challenge and he started the weekend without testing.
Our crew was highly impressed with his approach, attitude and speed. Despite the fact he was responsible for any damage to the car he was able to still drive with enough aggression to finish as high as 2nd against highly experienced competition. He was also skilful, smart and restrained enough to keep the car completely unmarked despite treacherous conditions. Elliot finished the weekend on the podium with 3rd outright on debut in the championship.
I wish him luck and hope to work with him again in the future.
McElrea Racing
