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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: The Rise Of BAR1
John Dagys explores the story of BAR1 Motorsports, as it pursues the Prototype Challenge championship...
Longtime team manager Brian Alder formed his own prototype team in 2012 and has big visions for the future. (Photo: John Thawley/BAR1)
It’s often amazing what a difference a year could make. Just ask Brian Alder.
Twelve months ago, the longtime Intersport Racing team manager was in a race against the clock to get his newly formed Prototype Challenge squad afloat and to Florida for the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
With a scattered driver lineup, a mix-and-match of equipment and personnel but with a persevering sprit, Alder’s Ohio-based squad fought through its maiden American Le Mans Series season with varying degrees of success, highlighted by three poles and two podium finishes.
"Things came together so quick, there was no time to even think about the future,” Alder says. “By the time we confirmed everything, Sebring was only two weeks away and we were just going with it. Then it was onto Long Beach and next thing you know, you're right into it.
"We never really got settled until after Petit Le Mans. With the equipment and cars we had, we had to bring it up to the level that we wanted to. We were always building, but it took until the off season to see the bigger picture.”
But as the BAR1 Motorsports team returns to Sebring for this weekend’s around-the-clock season opener, it’s an almost a night-and-day difference from just one year ago.
Boasting an impressive two-car squad, upgraded staff and a polished presentation, along with a season’s worth of experience, Alder and his squad have set their sights not only on its breakthrough first class win but the championship as well.
As the only two-car PC team this year, it appears to be a realistic goal, especially with its solid driver lineup, led by rising sports car star Kyle Marcelli. The 23-year-old will be joined by fellow Canadian Chris Cumming for the year, with prototype veteran Stefan Johansson completing the lineup in the long-distance races.
"We were battling from behind all [last] season, never really had a full budget or a consistent driver lineup,” says Marcelli, who ended up being the only full-season pilot for the team in 2012. “We just pieced it together as it was Brian's first time running the show. We had a lot of time to think over the course of last year and put things in the right order.
“I know Brian wants to win a championship and I only really wanted to come back into this class if we were going to go after it. We all came under the same mindset. We recruited good drivers and good personnel and have everything it should take. There's no excuses now.”
One of the key differences from last year has come with its committed season-long driving squads. In addition to Marcelli and Cumming in the No. 8 Oreca FLM09, Alder has managed to put together another potent pairing in Rusty Mitchell and Tomy Drissi for the No. 7 machine, with Chapman Ducote on-board for Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
Ducote, who’s risen to fame for his recurring role in the E! reality series "Kourtney and Kim Take Miami,” has been a principal at BAR1 since its formation when it was initially known as Merchant Services Racing.
Twelve months ago, the longtime Intersport Racing team manager was in a race against the clock to get his newly formed Prototype Challenge squad afloat and to Florida for the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
With a scattered driver lineup, a mix-and-match of equipment and personnel but with a persevering sprit, Alder’s Ohio-based squad fought through its maiden American Le Mans Series season with varying degrees of success, highlighted by three poles and two podium finishes.
"Things came together so quick, there was no time to even think about the future,” Alder says. “By the time we confirmed everything, Sebring was only two weeks away and we were just going with it. Then it was onto Long Beach and next thing you know, you're right into it.
"We never really got settled until after Petit Le Mans. With the equipment and cars we had, we had to bring it up to the level that we wanted to. We were always building, but it took until the off season to see the bigger picture.”
But as the BAR1 Motorsports team returns to Sebring for this weekend’s around-the-clock season opener, it’s an almost a night-and-day difference from just one year ago.
Boasting an impressive two-car squad, upgraded staff and a polished presentation, along with a season’s worth of experience, Alder and his squad have set their sights not only on its breakthrough first class win but the championship as well.
As the only two-car PC team this year, it appears to be a realistic goal, especially with its solid driver lineup, led by rising sports car star Kyle Marcelli. The 23-year-old will be joined by fellow Canadian Chris Cumming for the year, with prototype veteran Stefan Johansson completing the lineup in the long-distance races.
"We were battling from behind all [last] season, never really had a full budget or a consistent driver lineup,” says Marcelli, who ended up being the only full-season pilot for the team in 2012. “We just pieced it together as it was Brian's first time running the show. We had a lot of time to think over the course of last year and put things in the right order.
“I know Brian wants to win a championship and I only really wanted to come back into this class if we were going to go after it. We all came under the same mindset. We recruited good drivers and good personnel and have everything it should take. There's no excuses now.”
One of the key differences from last year has come with its committed season-long driving squads. In addition to Marcelli and Cumming in the No. 8 Oreca FLM09, Alder has managed to put together another potent pairing in Rusty Mitchell and Tomy Drissi for the No. 7 machine, with Chapman Ducote on-board for Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
Ducote, who’s risen to fame for his recurring role in the E! reality series "Kourtney and Kim Take Miami,” has been a principal at BAR1 since its formation when it was initially known as Merchant Services Racing.
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