Elliot Barbour signs for 2011 Evans Young Guns Squad
Young Victorian racer Elliot Barbour has signed up with Evans Motorsport Group for their campaign in the 2011 Victorian Formula Ford Championship.
Elliot, nephew of former AUSCAR racer Marshall Brewer, has recently purchased one of Mygale’s brand new SJ11a’s and along with the Victorian Championship, will compete in selected National rounds. His signing will see him teamed up with 14-year-old karting sensation Jordan Lloyd.
Although only 19, Elliot has amassed a vast amount of experience racing cars. As well as a strong career in karting, he has also has an impressive record in cars. His resume includes finishing 6th in his rookie season of racing HQ Holdens, he finished 4th in his rookie season of Porsche 944 (holds lap record at Oran Park), and on his second attempt he won the Porsche 944 Championship in 2009 (winning 4 from 6 rounds). He has also raced productions cars, historic touring cars and tested for V8 Supercar teams on a number of occasions.
At the recent Phillip Island round of the Australian MINI Challenge, Elliot was invited to drive one of the series prepared cars. Although having no experience in driving at 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.
‘’I really can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Mygale Formula Ford! I’ve 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’’.
‘’I only got in contact with Josh in early September, but I’ve been keeping a close eye on their results in both the National and Vic State Championships. They’ve been very impressive for a young team, having met the crew and seen their facilities – my decision was pretty easy and we 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’’.
‘’He has already started to get his hands dirty so-to-speak, having spent a couple of days at the workshop assisting the crew. Mathew Hart and Andre Heimgartner have won races and rounds in their Formula Ford debut year – we’ll be looking to progress Elliot through this program with similar success.‘’
Although the 2011 Evans Young Guns Squads campaign doesn’t officially begin until next year, both Elliot and Jordan will soon be commencing their testing program as well as competing at the Phillip Island Magic event held in late November this year.
Who is Joshua Evans?
After being an integral part of the Australian Formula Ford championship years of Tim Blanchard, David Reynolds, Dean Fiore and Nick Percat, Josh moved overseas to further his career. He engineered Formula BMW and F3 cars in Asia, Formula Ford, Formula Renault and Formula Superleague in the United Kingdom, and worked with A1 Team Australia in 2006.
Josh is now solidly based in Melbourne Australia with a view to winning the Australian and Victorian Formula Ford championships. His ultimate goal is to expand the team to the highest levels in world motorsport.
His team is now currently gearing up for championship assaults in 2011. Potential drivers and partners interested in winning with us can make contact via our web site; www.evansmotorsport.com.au or via email; joshuawevans@hotmail.com