Team Profile: Tim Barber

Features, Racing I By Winding Road Staff I August 01, 2016

Tim Barber is director of competition services and chief engineer for Winding Road Team TFB. He has long history as a driver and as a race car engineer. "With Winding Road Team TFB, we have a strong emphasis on driver development because in amateur or pro-am racing that’s almost always where the biggest opportunity and the greatest rewards are" says Tim.  

With Tim’s pro driving experience, Winding Road Team TFB takes a somewhat different approach. "After my pro driving, I’ve spent the last ten years working on race car design and set-up, based on a detailed knowledge of data, physics and what is happening in the driver’s seat" he notes. The team leverages Tim’s driving skills by putting him in the race cars whenever possible to quickly get an understanding of how specific track conditions and set-up strategies are working. Tim observes "For example, during the early time we spent developing the MX-5 Cup cars, I did a few races to be sure our approach was working under the difficult passing conditions of a 40 car spec race. My time in the car during the very limited practice allowed in a pro weekend also shortened the time to get a solid baseline setup for all our drivers from perhaps 2 full sessions to more like 15 minutes."

When working with drivers, Tim mixes his extensive coaching career and his racecraft. "When you’ve worked with lots of drivers, you know there are different ways of describing things, so you adapt to different styles. You also know there is only so much input a driver can handle at one time. The big thing is to bring knowledge of racing at a specific track together with the data the car is providing and the development needs of a specific driver so that you concentrate on getting solid improvements that the driver can execute well" he says. "The same thing applies to adjustments to the car. You have to know what dynamics suggest something that should be changed on the car and what dynamics indicate a focus on driving approach" Tim noted.  

Racing Resume
 
1995: got started racing Yamaha KT-100 karts.
 
1996-1998: raced karts in northern California. Ran against AJ Allmendinger, Joey Hand, Jonathan Bomarito and Scott Speed.
 
1999: began driving the Jim Russell Formula Mazdas and shifter karts. Won multiple shifter kart championships in northern California.
 
2000: 1st Place, Russell/USAC Triple Crown Pro Series in Formula Mazdas.
 
2001: NASA GTA champion.
 
2002: 1st place, Formula Renault 1600 championship.
 
2003: Formula Renault 2L.
 
2004-2007: Raced sprint cars and Trans Am cars.
 
2005: Trans Am TA2 champion.
 
2005-2007:  Finished on the podium twice in the Anderson Speedway "Little 500" in 2005 and 2007.
 
2007: 3rd in USAC Silver Crown champ car series.
 
2016: 6 races, 2 podiums in Battery Tender MX-5 Cup
 
  
 
Race Engineering And Coaching Resume
 
2007: Competent Motorsport Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy champion.
 
 
 
2008: Driver coach.
 
2009-2010: Set up work on Spec Miata, GT3 Cup, NASA/BMWCCA BMWs.
 
2010: SCCA Golden Gate Region Spec Miata championship (driver: Brian Ghidinelli)
 
 
 
2011- present: full-service arrive and drive racing, racecar building, coaching and tuning. Spec Miata, Elan NP01, MX-5 Cup and PWC GTS.
 
2013: set-up for Winding Road Racing’s Boss 302S, which won the 25 Hours of Thunderhill (Drivers: Tom Martin, Tom Brown, Brian Zander, Tom Martin III)
 
2014: SCCA national championship, Spec Miata (driver: Mark Drennan).
 
 
2015: NASA Eastern and Western championships, Spec Miata (driver: Mark Drennan)
 
2016: Chief Engineer, Winding Road Team TFB, Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup, cars 2, 5, 21, 22, 39, 50; driver coach, Pirelli World Challenge GTS car 19
 
 
 
Lap Records Held by Cars Tim Has Engineered
 

The Guide to Road Racing: Winding Road Magazine's ultimate guide to getting your start in racing.

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