skip barber racing school

[provamo]

apparently back in business

[FVRacer21]

apparently back in business

Totally new company - just bought the name - but many of old instructors have been hired.

Started out with Mustang based schools.

Recently have gone with expensive NEW Formula Cars like Lucas School etc.

So Skip Barber 5.0 (yes there were a lot of resets) seems to be getting back to solid ground.

Disclaimer - I have no experience other that word of mouth from some in industry.

ChrisZ

PS - Roos ended up with some of the old cars (and rebuilt completely) and some of the Instructors went there also.
Looked up some prices - a lot of sticker shock.- if all the schools are like this - could drive people back to SCCA.

[mousecatcher]

Looked up some prices - a lot of sticker shock.

for the formula car school, i found only 1 day classes on the calendar through 2021. the price was $2195, just about what it was when they shuttered last time.

i can see this actually being successful, since the school cars are now F4 cars. lots and lots of kart grads will want to do this.

[Jamesbe]

That's a great price! Sounds too cheap even

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[EACIII]

When I did my 3 day school at Sebring back in 1984 the cost was $1,100 for the full 3 days. At the end of one day Bruce took us over to a garage on the other side of the track to so us a new car that would revolutionize FF racing. I think it was something called a Swift.

Ed

[FVRacer21]

The Three day Formula School looks like $6995 ($7000).

Now using my inflation calculator what we charged in 1980 would be about $3,000 today.

BUT we were using Formula Fords towed by beat up pickup trucks going to tracks that were desperate to book time in between races.

Now you are using a MUCH more expensive car - at tracks that are booked 90% with car club days and some things like insurance and healthcare for workers is gone through the roof.

I believe a Race Series weekend is $17,500 and that includes 3 sets of tires! Much different than in my day where one set of tires might go for a entire weekend - for 5 race groups.....

I wish them luck but their marketing plan is not the same as in years (many years) gone by. Maybe that plan does not work anymore.

ChrisZ

[captaineddie1975]

When I went through the three-day racing school in November of 1982 it seemed that the cost was $1100 using Crossle 35s. In 1983 I went to an advanced school at Sebring and we used Crossle 40s. I don't remember the cost of that one but Mike Rand was the chief instructor instead of Bruce McInnes that I had for the basic school at LRP. My other memory of going to Sebring was taking 6 hrs to fly there from Bridgeport CT with a pit stop at Myrtle Beach in my Bonanza F33A. I believe we took Carl Lane Lopez and Skip for a flight around the Sebring course at that time.

[eastfizzrp16]

I went to the school in 1979 at Mid-Ohio and raced in the series in 1979 & 1980. As I recall, the cost for the 3 day school was about $1000 or so. I believe we used Crossle 32F's. The series was also very reasonably priced. I was living in Houston at the time and, including airfare ($200 RT on USAir), food and lodging, and practice/racing, each weekend was around $1000 - $1200, if you didn't overrev or damage the car. Instructors (for the school and the series) were Bruce McInnes, Carl Lane-Lopez, Bill Pruett, and Danny Sullivan. Danny was not real well known in the US at the time and the rumor was Skip hired him while trying to get him a professional ride.

Best regards,

Lowell

[Rick Iverson]

Gents;

A Skip Barber alumnus. Vic Elford, Jim Pace and Greg Borland were my Instructors, $1100, BIR long course. Sent both of our sons, $3000, RA, What is in a name? Reputation and name recognition. What’s it worth? Name and reputation.

[alangbaker]

My family paid for most of a 3-day Skip Barber school at Laguna, and I was hooked about 2 laps into the first lead-follow session on the track.

After that, I went back for a 2-day advanced.. ...then another... ...and was the oldest by far at their first Indycar Academy Shootout.