Ian Barnwell’s championship winning Team Firstair has a ten-year history of success. Initially formed back in 1995 to compete in saloon cars (also known as sedan racing in North America) the Heathrow England based team has recently turned its attentions to open-wheel racing. Currently setting the standard for professionalism in the Formula Renault UK Championship paddock, Team Firstair’s attention to detail off-track is mirrored by its ability to succeed on-track.
2005 marks the team’s sophomore season in the Formula Renault UK Championship with Canada’s Sean McIntosh and France’s Jean-Robert Niogret driving the #24 and #22 cars respectively. McIntosh returns for a second season having captured the 2004 Championship ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors as well as achieving an outright victory at Oulton Park to finish an impressive sixth overall in the overall standings. Niogret makes the jump to ‘slicks and wings’ racing from a successful karting career in Europe.
Prior to their current successes in the UK with Sean McIntosh, Team Firstair contested the 2003 Fran-Am North American Pro Championship in the USA and Canada. Robert Bell piloted the team’s entry and narrowly missed out on the title that year. Earlier Bell had the honor of capturing the team’s first open-wheel title, at their first attempt, in the 2002 Formula Renault Winter Series, the Englishman scoring two wins and two additional podium finishes to take the crown.
The team’s switch to Formula Renault and Fran-Am was preceded by a variety of title wins and race victories in saloon car racing. Richard Dean scored the first of those wins in the 1995 Dunlop Rover Turbo Cup before going on to take the title the following season. A move to the Renault Spider Championship in 1997 brought more race wins with Warren Hughes and Dan Wheldon both tasting success. Two seasons in the MGF Cup brought successive titles for Team Firstair with James Rhodes crowned Champion in 1998 and Warren Hughes in 1999. Paul Rivett subsequently triumphed for the team in the 2001 Elf Clio RenaultSport UK Cup Winter Series before going on to win the full series title in 2002.
Team Firstair Profile
Ian Barnwell’s championship winning Team Firstair has a ten-year history of success. Initially formed back in 1995 to compete in saloon cars (also known as sedan racing in North America) the Heathrow England based team has recently turned its attentions to open-wheel racing. Currently setting the standard for professionalism in the Formula Renault UK Championship paddock, Team Firstair’s attention to detail off-track is mirrored by its ability to succeed on-track.