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John Barnard – Part II

Mike Jiggle
At the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix, a young Andrea de Cesaris enjoyed his first race in Barnard’s revoutionary carbon-fiber chassied McLaren MP4/1. He qualified 11th, one place behind teammate John Watson, but failed to finish after getting caught up in an accident. Photo: Maureen Magee
At the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix, a young Andrea de Cesaris enjoyed his first race in Barnard’s revoutionary carbon-fiber chassied McLaren MP4/1. He qualified 11th, one place behind teammate John Watson, but failed to finish after getting caught up in an accident. Photo: Maureen Magee

When we presented the first part of our continuing interview with F1 design legend John Barnard last March, VR Contributing Editor Mike Jiggle got him to discuss his early years at Lola and going to work at McLaren, as well as his basic design philosophy. In this second installment he speaks to his involvement in Indycar racing, during which he designed Jim Hall’s Indy- and championship-winning Chaparral 2K, working with Ron Dennis during his second stint at McLaren and joining Ferrari.

John BarnardPhoto: Mike Jiggle
John Barnard
Photo: Mike Jiggle

What was your first Indycar success?

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