MAKING
TRACKS
RACERS RISING
Hargrove (MAIN) and Nunez (BELOW) adapted quickly to the Skip Barber National cars. Nunez also impressed in IMSA Lites machines, positioning himself for a future in the ALMS.
Wickens a champ again After winning
the Formula BMW USA crown in 2006,
Canada’s Robert Wickens turned his
attentions to Europe’s school of open-wheel
hard knocks and, after taking a few hits,
he’s now dishing them out. The 22-year-old,
who finished runner-up in the inaugural FIA
Formula 2 series in 2009 and in GP3 last
year, is now a champion again after
scooping the World Series by Renault title
for Formula 3. 5 cars (LEFT) at the final race.
QUICK STUDIES
Tristan Nunez and Scott Hargrove made rapid strides in
their first season of Skip Barber Racing Schools action
“To win the championship with so
many competitors was truly amazing,”
said Nunez. “Skip Barber laid the
foundation for my motorsports career.
Anyone can drive fast, but you need to
learn how to race fast against other drivers.”
Scott Hargrove, 16, started racing
karts at the age of 13, and two years later
was competing in Skip Barber Racing
School cars. Hargrove described the
Shootout as one of his favorite racing
experiences. “With so many other young
racers I knew I had to really push myself
to stand out,” he said. “By not having
more than three days in a racecar prior to
the Shootout, I knew I had my work cut
out for me.”
Even so, the young Canadian found
himself near the top of the lap charts, as
he improved with each session. After
being awarded his scholarship, Hargrove
began competing in the Summer Series,
where he earned five race wins and 12
top-five finishes.
Last December, racers Tristan Nunez and Scott
Hargrove received half-season scholarships after
competing in the Skip Barber Racing School Karting
Following in the footsteps of his twin brother and father,
Tristan Nunez first tried his hand at tennis. “I never really had
a passion for it,” he said. “So I started go-karting when I was 11,
which was a bit late.” Four years later, Nunez won a
scholarship in the Karting Shootout.
Weeks before starting his Skip Barber race season, Florida
Surgical paid for Nunez to enter in the Cooper Tires Prototypes
Lites race at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where the then 15-year-old
became the youngest driver in IMSA Lites history and finished
second in his first race. He then traveled to Virginia
International Raceway for the Skip Barber Formula Summer
Series opener, where he clinched the first of seven season wins.
With his appetite still whetted for professional racing, Nunez
participated in the IMSA Lites event at Petit Le Mans in
September and finished second in both races. From there he
went to Lime Rock Park and claimed the 2011 Skip Barber
Formula Summer Series Champion title.
Anyone can drive fast,
but you need to learn
how to race fast.
“It hasn’t even been a year since the
first time I stepped into a racecar and,
since that time, I have learned more than
I ever could have imagined,” says
Hargrove, who also set two track records
during the season. “Honestly, I didn’t
expect my year to go so well. I knew I
came into it lacking seat time and my
expectations were to learn.”
The sky’s the limit for these two
young, dedicated and canny racers.
While both admit they would be happy to
race anything with wheels, Nunez is
hoping for a future in the American
Le Mans Series and Hargrove has his
sights set on Formula 1. Kelly Brouillet
