CHARLIE BARRE JOINS CHANDLER MOTORSPORT FOR COOPER DEBUT

Charlie Barre will make his Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy debut this season after inking a deal to join forces with Chandler Motorsport.

Barre will join forces with Harry Smith and CJ Morgan on-track as the team seeks to try and secure the Rookie Cup title for a third successive season, which kicks off this coming weekend at Snetterton.

Leicestershire-based racer Barre has made no secret of his desire to join the MINI CHALLENGE family in recent months having been one of those drivers to take part in a special taster day event that was held at Donington Park back in October.

The 32-year-old has previous experience of competing in tin-tops from a partial campaign in the MSVR-run Ford Focus Cup back in 2021.

In only his second weekend in the series, Barre stormed to victory in the opening race of the weekend at Silverstone before taking second in race two, with a further trip to the podium coming in round four at Cadwell Park marking him out as a potential championship contender.

Although his campaign would come to an unfortunate early conclusion following the Oulton Park meeting, Barre still finished the season just shy of the championship top ten – ahead of a number of drivers who had contested more races by the end of the year.

Having sampled all three MINI CHALLENGE classes in recent months, a successful test with Chandler Motorsport has now resulted in Barre agreeing a deal to join the Cooper class for his return to racing, with his focus firmly on pushing for rookie honours on track during the year ahead.

“I’m extremely happy to be joining forces with Chandler Motorsport for the 2025 season and to be competing in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy,” he said.

“When I had the chance to test with the team back in December, it told me everything I needed to know about them as they showed both their professionalism and their dedication to succeed.

“They made me feel right at home from the moment I got into the car and now I can’t wait to get started!”