By David G. Firestone
It’s amazing how many used firesuits are on the market in this day in age. Every one of them tells a story. Some are worn by professional racing champions. Some are worn by weekend warriors. Interestingly, some people who acquire these suits to sell don’t know the true back story behind the suit itself. This week, I will discuss a suit almost identical to last week’s, but with a different back story that is very believable.
While BMW is considered a luxury car brand, they are involved in Australian GT, DTM, IMSA, GT Racing, and FIA Formula E. They have a decent amount of success in the sport, and are a fixture at sports car races around the world. Since they are fielding their own teams, the need for drivers is there. So, like many teams, they field new talent from racing schools such as Skip Barber.
John “Skip” Barber III is a former F1 and SCCA driver.While we won 3 SCCA National Championships in a row, his F1 and IndyCar careers were not stellar. After his racing career ended, he taught four students to race in 1975. 45 years later, Skip Barber Racing Schools owns 130 cars and operates at over 30 tracks over North America. Given the need for racing talent, and the number of different series that BMW races for, it doesn’t seem too far fetched that BMW would work with Skip Barber. That partnership resulted in this single-layer OMP firesuit in decent condition.The collar has a Velcro strap, and an OMP patch on the strap.
The cowl has a small flag tag marked 50 sewn into it.
The right chest features a BMW logo sewn into it.
The left chest is unadorned.
The front torso features a black stripe over a red stripe.
The suit has an unadorned white belt.
The legs are unadorned, and have standard cuffs.
The shoulders have black over red stripes.
The sleeves have OMP patches sewn into the upper area, but are otherwise unadorned.
The back is unadorned.
The back of the neck has the warranty label sewn into it.
The back torso is unadorned.
Next week, I’ll discuss an autographed racing helmet.
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