Early Career
Barnard gained a diploma from Watford College of Technology in the 1960s and unlike many of his contemporaries he did not follow a lengthy academic career, instead choosing to join GEC.
In 1968 Barnard was recruited by Lola in Huntingdon as a junior designer and began working on many of the chassis manufacturer's projects, including Formula Vee racers and numerous sports cars. While at Lola, Barnard was introduced to Patrick Head, who would later go on to help found the Williams Formula One team. The two engineers became good friends and Head was best man at Barnard's wedding in the early 1970s. In 1972 Barnard joined the McLaren Formula One team and remained for three years working alongside Gordon Coppuck on the design of the Championship-winning M23 chassis and other McLaren projects, including the team's Indycar.
By 1975 Barnard had been hired by Parnelli Jones to work alongside Maurice Philippe designing the team's Formula One racer which campaigned from 1974 to 1976. After Philippe left Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, Barnard modified the design for the Indycar circuit. Further Indycar designs followed and in 1980 the Barnard-designed Chaparral 2K chassis took Johnny Rutherford to the prestigious Indianapolis 500 and the CART drivers title.
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