eKartingNews.com One-on-One: Allen Berg
Canadian Hall of Fame member is now an educator and a racing dad.
If you’ve raced on the national level for the last few years, you’ll likely have seen him in the pit area at a SKUSA, Challenge of the Americas, or USPKS event in the Ryan Perry Motorsports tent. Allen Berg is a quiet and well-spoken racing dad and mechanic to his son Alexander, enjoying his return to the karting paddock in recent years. He also happens to have a racing resume that is among the most impressive of any in the pit area. Allen runs his eponymous racing school program – Allen Berg Racing Schools – at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but he’s also a former F1 driver, Mexican Formula 3 champion, and Formula Atlantic team owner.
In 1982, Berg won the Tasman Formula Pacific Series in Australia and New Zealand. In 1983, Allen moved to British F3 in what is widely known as one of the most competitive F3 fields in history, where he raced against the likes of Ayrton Senna, Martin Brundle, Davy Jones and Calvin Fish. He then returned and finished second in the F3 program in 1984. After coming back to Canada in 1985 to assemble support, Berg competed in nine F1 Grand Prix events in 1986 with the Osella team. Unable to secure the sponsorship to continue in F1, Allen maintained his professional status racing in assorted open wheel and sports car series, retiring as a driver at the end of the 2001 season after winning the Indy Lights Panamericana title.