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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
Barber Motorsports Park is an 880 acres (360 ha) racing facility in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m) Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabama since 2010. The Annual Barber Vintage Festival has taken place at the park each October since 2005. Barber Motorsports Park is also the home of the Porsche Track Experience.

Track

Aerial view of the circuit

The track has hosted numerous motorsport races including the IndyCar Series, Grand-Am, Vintage Racing Series events, American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) racing, and MotoAmerica. It serves as the home of the Porsche Track Experience. It has hosted the Keith Code California Superbike School and the Yamaha Champions Riding School. Barber is noted for its landscaping and greenery; the track has been referred to as "The Augusta National of Motorsports".

The IndyCar Series had tests at Barber in 2007 and 2009.

The track had also been nominated by the FIA as the official test track for the now-closed down US F1 Team.

Barber Proving Ground

The 14 acres (5.7 ha) Barber Proving Ground opened in 2014 to serve as an additional test facility for the Barber Museum. The track and adjacent 150-foot-by-350-foot wet/dry skid pad are used for a variety of purposes, including defensive driver training, safety instruction, product debuts, and vehicle testing.

Located on the hill overlooking the proving ground is a two-level, 9,800-square-foot (910 m) building that provides rental space for meetings, luncheons, product introductions, and seminars.

Two garage units totaling 16,800 square foot (1,560 m) also stand in the vicinity of the Barber Proving Grounds. The garages support the Porsche Track Experience, Mercedes-Benz USA Brand Immersion Program, promoters’ events, and other programs in the park.

Vehicle Off-Road Courses

Vintage Motocross: Barber Motorsports Park has a 0.7-mile (1.1 km) vintage motocross course. The inaugural event on the motocross took place during the 11th Annual Barber Vintage Festival with AHRMA presenting vintage motorcycle racing. Other uses of the motocross include product introductions by off-road vehicle manufacturers.

Vehicle Off-Road Course: The vehicle off-road course consists of approximately seven miles of trails confined to a 50 acres (20 ha) site adjoining the Barber Proving Ground. It can be configured into different layouts and is also multi-directional. The trails have varying terrain and provide moderate-to-extreme elevation conditions. Natural features such as water, rock, and bridge crossings have been incorporated into the trail system.

Obstacle Course: Consisting of unique obstacles for off-road vehicles and ATVs, the obstacle course is a natural trail consisting of a loop with nine features. These features are a railroad crossing, a concrete course with potholes, a 45-degree off-camber trail, a 15-degree concrete slope with three sets of rollers, a switchback, a 150 ft (46 m) “rock crawl,” an articulation, a water crossing with adjustable water level, and 20 ft (6.1 m) of concrete stairs that are 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. There is an observation deck bordering the obstacle course for people to view the course below.

Seasonal activities

Garden club park tours take place at Barber Motorsports Park year-round and utilize an open-air tram and tour guide. The tour starts off in front of the Barber Museum. The garden tours contain the park's plant collections, such as the 17 cloned Hightower Willow Oaks, which only exist in two places other than Barber Motorsports Park.

Sculpture

The infield of the track has a number of large sculptures, including a series of large steel spiders and dragonflies created by artist Bill Secunda, a pair of lions, and a sisyphean figure pushing a boulder. The Turns 5 & 6 complex is referred to as Charlotte's Web because of the presence of a large spider sculpture prominently placed in the infield near the turn and because it is one of the track's prime passing opportunities.

Barber Motorsports Park features five large steel gates fabricated by Branko Medenica that bear motorsports and wildlife themes. A functional kinetic, wind-powered sculpture created by artist Edward Lee Hendricks is located nearby a pond along the track's perimeter road. Another art commission by Hendricks is located at the nearby Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Standing in front of the Barber Museum are three stainless steel monuments by sculptor Theodore Gall, called The Chase. The Gall installation took over a year to create and collectively weighs close to five tons.

Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum

Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum logo
Barber Museum, Birmingham, Alabama
Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

George Barber had a serious interest in vintage motorcycles and recognized that there was no museum that reflects the history of motorcycles around the world. He wanted to preserve motorcycle history in the United States in a way that represents an international aspect and to supply examples of motorcycles that until then could only have been seen in books and magazines.

The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum began in 1988 as Barber's private collection. However, in 1994, he established the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It opened to the public in its original Southside Birmingham, Alabama location in 1995 (29 years ago) (1995). In 1997 the Barber Museum sent 21 motorcycles to New York's Guggenheim Museum for exhibit in The Art of the Motorcycle; the exhibit also traveled to Chicago and the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa. After the success of The Art of the Motorcycle, Barber set out to create a unique facility complete with a track. In designing the complex, Barber consulted with world champion racers John Surtees and Dan Gurney. In 2003, the Barber Museum was relocated to its permanent home in Barber Motorsports Park.

The museum contains more than 1,600 vintage and modern motorcycles and racing cars. It is considered the largest motorcycle museum in the world, as well as the largest collection of Lotus race cars. The motorcycle collection includes bikes dating from 1904 to present production. More than 900 motorcycles are on display. They come from 16 countries and represent over 140 different marques from as far away from the US as Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.

Motorcycle stack display in Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

Events

Current
Future
Former

Lap records

As of September 2024, the fastest official race lap records on the Barber Motorsports Park are listed as:

Category Time Driver Vehicle Event
Full Circuit: 3.83 km (2003–present)
IndyCar 1:06.8182 Patricio O'Ward Dallara DW12 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Indy NXT 1:12.2818 Christian Rasmussen Dallara IL-15 2023 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama
Indy Pro 2000 1:16.6098 Christian Rasmussen Tatuus PM-18 2021 Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Barber Motorsports Park
Formula Atlantic 1:18.095 Larry Howard Swift 016.a 2022 Barber Atlantic Championship round
Formula Regional 1:18.916 Linus Lundqvist Ligier JS F3 2020 Barber FR Americas round
DP 1:20.044 Brendon Hartley Riley MkXXVI 2013 Barber Grand-Am round
LMP3 1:21.484 Yann Clairay Ligier JS P3 2018 Barber IMSA Prototype Challenge round
US F2000 1:21.5837 Nolan Siegel Tatuus USF-17 2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Barber Motorsports Park
GT3 1:22.161 Tom Sargent Porsche 911 (992) GT3 R 2024 Barber GT World Challenge America round
Superbike 1:22.463 Jake Gagne Yamaha YZF-R1 2023 Barber MotoAmerica round
Mazda Prototype Challenge 1:22.754 Kyle Masson Élan DP02 2017 Barber IMSA Prototype Challenge round
Porsche Carrera Cup 1:23.775 Riley Dickinson Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup 2023 Barber Porsche Sprint Challenge North America round
Stock 1000 1:24.334 Hayden Gillim [nl] Suzuki GSX-R1000 2024 Barber MotoAmerica round
Lamborghini Super Trofeo 1:24.798 Richard Antinucci Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo 2019 Barber Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America round
USF Juniors 1:26.070 Nicolas Giaffone Tatuus JR-23 2023 Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Alabama
Supersport 1:26.651 Richie Escalante Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 2020 Barber MotoAmerica round
Grand-Am GT 1:27.275 Bill Auberlen BMW M3 (E92) GT 2013 Porsche 250
GT 1:27.857 Bill Auberlen BMW M3 (E46) GT 2004 Porsche 250
Formula 4 1:27.882 Hunter Yeany Crawford F4-16 2020 Barber F4 United States round
Formula BMW 1:28.224 Edoardo Piscopo Mygale FB02 2005 Barber Formula BMW USA round
GT4 1:29.191 Isaac Sherman Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport 2024 Barber GT America round
Twins Cup 1:29.416 Kaleb De Keyrel Aprilia RS660 2022 Barber MotoAmerica round
Grand-Am GX 1:31.630 Tom Long Mazda6 GX 2013 Porsche 250
SGS 1:33.633 Randy Pobst Porsche 911 (996) GT3 Cup 2004 Porsche 250
Toyota GR Cup 1:37.957 Spike Kohlbecker Toyota GR86 2024 Barber Toyota GR Cup North America round
BMW M Series Cup 1:39.570 Dylan Halim BMW M3 2024 JZilla
250cc 1:39.628 Chris Clark Aprilia RS250SP2 2022 Barber North America Talent Cup round
Mazda MX-5 Cup 1:39.9200 Bryan Ortiz Mazda MX-5 (ND) 2019 Barber Mazda MX-5 Cup round

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Barber Motorsports Museum". Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Tomberlin, Michael (July 26, 2009). "Indy Car race coming to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama". The Birmingham News.
  3. ^ "Welcome, Alabama". indycar.com. IndyCar Series. July 27, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  4. ^ "Porsche Track Experience". www.porschedriving.com. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Demmons, Doug (September 9, 2010). "Barber Motorsports Park announces title sponsor deal with Honda". Birmingham News. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  6. ^ "Star drivers to test at Barber". The Birmingham News. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  7. ^ "Alabama track gets test-run from IndyCar drivers". International Herald Tribune. March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
  8. ^ "US F1 car to make Alabama debut". autosport.com. Autosport. January 8, 2010. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  9. ^ Estrada, Chris (April 7, 2013). "What to watch for: IndyCar at Barber". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  10. ^ Ric Anderson and Richard Backus. "Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum". Motorcycle Classics. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  11. ^ "George's private collection". 1tail Resource Database. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  12. ^ "Barber's motorcycle museum now certified by Guinness as world's largest". MotorSportsTalk. April 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  13. ^ About Us Archived July 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Barber Museum website
  14. ^ "2023 Barber Indy NXT". Motor Sport Magazine. April 30, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  15. ^ "2021 Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Alabama Race 2 Official Final Results" (PDF). April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  16. ^ "FRP at Barber with Historics 2022 - Atlantic/F1000 Championship Series - Provisional Race 1 Results" (PDF). May 22, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  17. ^ "2020 Barber Motorsports Park - Round 7 Official Race Result" (PDF). August 2, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "2013 Barber Grand-Am". Motor Sport Magazine. April 6, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  19. ^ "2018 Grand Prix of Alabama - IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda - Race Official Results (1 Hour and 45 Minutes)" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  20. ^ "2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Alabama Race 1 Result" (PDF). April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "Barber Motorsports Park - Sep 6–8 2024 / Leeds, AL - Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS GTWCA - Race 1 Provisional Results" (PDF). September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "2023 MotoAmerica Superbikes at Alabama - Medallia Superbike - Race 2 Results" (PDF). May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  23. ^ "2017 Grand Prix of Alabama - IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda - Race 2 Official Results (45')" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America - Barber Motorsports Campus - GT3 Race 2 Results - Official". April 30, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "2024 MotoAmerica Superbikes at Barber - Stock 1000 - Race 1 Results" (PDF). May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  26. ^ "2019 Grand Prix of Alabama - Lamborghini Super Trofeo - Race 1 Official Results (50 Minutes) - Revised" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). June 21, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  27. ^ "Barber Motorsports Park - April 27 - 28, 2023 / Sebring, FL - USF Juniors Race 1 - Official Results" (PDF). April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  28. ^ "2020 MotoAmerica Superbikes at Alabama - Supersport - Race 2 Results" (PDF). September 20, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  29. ^ "Grand-Am Barber 2013". April 6, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  30. ^ "Grand American Rolex Series - GT 2013 standings". Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  31. ^ "Barber 250 Miles 2004". October 10, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  32. ^ "2020 Formula 4 United States Championship - Round 8 Final Results" (PDF). August 2, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  33. ^ "2005 Formula BMW USA Barber (Race 2)". July 31, 2005. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  34. ^ "Barber Motorsports Park - Sep 6–8 2024 / Leeds, AL - GT America powered by Skip Barber - Race 2 Final Results" (PDF). September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  35. ^ "2022 MotoAmerica Superbikes at Alabama - REV'IT! Twins Cup - Race 1 Results" (PDF). September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  36. ^ "Grand American Rolex Series - GX 2013 standings". Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  37. ^ "Barber Motorsports Park - Sep 6–8 2024 / Leeds, AL - Toyota GR Cup North America - Race 2 Provisional Results" (PDF). September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  38. ^ "2019 Global M Series Cup at Barber Motorsports Park - Race 2 Lap Report" (PDF). November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  39. ^ "2022 Motoamerica Superbikes at Alabama - North America Talent Cup - Race 1 Results" (PDF). September 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  40. ^ "2019 Global MX-5 Cup at Barber Motorsports Park - Race 2 Lap Report" (PDF). April 6, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
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