Barber Motorsports Park, Racing Circuit

Barber Motorsports Park is a road course and museum complex set in manicured parkland just east of Birmingham, Alabama. It was created by businessman George Barber, a former Porsche racer who built a fortune in property and the family dairy trade and channelled it into showcasing his vast motorcycle collection. After opening a museum in Birmingham in 1995, Barber donated tens of millions of dollars following the sale of the family business to fund a permanent home, and in 2002 work began on a 740-acre site in the rolling hills outside the city. Course designer Alan Wilson laid out a compact, undulating circuit of around 3.7 km that makes full use of the natural elevation changes, opening to racing in 2003. The grounds are famously immaculate, dotted with large-scale sculptures including giant spiders and dragonflies; the spider near Turns 5 and 6 gives that section its 'Charlotte's Web' nickname and one of the track's best passing spots. Adjacent to the circuit, the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum holds a Guinness-certified collection as the world's largest of its kind, displaying hundreds of motorcycles alongside the world's largest collection of Lotus race cars. The venue has hosted top-level motorcycle racing since 2005, first with AMA Superbikes and later MotoAmerica, and stages the huge annual Barber Vintage Festival each October. The IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabama has been a calendar staple since 2010, and the park has also welcomed Grand-Am and IMSA sports car racing. It additionally serves as a base for several driving and riding schools and the Porsche Track Experience.

Operated by: George Barber