The inaugural Barber Historics will be held May 15-17, 2015 at the 15-turn, 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Lotus will be the featured marque of the event staged by Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) in association with ZOOM Motorsports and Barber Motorsports Park.
Cris Vandagriff, President of HMSA, said, “Barber Motorsports Park, with its beautiful grounds, museum and track make the perfect stage on which to enjoy the performance of historic racing cars. The event will truly bring the history of motorsports, with all its sights, smells, and spectacular noises, to life in a weekend long celebration of the sport. This year we will be featuring great cars of Lotus and celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary of winning the Indy 500 and the Formula One World Championship.”
The event’s Grand Marshal, George Follmer, will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) driving his Lotus 23B “the giant killer” against the powerhouse of Jim Hall and his Chaparral. Follmer went on to win championships in both the TransAm and Can-Am series, as well as competing in INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and Formula One.
The Barber Historics 2015 will feature racing cars of all marques from the early days of the sport through the 1980’s. Championship cars from Formula One, Can-Am and TransAm will be on track and on display in the open paddock for all the spectators to enjoy. In addition to the on-track action, sports car clubs from in and around Birmingham will display their member’s cars and a swap meet for collector car parts and memorabilia will be open all weekend.
“We are excited to bring some of the finest cars in the world to what has been called the finest motorsports facility in North America – Barber Motorsports Park,” commented Gene Hallman, CEO of ZOOM Motorsports, the exclusive event promoter of Barber Motorsports Park. “This truly will be an event that car enthusiasts won’t want to miss, as there are only a few places in the world they can see all of these exclusive cars in one place.”
This event is patterned after the Barber Vintage Festival, now in its 10th year, held each fall for historic motorcycles. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum will be open during the event and houses one of the largest Lotus racing car collections in the world.
“After watching the Barber Vintage Festival grow in just ten years into the fastest growing vintage festival in the world and the world’s largest motorcycle swap meet, we are excited to see how quickly Barber Historics will grow,” stated Jeff Ray, executive director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. “Throughout the three-day event we expect to feature over 250 of the world’s best historic race cars competing in a variety of classes based on engine size, car type and age. These cars are special and fans won’t want to miss this exciting weekend.”
Tickets for the inaugural event start at only $20 and can be purchased at BarberMotorsports.com. All tickets include paddock garage access, and as always at Barber Motorsports Park, kids 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult. For a limited time, fans have the opportunity to purchase “The Motorsports Passport,” which includes one three-day general admission ticket, one parade lap around Barber in their own vehicle, and one three-day pass to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, all for $100.
For more information, visit BarberMotorsports.com.
[Source: Barber Motorsports Park; photo: Dennis Gray]
