The AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship returns to the Barber Motorsports Park on May 14 through 16. (click for larger version)

 

The number of patrons forced the Barber facility to extend parking a mile from the track to a field next to Interstate 20, where the Leeds school system loaned school buses to serve as shuttles to transport spectators into the racing facility. The elderly women driving the buses looked less than pleased about pulling extra Sunday afternoon duty (which was not considered overtime, according to one grumpy driver), but they did offer a quick smile and “thank you” each time a dollar bill was dropped into the tip jar each maintained at the front of her bus.

One irresistible attraction for the tens of thousands invading Barber Motorsports Park in May is the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, home to 750 motorcycles—the largest collection in the world. The museum also houses the most revered assortment of Lotus race cars on earth. The manufacturer’s latest creation, the 2005 Lotus Elise, a sleek automobile billed by Road and Track magazine as the “finest sports car on the planet” was unveiled at the Barber track in March, The racing facility is currently in negotiations to bring the MotoGP, the number-one motorcycle series in the world, to Barber in 2005. The worldwide racing circuit has not staged a United States Grand Prix in a decade, and if George Barber can lure the motorcycle equivalent of Formula One Grand Prix automobile racing to Birmingham, his already well-heeled reputation in the international racing community may reach legendary status. For more information call, 956-6693 or visit www.barbermotorsports.com. &