Barber Motorsports Park

One of America's most beautiful circuits is Barber Motorsports Park. This track is a track that I call as a European-style course deep in the South. It will be raced on by the IndyCar Series for the first time as an official venue later this year. The track was basically intended with motorcycle racing in mind, but it's a great car racing course too. What makes this course beautiful? I love this track most because it is just a beautiful European-style course. Only that you don't have immediate access to the garages from the pits. The configuration is a challenging one. I really love it. And if you don't know about this course, you're in for a treat.

Click here to visit Barber Motorsports Park's official website!

--- The Configuration ---

Have a look at this course's configuration here:



^ from: motorcycle-usa.com (I previously forgot to cite my source. I'm sorry!)

--- The Track ---

Based in Leeds, Alabama, USA; this track is a Grand Prix-style racing course with its fair share of elevation changes and decisive corners. It is a tough and rewarding course to race whether on two wheels or four. It boasts a 2.3-mile, 15-turn configuration.

The first corner is a fairly sharp left corner. You go uphill a bit going into Turn 2. Turns 2 and 3 rides like an oval in a way. You ride up hill into the little kink at Turn 4 followed by a long blast into the Turn 5 complex. The three corners that make up Turn 5 is part of an increasing radius. A slight left kink leads to Turn 6. Then after blasting down the straight, you come into the most challenging section of the track- the Turn 7 complex. It is a downhill right-left-right complex that almost rides like the Laguna Seca Corkscrew, and that you have to do it twice in different directions. You have to attack the very inside of all three parts of the Turn 7 complex to gain some steam heading into the Turn 8 complex. Turn 8 into Turn 8a is another increasing radius section. The road leading into the left-hander at Turn 9 goes slightly uphill, and the right-hander at Turn 10 is the same way. The road to Turn 11 is very long. Build up some speed, but be ready to take on Turns 11 and 12. Turn 11 is level while Turn 12 is slightly downhill. Exiting Turn 12 takes you up a somewhat steep hill. You have no idea how to take the next corner since you can't see it and judge your distance while uphill. Turns 13 into 14a makes up a decreasing radius section. Along that way is a slight trudge uphill. And into the final corner, a slight decline awaits when going into Turn 15. And that's a descriptive lap of this lovely American road racing course.


Here are a few video laps here (courtesy of YouTube):







It may not be Formula 1 circuit long, but it is plenty challenging and physical to race. It's truly one of the loveliest tracks in America. The Barber Museum showcases a whole lot of lovely motorcycles. I've never been outside of Texas or ever been to a race track. But if I were traveling, I would LOVE to go to Barber Motorsports Park.