Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park was two events in one, a GT World Challenge America and the Birmingham Car Festival.
Barber has earned its nickname, the “Augusta National of Motorsports.” Rolling hills, landscaped grounds, and sculpture scattered around the park make it feel more like a garden than a racetrack, until a pack of GT3 cars comes through the corner. I always like to sit under the trees along the back stretch, it has a great view of Charlotte’s web, which is what turn 5 is called because of the very large spider sculpture placed near the gravel trap. Nearly every corner is visible at certain locations, but this spot lets you watch the most track, it truly is a great view.
After watching a while from under the trees I took the tram to the Paddock and made my way to the roof top viewing where you can overlook pit road and the front straight. This was my first time watching a race from this perspective and it did not disappoint.
Once the race was finished it was the perfect chance to see the cars up close and explore the Paddock some more.
Up close!!!
By the time I wandered the Paddock and took a few photos they had the class winning cars at Winner’s circle. Next stop was the podium to see the announcements.
Sunday’s GT World Challenge America race was a great race to watch, being there in person brings so much more depth than watching it on TV. You can sense the speed in person, on top of the incredible sounds as the cars slow into the corners and quickly throttle through the exit. Here’s an overview of the top 5 overall.
Manny Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff took the overall win in the No. 12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, completing 125 laps in a field of 18 cars.
The Ferrari finished 5.638 seconds ahead of the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Michai Stephens and Mikael Grenier.
Third overall went to the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports McLaren of Aaron Telitz and Todd Coleman, which also won Pro-Am, 12.737 seconds off the lead.
RS1’s Dylan Dyszelski and Jan Heylen were fourth in a Porsche 911 GT3-R, and McCann Racing’s Michael McCann Jr. and Jeroen Bleekemolen rounded out the top five in another Porsche.
After roughly 300 miles of racing, the top eight cars were separated by just 37 seconds. Schandorff set the fastest Pro lap at 1:21.815, and Telitz set the fastest Pro-Am lap at 1:21.654. AF Corse USA also took the Am class with the No. 163 Ferrari of J. Schreiber and Oswaldo Negri, who finished 16th overall.
Once the GT World Challenge field cleared, the action wasn’t over. An ultimate street car competition closed out the day, giving modified street-driven cars their own shot at the circuit. I visited the paddock during some of these races but eventually made my way back to my favorite spot to watch the final race in this class. There was a wide variety of cars in this series, I saw an AMG GT to a 64 Chevy El Camino competing. Unfortunately the camera battery had died at this point. I was able to get a few pictures of the Corvettes as the exited from the first Ultimate Street Car race.
But that’s not all, there’s also Barber’s Car Festival. Car festivals live or die on variety, and Barber’s didn’t disappoint. Brands from all over filled the field, and Sunday’s lineup included a strong Mercedes-Benz Club of America turnout. I brought out my E450, parked alongside members from both the Alabama/NW Florida and Peachtree chapters. I love shows like this, especially with the sounds from the track echoing behind you the whole time.
This race was also a charity event, the weekend benefited Teal Wings of Hope, a Birmingham nonprofit focused on ovarian and gynecologic cancer awareness, research, and care. A portion of every ticket sold supported the cause.
Should you go next year?
If you’re a car person in the Southeast, yes, whether you’re there to watch or to show your own car. It is always a great time at Barber Motorsports Park, if you haven’t check out the Museum during a race, it offers a different perspective of the track at certain locations.
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