The inaugural Barber Historics was staged May 15-17, 2015 at the 15-turn, 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Lotus was the featured marque of the event staged by Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) in association with ZOOM Motorsports and Barber Motorsports Park.
The Barber Historics 2015 was patterned after the peerless Barber Vintage Festival, now in its 10th year, held each fall for historic motorcycles. Using a similar recipe, the team at Barber is working with HMSA to make the Barber Historics one of the three top historic automotive events in the country.
The event’s Grand Marshal, George Follmer, also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Follmer driving the Lotus 23B to victory in the U.S. Road Racing Championship over the the powerhouse of Jim Hall and his Chaparral. Follmer went on to win championships in both the Trans Am and Can Am series, as well as successfully competing in INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and Formula One.
Bold words, but Barber Motorsports Park may be the best track in the United States. The track is smooth with long run-off areas. It’s surrounded by a deep green forest as found only in the Southeast. The driver, press and crew facilities were first-class, with TV screens show on track action from each turn. The air-conditioned, roomy and clean building featured large windows that allow great views of the track from the second and third floor rooms. The accessible paddock is divided into three, large tiers. Another attraction was the Barber Motorsports Museum, which houses one of the largest Lotus racing car collections in the world. Drivers and crew alike were positive — even excited — in their description of driving the course. It has been a long time since drivers and car owners have come up to me with praise for an event and a track such as the debut Barber Historics.
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Senior Photographer Dennis Gray documented the HMSA Barber Historics 2015 offering the following pictures that highlight the strong field of entrants at the debut historic race. We split up Dennis’ photos into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery and race results can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Dennis, visit HistoricMotorPrints.com.
HMSA Barber Historics 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery
Chris MacAllister’s McLaren M8FJohn McKenna’s 1963 Shelby CobraLloyd Hawkins in his Porsche 935.Doc Bundy’s Lotus 79Fred Burke’s Cooper Monaco in Turn 8John McKenna’s Parnelli VPJ-4Robert Bodin’s Lotus Elan 26RThree of the Group 1 cars in turn 15. Charles Wagner’s Ralt RT4 in the leadIra Schoen’s Ford Capri in the lead in Group 2Geoffery Kniight’s Mazda RX7 in Turn 15Group 2 in Turn 16Jerry Peter’s Porsche 914/6Lotus 49Chris MacAllister’s Lotus 49Chris MacAllister’s Lotus 49MacAllister’s Lotus 49 leads the Tyrrell 007 driven by Nicholas ColyvasDavid Alarado’s MARCH 76BDavid Alvarado’s MARCH 76BJim Kelleher’s MARCH 80AJim Kelleher’s MARCH 80ARobert Davis brought his Lotus 7 out from San FranciscoJames Roberts in his Lotus 47George Hovsepian’s Lotus 7Denny Wilson’s Lotus Super 7George Smith in his Elva CourierMark Osborne’s Merlyn Mark 6Fred Burke’s Cooper MonacoLee Lydiick’s Merlyn Mark 6AChris MacAllister’s McLaren M8FKeith Frieser’s Lola T290Shadow DN1 F1Keith Frieser’s Shadow DN1MGB GT driven by David BlakeyHoughton Smith’s Datsun 240ZDon Norby’s Jaguar E-TypeRobert Bodin’s Lotus 19Jeffrey Carr’s Elva Mark VIMichael Kaleel’s Lotus 23 in Turn 8Miles Whitlock in his Lotus 18As the rain starts to fall, Tom O’Grady’s Merlyn Mark 6A exits Turn 8Mark Osborne’s Merlyn Mark 6Robert Maurer’s Elva Mark 7 following Jim Gewinner’s Lotus 23BRobert Davis in his Lotus 23Peter Hardsteen’s Lotus 51BFred Burke’s Cooper Monaco exits Turn 8As the rain starts to fall, Tom O’Grady’s Merlyn Mark 6A exits Turn 8Robert Davis in his Lotus 23A soggy Robert Davis in his Lotus 23Robert Bodin’s Lotus 19 in the rainMark Osborne’s Merlyn Mark 6OopsWhimsical 8 foot tall OstrichesJames Hagan’s Tyrrell 011Chris MacAllister’s Lotus 49Eddie Lawson’s Wolf WR4 and #11 Andrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76Dan Marvin’s MARCH 76BAndrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76Andrew Beaumont’s helmetAndrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76Andrew Beaumont’s Lotus 76Daimler SP250 driven by Larry LigasJohn McKenna’s 1963 Shelby CobraMichael Wright’s Porsche 914/6“Charlotte” poses behind Don Norby’s Jaguar E TypeRobert Davis in his Lotus 7Leonard Sutphin’s Datsun 1600 RoadsterHayes Flynn’s Alfa Romeo GTVClark Lance’s Lotus ElanIra Schoen’s Ford CapriDoc Bundy’s Lotus 23BJim Gewinner’s Lotus 23BLawrence Huang’s Oreca FLM 09 drops down the hill into Turn 915 Race cars ran 10 miles on public highways to Mountain Brook, joining 80 collector cars for a get-togetherA young lady enjoys Fred Burke’s Cooper MonacoState police accompanied the race cars into Mountain BrookAlex MacAllister in his Ralt RT1John McKenna’s Parnelli VPJ-4Doc Bundy’s Lotus 79Ron Maydon’s Arrows FA1Eddie Lawson’s Wolf WR4Chris MacAllister’s McLaren M8FChris MacAllister’s McLaren M8FLloyd Hawkins in his Porsche 935David Smith’s Porsche 935Lloyd Hawkins in his Porsche 962Lawrence Huang’s Oreca FLM 09Alex MacAllister in his Chevron B19Keith Frieser’s Lola T290
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