Barber Park gets the thumbs up
AMA Supersport Champion Aaron Yates has given an enthusiastic thumbs up to Barber Motorsports Park after completing his first laps on the new racetrack.
Yates rode on the 2.6-mile road course in a test session arranged by track officials through the Corona Extra Suzuki team, which is based near the Birmingham facility.
The behind-closed-doors tests enabled circuit bosses to make evaluations about the safety, design and layout of the course after the final racing surface was laid.
“It was pretty good,” Yates said of the Barber Motorsports Park road course. “We did some really hot laps in my BMW (M3), which is a lot of fun. Riding in the car is a lot different than riding on the bike. I felt like, ‘Wow! This place is going to be fast.’ Then I got out there on the motorcycle all suited up and stuff and it was a lot of fun.
“I was really impressed with what they had there and the layout of the track. There’s a good bit of elevation change, some tricky spots on the track where you get to have a lot of fun. It’s pretty challenging. You got a little off-camber downhill turns, then some over the hill turning where you’re wheelying and spinning at the same time and stuff like that. Also the layout and the track design; I think it’s going to promote some really competitive racing. There should be some good racing going on there. It was really fun.”
Circuit officials were tight-lipped about the findings of the tests but expect the facility to be ready for racing in the spring.
AMA Pro Racing is expected to schedule a race at Barber Motorsports Park in 2003.
Discuss this news story in the e-Tracks forums.
