Barber Motorsports Park — Attraction in Birmingham

It was my first time coming to BMP. Although I've had MS for the last 25 years, they could not find a parking spot for my son and I. Until I had an okay from my son, that was on April 16th, at that point I called to buy tickets. I was told they had no track parking left and would have to take a shuttle. I pleaded with the man to find a handicapped parking spot. He kindly told me there was no way and unless I wanted to find my own parking, I'd have to take a shuttle. Spending time with my son meant more to me than my health. So I caved, bought the package and proceeded, hoping for the best. Well that was the worst decision I have made in a long time. We got to parking about 11:20 am. Walked to the pickup spot, then waited 15 minutes for a bus. The bus driver was very nice because having MS, I need to travel with many more creature comforts, than the average person. He opened the bottom luggage compartment and let us put our essentials in there. Then after taking the long road into the park, which I might add, looked like there was plenty of space to ad additional parking, we were off loaded about 1/8 mile from the carnival. Although I was reassured by the man on the phone there were plenty of Trams operating. We saw two that were packed and no way for us to fit on. Now imagine after all that, we walked to the carnival type atmosphere, and there was not a map of the area or anything that would help us find where we were trying to go. When I bought the general admission tickets, I asked the man several times where is the best place to watch the race. He didn't want to tell me. He keep saying, well walk around the track until you find a place you like, which I reiterated again, I have MS, I don't have the strength, which he replied, take the tram. Well we already know that that was not a possibility. After almost getting to a point of swearing at the guy, he finally said, well most people sit in two or seven. Thank you I said almost exasperated. My son keep asking, where we going, when we got to the track, I said don't worry, there will be signs or maps once we get inside the track. Not a sign, map, or any kind of guidance once we got inside the track. So we ended up at the wrong end of the track. Where there was a very limited viewing of the track. So lugging all our stuff, we walked a half mile to the other end of the track. Finally we were in turn two, which was so packed we couldn't find a way to get down to the front, where there was some open space. I hustled my way back to the beginning of the hill. I found a very small path where we could snake our way through the crowd. We finally settled down in front of the crowd about 150' from the track. You don't know how loud a Indy Car is until you're that close to a track, ×26. Luckily we'd brought ear plugs and noise canceling head phones. Also being half way between two big TV screens didn't help. That would not be all the tracks fault. With no direction, I just didn't know any better. Well after 50 some laps of not knowing what was going on, and being extremely tired from the whole ordeal, I decided I had enough and we packed up and left. I guess we weren't the only ones who'd had enough. By the time we fought our way through the crowd, up the hill, walked another half mile, finally getting to the shuttle stop, there was a line longer than when we had come into the park. So reverse the process of getting into the park, with waiting for the third set of busses before we could get on. Except this time it was a grade school bus. The aisle was 18" apart, with the back of the seats about 24" apart. With all we had, we had to lift and carry all of our carry-ons over the top of people. With each of us taking up a full seat. Wow, could all of this been avoided, the simple answer is yes. We could of chose not to go, or the park could build more parking, and especially more handicap parking. If I was some dignitary or professional well known sports person, you can bet they would have found track parking for us. One last thing I want to say is I'm 75yrs old,...

A review that surprisingly isn’t just about cars! Yes of course I am here for racing, but this circuit is beautiful! Set in rolling hills, with stunning art installations everywhere & beautifully situated, it reminded me of Spa in Belgium. Definitely a venue that my kids would have enjoyed being at when younger compared to some of the circuits we visited around the world which were all concrete. The event I attended was the Toyota GRcup. Entry & parking were well organised & easy. The parking lot had both hard base & gravel, (no mud despite the rain on the first day ) there were plenty of towed shuttles picking you up (so which lot was unimportant) & everyone from the ticket guys to the restroom attendants were chatty, cheerful & welcoming. Lots of clean restrooms. Some of the best viewing areas (in my humble opinion) were on the grass banking so I would advise carrying a folding chair & shade if it’s summer & especially if you have children. I enjoyed sitting & enjoying the scenery between races, visiting the paddock & admiring the landscaping. There were bronze statues everywhere, from Bison at the side of the track & elephants & horses in the paddock. Fantastic landscaping with hydrangeas & roses lining the paddock, and even the concrete paving had wrenches pressed into it, or bronze motifs. My son went into the museum & said it was amazing, comparable to Brooklands in the UK. We had team food provided so I can’t comment on that, although I chose to take my sandwiches and sit on the grass above a tight corner ( I think turn 4?) & relax. As for the GR Cup, it’s a great set of races to watch. Commentary was provided but it also has its own website with live timing for qualifying & live you tube camera feeds / commentary for the races (1 on Saturday & 1 Sunday) The paddock is open, with all the transporters visible & team members & cars easy to see, and I know Precision LA Racing / PT Autosport mechanics were constantly stopping to talk to kids and adults about the cars, and drivers. The drivers are open to chat with autograph sessions & free posters. The whole event was accessible & really enjoyable to watch. Definitely a great weekend & one I would highly recommend (I am not a camper but I know there were RV & camping sites & it’s one I...

This is an update. I enjoyed my 2020 visit so much I went back again. This visit was even better than the first time. The museum has so many bikes they have to rotate their displays. The bikes on display were even more interesting than the first time. If you are a motorcycle enthusiast this museum is a marvel.

I make it a point to visit motorcycle and car museums wherever I travel and Barber's ranks right near the top. And if we are speaking only of motorcycles it is the top! Best motorcycle museum I've ever been to. I rode (a motorcycle of course) from Houston to Birmingham just to see the museum and I wasn't disappointed. I stayed in a hotel the night before and got to the museum a couple of minutes after they opened. I think I was the second or third person in. I was the last visitor out. 9am to 5pm and still didn't see everything. Simply amazing. They have bikes here that you won't see anywhere else. From many different countries and eras. Some of the more modern bikes are relatively commonplace. In fact I've owned a few like them. But still the vast majority of the bikes are "not to be missed" motorcycles. They don't have room to display every bike they own, some have to be kept in storage. So stop back more than once and you may see different bikes.

I don't understand the negative reviews. Especially about the staff. I spoke with several staff members on several occasions. Everyone was friendly and helpful. I remember asking the guy at the desk if they had a Csepel and he went to the trouble of looking it up. Unfortunately they didn't, but that's another story.

If I had any suggestion it would be that they should have a cafeteria. I couldn't tear myself away from the museum so I didn't eat anything that day until after leaving the...