The Barber Classic Motorsports Museum helps historical past within the making on the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two world championship-winning racing machines from the Barber Classic Motorsports Museum are set to make worldwide historical past on the 2024 Goodwood Pageant of Velocity, July 11-14.
This yr marks the sixtieth anniversary of John Surtees profitable the 1964 Formulation One World Championship. To commemorate this achievement, the museum is proudly bringing Surtees’ title-winning Ferrari 158 F1 to the “final summer season backyard social gathering” on the south coast of England. The 1.5-liter V-8 has been specifically ready for this occasion so spectators can’t solely see but additionally hear this iconic machine in particular person.
This specific Ferrari is normally featured in a show on the museum devoted to Surtees’ accomplishments. His document as the one particular person to win world championships on each two and 4 wheels is greater than sufficient to warrant such a presentation. Surtees’ friendship with museum founder George Barber, nonetheless, led to an exhibit that additionally showcases his MV Agusta race bikes and private results of a life spent competing on the highest stage.
Surtees’ daring crimson Ferrari will likely be paired with the seminal yellow-and-black “bumblebee” livery discovered on the 1980 Yamaha YZR500 that carried “King” Kenny Roberts to his third consecutive 500cc Grand Prix World Championship. Roberts will experience his YZR500 for the primary time in years, cementing the significance of this event. Goodwood can even be the primary alternative to see each machines on the identical occasion and on the identical course.
Now a part of the museum’s everlasting assortment, the two-stroke four-cylinder 0W48 was in Roberts’ possession for greater than 40 years. This manufacturing facility machine is necessary as a result of it options an aluminum body painted black to emulate the metal tubing of the period, hiding any benefit from opponents’ eyes. Rolling on American-made Goodyear rubber, Roberts gained the primary three GPs of the 1980 season, setting him on a transparent path to the title.
Upon its return to the museum, the YZR500 will reside alongside the Suzuki RGV500 that Roberts’ eldest son, Kenny Jr., raced to the 2000 500cc world championship. Previous to turning into a part of the Barber assortment, the two-stroke V-four had hardly ever been seen in public. Now, as a part of the world’s “largest bike museum,” each of those historic machines and lots of others could be seen up shut and in particular person.
“Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr. are the one father and son to win the 500cc world title, and this distinctive historical past must be preserved and informed to future generations,” stated Brian Case, government director of the museum. “We’re very glad to affix the Goodwood Pageant of Velocity and facilitate each the Roberts Yamaha and the Surtees Ferrari for his or her runs by the hallowed grounds.”
In April, the museum named Roberts because the grand marshal for the nineteenth annual Barber Classic Pageant, October 11-13. The all the time well-liked occasion will function producer shows, seminars, demo rides, spectacular vintage-bike competitors, and custom-bike contests, all surrounded by the area’s stunning rolling hills. The pageant is the biggest of its variety and attracts spectators from all over the world.
In regards to the Barber Classic Motorsports Museum
The Barber Classic Motorsports Museum is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit positioned at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 2024, the museum focuses on varied points of motorsports design, from displaying bikes and vehicles spanning over 100 years of manufacturing to the Barber Superior Design Heart—a high-tech workspace for design exploration. The museum embraces the tradition of motorsports fanatics by internet hosting applications akin to Barber Design Camp and occasions akin to Barber Classic Pageant. With 5 flooring housing greater than 1,800 bikes, over 60 Lotus race vehicles, and quite a few classic and iconic automobiles, the Barber Classic Motorsports Museum is the final word family-friendly surroundings for schooling, inspiration and exploration with the mission to protect, interpret and exhibit the historical past of bikes and classic automobiles in motorsports. The general public is welcome, and extra data is out there at www.BarberMuseum.org.
