Round 4: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, April 29 - May 1.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 4: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, April 29 - May 1.

This Sunday will be the 12th running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.

Last year due to Covid-19, it was decided that the season opener scheduled for March 7 at St. Petersburg, would for the second year in a row not go ahead as scheduled. However, instead of the possibility that the race being initially cancelled again, as in 2020, it was decided to be put it back swapping places with Barber Motorsports Park, which would then hold the 2021 season opener on the weekend of April 16-18. This year the race is being held a little later than its usual April slot on the calendar.

Barber Motorsports Park is owned by George Barber, a successful businessman and accomplished driver, who raced Porsches in the 1960s and early '70s. He amassed a collection of motorcycles and after establishing a non-profit foundation in 1994, opened a museum displaying 325 motorcycles from around the world and some vintage cars. In 1998, he sold the family business and donated $54 million to the foundation in order to build a new museum and a road course, on which to run the collection.

In 2002, a 740 acre site east of Birmingham was chosen and a new museum was built, housing an expanded collection of 1,200 motorcycles, with Up to 600 on display at any one time. It's been certified by Guinness as the largest museum of its type.

The road course was designed by South African race track designer Alan Wilson, with three layouts. The main circuit, which is a 15-turn, 2.370-mile (3.70 km) road course, the short circuit and the club circuit.

Track layout:


Length: 2.3 Miles (3.7 Km)

Turns: 15

Lap record:
Pato O'Ward, 1:05.501, 126.409 Mph (203.4355657 Km/h),
Arrow McLaren SP,
Dallara IR18-Honda HIR21R Indy-V-6
NTT IndyCar Series.

The venue, opened in 2003 and has since hosted, Grand-Am, Vintage Racing Series events and AMA Superbike. It serves as the home of the Porsche Sport Driving School and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School. One feature that stands out are the series of metal sculptures around the track. The large spider alongside Turns 5-6 has lead to this section of track being nicknamed 'Charlotte's Web'.

In October 2007, Barber Motorsports Park hosted a testing session for IndyCar, the success of which led to a full-field three-day testing session in March 2009. Subsequently, an open date became available for the 2010 season race calendar, with Barber Motorsports Park making a successful bid to hold the race over Cleveland (Burke Lakefront Airport), Houston, Baltimore, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland. The first IndyCar race was held on April 11, 2010 and was won by Hélio Castroneves driving for Team Penske, in a Dallara IR05-Honda.

Some trivia:
The driver with most wins: 3.
Josef Newgarden, 2015, 2017, 2018.

The team with most wins: 6.
Team Penske, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018.

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Last year's race:
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...t-win/6336801/

Pole:
Pato O'Ward, 1:05.8479, 125.744 Mph (202.365 Km/h).
Arrow McLaren SP,
Dallara IR18-Chevy V6 Indy.

Winner:
Alex Palou,
Chip Ganassi Racing,
Dallara IR18-Honda HIR21R Indy-V-6

Laps: 90
Distance: 207 Miles (333.134 Km)

Caution periods: 2
Laps: 1 - 6, 10 - 11

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Practice and Qualifications:
Friday, Apr 29. 4:00 PM - Practice 1
Saturday, Apr 30. 10:00 AM - Practice 2
Saturday, Apr 30. 1:00 PM - Qualifications

Race Broadcast:
NBC May 1, 1:00pm ET, 5:00pm UTC
Sky Sports F1, 6:00PM.