Two Jefferson County cruisers rolled by us on their way to the back of camping Lot C. A Barber track pickup approached from the rear, green lights a’ blazing. We had seen IPhone cameras flashing, and heard muted applause, but not much over the Honda generators powering SEC football coverage. We overheard a pouty pedestrian complain, “They shut down the slow race!” Some sensitive campers had complained about the noise, barely discernible over the humming generators, so no mo slo race. It isn’t as frequent as it was for the inaugural AMA Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park in 2003, but sometimes you are reminded that you are guests at George Barber’s place, and he likes to keep things civilized.

“What’s a slow race?” Mr. Carefully-Casual-Café-Couture asks us. Incredulous already at all the heat over a perfectly polite slow race, my 40-something friend and I couldn’t suppress a discreet eye-roll as we educated Maynard G. Krebs. Does the term “field event” resonate only with greybeards and scooterists?

Apparently the supply of NOS Benelli Mojave tanks is inexhaustible

The eighth annual Barber Vintage Festival broke attendance records, hosting 57,000-plus vintage motorcycle fans, aided by near-perfect autumn weather. The galaxy of diverse moto-activities at this new holy place of old motorcycles would exhaust a hundred pilgrims, but 2012 was the Year of the Café Racer. Bobbed, stripped and checkered machines were ubiquitous, as were colorful café racer aficionados. Ace Corner officially displaced 2011’s Ducati Island in the gated community through the tunnel inside Turns 16 and 17. Vendor booths for café parts and supplies sprouted on the lawn, and gleaming café bikes were lined up on the grass, golden idols for the chain-drive wallet set. On the other side of the hill, across the track from pit-in, fans enjoyed a vantage point that not long ago was restricted to photographers and track workers (and Mr. Barber, of course).

Spectators enjoy Ace Corner viewpoint

A different interpretation of “doing the ton” (and another slow race of sorts) took place Saturday, during AHRMA’s lunch break. The Century Race stress-tested machines 100 years old or older for two laps from a standing start (with a one-human-power assist). Dale Walksler, proprietor of the Wheels Through Time Museum, predicted a win on his 1912 Indian twin: “It’s a fast machine.” For the entire two laps, Walksler kept his cigar clenched tight between his teeth. He got to the checkered flag first, barehanded with no face shield on his well-used white helmet. His cigar still lit, he looked like he’d just finished giving a museum tour. The Race of the Century is sponsored by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s Confederate Chapter, and the AMCA’s safety gear requirements are, ahem, relaxed.

Dale Walksler preps to start the Century Race

Prior to the Century Race, the machines basked amid 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball entrants outside Barber’s media center. The bikes were swarmed with delighted patina fetishists, both owners and fans. Many of the Cannonball bikes were too new to participate in the Century Race (the Cannonball’s born-on date requirement is only 1929 or earlier). Most of the machines were original except for gleaming white tires. Walksler’s Indian didn’t even look serviced. Part of the Lee Hartung collection, it had slept for 80 years before being first started the Wednesday before the race. Walksler pried off the dry-rotted tires on Thursday. Fresh leaks wet the V-twin’s lower end, just below the clickety exposed valve train.

Improvised packing-tape pant-leg protector

Walksler came from behind to win over last year’s Century champion, Joe “Slo-jo” Gardella aboard his 1912 Harley Twin. It came down to Walksler versus Gardella, 1912 Indian versus 1912 Harley, when Dale’s son Matt, on a 1911 Indian single, shucked a tire. “That was the biggest adrenaline rush I’ve ever had,” Dale exclaimed. Top speed: 61-ish.

Joe Gardella on his 1912 Harley

Walksler wins on the 1912 Indian

The faster racing at BVF8 was sanctioned by AHRMA, and all genres save for flat track competed on the grounds. Off-road race entries were up about 10 percent over previous years, and road-race entrants were slightly down, on purpose. AHRMA tightened its eligibility for road-racers at Barber (Barber couldn’t be a racer’s first AHRMA race), after being swamped with entrants at the 2011 event. “We had 40 people race at Barber with us last year who had never raced in AHRMA before,” Cathy Lile, AHRMA’s Director of Communications said. Fewer racers made for more and safer races, fewer red flags, and races with more evenly matched competitors. There were racing incidents over the course of the weekend, but by Sunday afternoon all involved were on the mend. One exception to the tightened eligibility rules was made for sidecars, and there were double-digit entrants in the class. The fans loved them.

Tight sidecar action

Lest one believe AHRMA is solely “gentlemen’s racing” where owners stroke around the track at four-tenths, consider New Yawk City’s Kenny Cummings. Kenny high-sided his Seeley Norton 750 in practice on Thursday, breaking two metatarsal bones and dislocating the pinkie toe in his left foot. After treatment, he crammed the injured foot into his boot and practiced Friday and Saturday and raced in the Premier race on Sunday. Cummings led six laps from the start until the gearbox on his Seeley Matchless G50 became a three-speed. He finished third.

Ouchy!

Dave Roper raced an Aermacchi Harley and this Dondolino

The dirt genres raced at the east end of Mr. Barber’s big yard, trials and cross-country in the woods and motocross on the moonscape at the back end of Lot D. Braving chiggers, ticks and eyefuls of grit, galleries of spectators and photographers surrounded the trials stages and cross country track to watch the old bikes get exercised. A Canadian acquaintance couldn’t believe the photo I showed him was from a US trials event; there were too many spectators in the background.

Fans(!) watch the vintage trials action

Other spectator activities for 2012 included an air show (no longer performed over the scoring tower by FAA prohibition), swap meet, Jerry Woods auction, “Motorcycles by Moonlight” fund-raiser dinner, Wall of Death, stunt shows, new bike displays, old bike shows, a fireworks show, and live music in the paddock on Saturday night. Mr. Daytona, Scott Russell was the event’s guest of honor, and spent time in the booth with Brian Drebber and took some hot laps on a Bimota.

Mr. Daytona (right) shows the AHRMA guys the fast way around

In eight years Barber has become the dominant old-bike event in the US. Swap meet spots, motorhome spaces and the entire camping area (carpeted with lush, barefoot-friendly grass) sell out long before the Festival begins. The media center, almost empty for those first few festivals, now runs out of 110-volt receptacles. New hotels spring up every year at the track exit off I-20. AHRMA and track officials again had to navigate their calendars around the elephant in the area, the NASCAR races at Talladega, so the dates for next year’s Vintage Festival were set for October 11-13, 2013. Don’t miss out.