Barber Motorsports Park and Vintage Museum

John Surtees Ltd has acted as a consultant to the museum since it was opened to the public by ex-dairy magnate George Barber in Birmingham, USA, in 1995.

The facility - one of the world's top motorsports museums - houses around 900 vintage and modern motorcycles as well as a substantial collection of Lotus and other race cars.

Among the many exhibits are a number of machines sourced by the Surtees organisation. These include a 1964 type 500cc MV Agusta of the Hailwood period, a 1974 four-cylinder 500cc MV, a 500cc four-cylinder Vostok GP racer from Russia, Bob Anderson's 500cc Norton which finished second in the 1958 Isle of Man Senior TT, and a Surtees-designed Matchless Special.

The Special - a three-valve AJS 7R-engined machine - was conceived and built by John in 1959 using a lightweight, Surtees-designed frame. Later, in the hands of Tom Arter, it was fitted with a 500cc engine and became known as the Arter-Matchless. Riding the bike in the 1973 Isle of Man Senior TT, Peter Williams recorded the fastest ever 'single cylinder' lap of 102.74mph around the course.

In 2003, the museum was re-housed in the nearby $33 million, 720-acre Barbeer Motorsports Park which John was consulted on.

The complex incorporates a 2.5 mile racing circuit with flowing gradients that rise and fall by as much as 70feet.

John has also taken time out to ride with members of the museum's all-conquering vintage motorcycle racing team both in the States and at a charity Super Prix that he staged at Brands Hatch in the UK.

Picture: On stage at the Barber Motorsports Park 2006 Vintage Festival