Pro racers will once again add to the sights, sounds, and smells of the Barber Vintage Festival.

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is hosting the fifth annual Pro Challenge set for October 10, 2026, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL.  This event will occur during the 21st  Annual Barber Vintage Festival as part of the 2026 AHRMA Roadracing Series presented by VIB-ISO.

The Pro Challenge will showcase a diverse lineup of today’s most dynamic racing motorcycles, piloted by pro racers and eligible AHRMA competitors. A cash purse, to be revealed soon, will also be part of the excitement.

“Once again AHRMA is excited to feature one of AHRMA’s most popular modern race classes for the 2026 AHRMA Pro Challenge at the legendary Barber Vintage Festival.  Sound of  Thunder 2  continues to dominate the grid and bring out a full house of racers” said Leasha Overturf, AHRMA’s Road Race Director. “AHRMA’s unique class structure brings out a wide mix of machines from Ducati, Triumph, BMW, Aprilia, Kramer and others. This year for a little extra excitement we are expanding the eligible triples to 800cc and adding in the Lightfighter EV bikes.  We look forward to welcoming everyone running in the expanded SOT2 Pro Challenge this year!”

To be eligible, a Pro Challenge racer must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a licensed AHRMA member/competitor.
  2. Be in compliance with the AHRMA Barber Racer Eligibility Requirements (found at org/schedules-results).
  3. Take part in the Friday practice (Thursday optional).
  4. Take part in a 20-minute timed qualifying session on Friday afternoon.
  5. Be registered in the “Pro Challenge” race on Saturday.
  6. Be capable of racing at a competitive pace within the Pro Challenge race (based on lap times during the Friday qualifying session).

Eligible machines include liquid-cooled twins to 900cc; unlimited air-cooled twins; triples up to 800cc, two-strokes to 250cc and the Lightfighter V3-RH/RS (performance indexed).  Please see the AHRMA Handbook for full details regarding the Sound of Thunder 2 class at ahrma.org/ahrma-handbook/.  Any additional questions regarding the expansion of the class, please contact Road Race Director at roadrace.director@ahrma.org.

Select FIM professional licensed road racers may obtain a special waiver from AHRMA for the competition.  Waivers must be submitted through the online AHRMA Barber Waiver Request Form).

In addition to FIM professional licensed road racers, any AHRMA member pre-qualified to race at the 2026 Barber event with AHRMA may register for the Pro Challenge but must participate in qualifying and meet the qualifying criteria.

The opening of race registration will be announced at a future date.

Photos in the post content are of Stefano Mesa (37) taken by Craig Chawla.