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(Note: I just saw the post that one of the drivers in Group 2, Lee Duran, died from his injuries when his 1934 MG flipped coming out of the Downhill in the afternoon session. So tragic--RIP. At least he was doing something he presumably loved.)
Today I attended the 32nd Historic Festival at Lime Rock Park in beautiful northwestern Connecticut. I've lived in NYC or its suburbs for 22 years now, have been a car guy my entire life, and have driven LRP countless times with Skip Barber schools and HPDE events, and yet I'd never done the Historics before today. Well, I'll consider today the start of a new tradition. It was a fantastic experience, with the fun starting the minute I hit the parking lot.
As would be expected, the many spectators/enthusiasts in attendance drove their best cars, and so the parking fields themselves were a great show. The infield was split between general parking and corral parking, which featured collections of various brands--Porsche, BMW, Lotus, etc. I parked in the Porsche corral, which arrayed the cars around the perimeter of the LRP skidpad. Very neat to see such a wide variety of P-cars: new 991s like mine, '80s Carreras and Turbos, '70s RSs, '50s Spyders, and even a Rauh-Welt (!).
After settling in, I walked down to the paddock. Lime Rock is always so special in its accessibility. Spectators were welcome to explore the whole paddock area, checking out all the racers as they prepared their cars. And there was some amazing stuff. The cars are grouped into 9 different racing classes, from pre-war '20s and '30s racers and sports cars, to '60s and '70s formula cars, to '60s GT racers, to late '60s-'70s TransAm series cars, and on and on. Among the more notable sights in the paddock were an ancient but strong Blower Bentley, March and Lotus formula cars, an authentic Shelby GT350 factory racer, a '73 RSR, and a no-kidding real '63 Ferrari GTO.
As for the track itself, Lime Rock's layout lends itself so well to spectator viewing. I was able to get really close to the action along the fence line at Big Bend (T1-2), as well as at the Uphill and at West Bend. So fun to see these old cars sliding through the corners. And this was clearly an "unmuffled" day for LRP, with most of the cars running open exhausts. The '60s Mustangs and Vettes rattled my teeth as they came flying over the Uphill crest toward West Bend.
Other fun sights were pro-racer Chris Dyson, who was mingling with fans at his Bentley GT3 display, SRT President Ralph Gilles talking with people at the Viper display, and the legendary Sir Stirling Moss taking a spin around the track in a '50s roadster. At the age of 84, Moss still has it--he executed a nice heel-and-toe downshift as he braked for turn 1, his smiling wife at his side. It was while I was on line for his autograph signing session in the mid afternoon when I first heard the news of a serious crash on track at the exit of the Downhill. Just saw confirmation here tonight of a fatality. Such a sad note for an otherwise spectacular day.
Racing continues on Monday, and the concours is tomorrow (Sunday). I highly recommend it for anyone in the Northeast. Definitely worth the trip. Pictures follow.
Porsche corral on the LRP skidpad
Vintage Spyder looks like a toy compared to the big, modern Boxster
Hairy Dog RS
A more modern RS--love this color combo
Last edited by paradocs98; 08-31-2014 at 01:44 AM.
And a couple of videos. Sorry for the shakiness and poor tracking. I tried doing video with my digital SLR camera, when I should have just done it with my iPhone instead. You do get a sense of the noise, though.
Mitch's car isn't an original 250GTO, but it is a very good copy!
__________________ -Peter Krause www.peterkrause.net www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
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08-31-2014, 12:40 AM
Lime Rock Historic Festival--pics and review
Thanks!
