Racing grids highly charged for Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35.
Competition fast and furious, friendly and fun will mark the Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35 three days of spirited historic racing. Upwards of 230 drivers from North America, England and Europe and as far away as Australia have registered to challenge the 1.5-mile circuit in Lakeville, CT, on September 1, 2 and 4.
As in previous years, the race groups at Lime Rock Park’s 35th iteration of its Historic Festival will have a somewhat quirky touch emanating from Festival Chairman Murray Smith. “It is apparent that all grids will be full, notably with two grids of perhaps 40 Formula Juniors led by Duncan Rabagliati, chairman Formula Junior Historic Racing Association, and a full grid of unusual and spectacular cars in the revolutionary ‘Tin Top’ grid,” shares Smith.
RACING PROGRAM
Group 1. Herb’s Choice: Road-going sporting cars
Group 2. Duncan’s Dilemma: Front-engined and drum-braked Formula Juniors
Group 3. Tin Top Dreams: Splendid sedans
Group 4. Eric’s Delight: Single-minded sports racing cars
Group 5. Skip’s Nightmares: Grand Touring miscellany
Group 6. Colin’s Apotheosis: Rear-engined Formula Juniors
Group 7. Mostly Real Vintage: A first half-century selection
Group 8. Formula “Very” Libre: A fast and furious mixture
Group 9. Kent’s Domain: Not quite street legal
Racing icon and Lime Rock Park President and Owner Skip Barber will set the pace with “Grand Touring miscellany.“ The naming of their eponymous groups respectively will honor the late Eric Broadley and Colin Chapman, founders of Lola Cars and Lotus Cars. Noted automobile restorer and vintage racer Kent Bain will set a lively pace with a bevy of “Not quite street legal” wheels, and longtime vintage racing mover-and-shaker Herb Wetanson’s “Road-going sporting cars” will round out the field.
Ray Mallock, retired British endurance race driver, will join the meeting of the Formula Junior Diamond Jubilee World Tour in a front-engined Junior constructed by his father in-period. Among the additional special guests will be Richard Attwood, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monte Carlo Formula Junior race victor, who will put a Holman Ford GT40 brought by Lee Holman, Holman & Moody of Charlotte, North Carolina, to the paces in demo laps over the weekend.
This year’s August 31- September 4 Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35 presented by the Prestige Family of Fine Cars celebration will rev up with the traditional Vintage Race and Sports Car Parade on August 31. The September 3 Sunday in the Park Concours d’Elegance will showcase approximately 200 cars from the Brass Era to modern as well as motorcycles. The Gathering of the Marques will line the track with 1,000 cars grouped by make, country of origin or enthusiast club.
Nominated by the International Historic Motoring Awards as Motorsports Event of the Year 2016, Historic Festival Chairman Murray Smith lauds the program’s “uniqueness in featuring splendid racing for important and historic cars and a world-class Concours d’Elegance at the same site on the same weekend.”
Track Keil Photos.
Entrants are invited to register at http://limerockhistorics.com/entrants/participationform
Please visit http://limerock.com/2017-sunday-in-the-park to request entry to the Concours through July or to pre-register for the “come as you are” Gathering of the Marques.
For more information about Historic Festival 35 events, please visit http://limerock.com/labor-day-historics