[h=1]Everything You Need to Know to Master Lime Rock Park[/h] [h=2]This Connecticut mainstay may only have seven turns, but it's trickier than it looks.[/h]

• BY CSABA CSERE
• ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN CHRISTIE DESIGN

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From the December 2014 issue of Car and Driver
We’re lucky enough to have some 80 road-racing circuits in America, scattered across more than 30 states. Each is unique in its layout, elevation changes, surfaces, sightlines, and runoff areas, so each requires dedication and instruction to master. That’s where we come in. In this second installment of our Track Clinic series, we’ve turned our attention to Lime Rock Park, the short but technical Connecticut track that’s a cornerstone of tri-state-area motorsports. If you’re in a major Northeast city, you’re in luck, because Lime Rock Park is within easy driving distance. And best of all, it’s surrounded by undulating roads that are almost as fun as the circuit itself.
[h=3]History[/h] Lime Rock is the third-oldest continuously operating road-racing track in the country, after Road America and Watkins Glen. It was built in a cornfield in 1955 at the behest of Briggs Cunningham and other SCCA officials, and the first race there was in 1957.
Rather quick and with only seven corners, Lime Rock feels even shorter than its 1.5 miles. The Connecticut squires have long prohibited racing on Sundays, but Lime Rock saw a lot of headline racing in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. It was the main East Coast track for the classic Trans-Am and Can-Am series and hosted IMSA races during the heyday of the ultrafast GTP cars. During the ’70s it was also Car and Driver’s home track and the venue for our five Reader Challenges, which pitted editors against readers in various SCCA showroom-stock racers [see “Lessons in Humility” below].
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The track lay largely unchanged through 1989, when the “John Morton” chicane was installed at the top of the Uphill corner. Morton barely survived a fiery crash after his Nissan GTP car got airborne here while prepping for the 1988 race. The track was repaved in 2008 and two alternate corner configurations were added, including one to replace the Morton chicane. But the original circuit remains in use for most amateur events.
Skip Barber, founder of the excellent driver’s school, has owned the track since 1984, and the facility hosts a full schedule of events ranging from schools hosted by Skip Barber Racing and the Porsche Club of America to modern-day IMSA races. Skip’s instruction book for Lime Rock helped inform this story.

 

The turns Lap Map [h=3]Turns 1 & 2: Big Bend[/h] Probably the most famous corner at the track, this is actually two tightly linked right-handers. The first one is at the terminus of the long front straight and is deceptively fast. It’s a key place to practice late braking, and you should decelerate all the way until the apex. Then, add a bit of throttle and hold the car against the curbing as much as possible. Don’t track out all the way, because Turn Two, also called the Hook, is best entered from the middle of the track. Just breathe the engine a bit on entry and drive a late apex, as this turn leads to the Lefthander.
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[h=3]Turn 3: Lefthander[/h] The only left turn on the circuit, it bends well over 100 degrees and also requires a late apex. Fortunately, you don’t need to be all the way on the right for the entry. Drag the brakes as you bend into the turn, using the release of the brakes to rotate the car toward the apex. Stay close to the left side of the track on exit to set up for the critical Turn Four that follows.
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[h=3]Turn 4: Righthander[/h] This corner is a fast bend leading onto the No-Name Straight, so a good line and a hard exit are critical. A proper execution of Lefthander sets you up for an easy entry into Four from the left edge of the track. Get all the way into the apex, as the track’s camber will provide additional grip. Unlock the wheel and add power as soon as you can for a blast up the straight.
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[h=3]Turn 5: Uphill[/h] This turn has a pronounced rise and peak, so point the car in early and the compression just after the apex will provide extra grip to keep you on line. Not much braking is required here, but the key is to finish turning before the crest of the hill. You want your steering wheel to be straight when the tires unload. There’s a guardrail close by on the outside, ready to bite you if you screw it up.
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[h=3]Turn 6: West Bend[/h] Brake just slightly in a straight line and turn with a bit of throttle. Take a classic line through this fast corner and kiss the inside curbing. But be careful because the curbing radius doesn’t match the corner’s. The camber goes negative at the track-out point, so last-minute steering inputs won’t keep the car on track.
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[h=3]Turn 7: Downhill[/h] This is the fastest turn on the circuit. The entrance is downhill, but just past the turn-in the hill bottoms out. Take advantage of the extra grip afforded by the compression and tighten your steering momentarily or you’ll run out of track at the exit. And you can’t afford to lift there, as Downhill exits onto the front straight—the longest on the track—and any loss of speed will plague you for the next 2000-plus feet.

 

[h=3]Where to Stay[/h] A Meadow House, Lakeville $ - Across the street from the track and cheap. But it’s a B&B with only six rooms, so book early.
Mountain View Motel, Great Barrington, Massachusetts $$ - Although it’s across a state line, it’s only 24 miles away and $100 or so a night. And it’s not a chain.
Sharon Country Inn, Sharon $$$ - Looks like a motel, but the rooms are very nice and it’s within eight miles of the track. There’s a covered bridge nearby.

 

Lessons in Humility

By September 1972, Car and Driver was so deep into SCCA Showroom Stock racing that it seemed like a good idea to challenge the readers to a race. Technical editor Don Sherman recast a long-term, 30,000-mile Ford Pinto as “Project ReaderBeater” and threw down the gauntlet. Seventy-seven cars showed up for the first race, which we covered in the January 1973 issue. People who didn’t want to compete got free beer. Sherman and executive editor Patrick Bedard both crashed, but associate editor Jim Williams held on for a sixth-place finish. Bedard won Reader Challenges two and three, the only staffer to triumph in any of the events. After featuring the Challenge in five consecutive January issues, we called it quits. Renault picked up the October date for its LeCar Challenge, and we featured an airborne Ford Bronco on our January 1978 cover.

 

Links tying some racing history together:

see last post in thread

 

the mustang at Lime Rock

 

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.

 

For anyone going to Hot Import Nights type the code HOT in any promo code box.
Feel free to pass this around.

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4. Type HOT in capital letters in the promo code box and click apply to
deduct $20 and the total will drop to $31.96
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When 3,000 tickets are sold, the price will change, but typing HOT in the promo code
will always save $5 per ticket.


To buy only one $15 spectator ticket........
1. Go to this link https://hin.webconnex.com/tampatickets2016
2. put a 1 in the box under ticket options
3. It will say convenience fee $2.99 and total will be $17.99
4. Type HOT in capital letters in the promo code box and click apply to
deduct $5 and the total will be $12.99
That is for only one ticket. When 3,000 tickets are sold, the price will change, but typing HOT in the promo code will always save $5 per ticket.

To register a single show car at Hot Import Nights
1.Go to this link https://hinevents.regfox.com/2016-hi...r-registration
2.Put a dot in the circle beside Vehicle/2 Passes and it says $50
3. It will say the convenience fee is $2.99 for a total of $52.99
4. Type HOT in capital letters in the promo code box and click apply to
deduct $5 and the total will be $47.99 for a single show car registration.

Promo code HOT saves $5 which is better than full price and
each show car Registration gets 2 free tickets

For multicar registrations at Hot Import Nights
1.Go to this link info@hotimportnights.com with the name of your club
and number of entries for instructions. 5 show cars or more save even more $$$$

 

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.

 

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.