Motorsports historical past involves life over the Labor Day weekend at Northwest Connecticut’s fan-friendly Lime Rock Park. The four-day weekend is all the time a spotlight for the classic and historic racing group.
With greater than 250 automobiles taking part, some practically a century outdated, the weekend is a fast-moving motorsport historical past lesson. Everybody watching from the viewing areas and touring the paddocks will probably discover their favourite sort of race automobile, however a discipline that’s so giant additionally gives the chance to key in on a number of particular racing lessons.
Three Featured Race Teams: MG, System Junior & Sports activities 2000
In response to Skip Barber, Chairman for the occasion, “What the 2 racing lessons and one marque we’re celebrating this yr all have in frequent is that by design or coincidence they offered reasonably priced entry into the game for formidable potential racing drivers.”
Barber famous that MG, which this yr is celebrating the centennial of the primary automobile carrying that badge, not solely has a motorsports historical past practically that lengthy, however within the aftermath of World Conflict II launched America to the concept of the sports activities automobile – an reasonably priced light-weight two-seat roadster with nimble dealing with.
“MGs have been enjoyable to drive and fairly a couple of homeowners determined it might be enjoyable to compete with them on the road-racing tracks that have been opening in America through the Nineteen Fifties,” Barber stated. “Most likely among the MGs racing at Lime Rock this September additionally raced right here within the Nineteen Fifties.”
System Junior started in Italy within the late Nineteen Fifties and inside a couple of years unfold throughout Europe after which to the USA. By the early Sixties these scaled-down System 1 automobiles had achieved international recognition and have been produced by a wide range of racing automobile producers throughout Europe and even within the USA.
“As a result of System Juniors used engines, transmissions brakes and different bits from manufacturing automobiles, they have been comparatively cheap to purchase and function. The on-track competitors was fairly fierce, so it was a great way for aspiring grand prix drivers to showcase their expertise,” Barber stated. “It’s not shocking that Sixties System 1 world champions Jim Clark, John Surtees and Denny Hulme all competed in System Junior on the way in which to System 1. Now we have an ideal System Junior discipline for this yr’s Competition, 27 automobiles and counting.”
Like its open-wheel System Junior counterpart, Sports activities 2000 was supposed to supply an reasonably priced and aggressive open-cockpit, fendered sports-racing expertise. The category reached its zenith of recognition within the Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties, together with beginner {and professional} sequence.
“Sports activities 2000 automobiles are actually enjoyable to drive and so they’ve acquired an enthusiastic amongst historic racers,” Barber stated. “Now we have assembled maybe the most important Sports activities 2000 discipline ever in East Coast historic racing. I count on the Sports activities 2000 races each Saturday and Monday to be very aggressive and for positive very entertaining for our visitors watching from the vantage factors of our nice hillside spectator areas.”
Extra details about Lime Rock Park’s Historic Competition 41 and its diverse occasions might be discovered HERE.
