Lime Rock Park’s preparations for the 28th Annual Vintage Festival on the traditional Labor Day weekend are well underway. Buzz is in the air in Lakeland as plans are being made, racing formats are being changed, and the hallmark car show is expanding. There is a new regime on board as Skip Barber, owner of Lime Rock Park, has nominated Murray Smith as the event chairman and the Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA) as the sanctioning body for the festivities.
The past Vintage Festival organizers, Steve Earle and the General Racing team, have decided to concentrate on the organization of their flagship event, the Monterey Historic Races. In the past, Smith has directed the Sunday in the Park car show, but has now gladly accepted the challenge of organizing the entire weekend.
Smith is a well-known competitor in all forms of motor sports in a wide variety of vehicles but perhaps less recognized for his management experience in the field. He is past chairman of BMP, the organization which runs the four major British championships, Formula 3, British Touring Cars, GT and Superbikes, and he is also a past member of the FIA Formula One Management Commission. Smith was the founder of the Louis Vuitton Classic at Rockefeller Center, and also the organizer of the Legendes Historic Racing event at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant in Quebec. According to Smith, he has several interesting developments in mind for this year’s Lime Rock Park Vintage Festival.
Classes for sports, GT, and racing cars from the dawn of motor racing until the ’70s will be included, and organizers will ensure a schedule of accepted entries is announced early, allowing potential participants to plan ahead.
Smith promises more track time for participants this year and, while the traditional sprint events will take place on the Saturday and Monday mornings of the event, optional two-driver races of approximately one-hour duration will also be introduced as part of the afternoon programs. Special features anticipated this year are to include a race and demonstration of some of the great front-engine, single-seat racing cars, a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Morgan Marque, a one-hour endurance race for the FIA race cars of Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona, and feature races for VSCCA-eligible sports and racing cars.
Sunday in the Park, the unique car show of the Vintage Festival, will be substantially expanded, with the goal of lining the entire 1.53-mile circuit with show cars. This extravaganza will feature everything from World War II amphibious vehicles to vintage motorcycles, to the most splendid of the great classics like Duesenberg and Bugatti—all in a picnic garden-park atmosphere on the grounds of Lime Rock Park.
Anyone wishing to enter their car to race, or to show in the Sunday in the Park car show, please inquire via email to vintagefestival@limerock.com or by mail to Lime Rock Park (Attn: Vintage Festival), 497 Lime Rock Road, Lakeville, CT 06039. For further information, call 800.RACE.LRP.
