Lime Rock Park track map, showing the planned improvements. Image courtesy Lime Rock Park.
Opened in the spring of 1957, Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park has long been the center of road racing in the Northeast, thanks to its proximity to New York City and Boston (and Bennington, too). In 2008, the 1.5-mile, seven-turn road course was repaved, with runoff areas enlarged and additional guard railing added to improve driver safety. As the track prepares for its 60th anniversary in 2017, however, president and owner Skip Barber has announced a $3 million-plus initiative called the “Road to 60 Project,” designed both to greatly improve the fan experience and ensure the facility has a solid future with professional racing organizations.
The spectator hillside being excavated and reshaped. Photos by Rick Roso, courtesy Lime Rock Park.
When construction began on Lime Rock in 1956, Jim Vaill and John Fitch enlisted the help of Cornell University to ensure the facility met the highest standards of safety for the day. Over the years, racing’s immortals have dueled here, with names like Dan Gurney, Sam Posey, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue and Paul Newman frequently seen on entry lists. The track’s neighbors have not always been welcoming, however, and a suit filed in 1959 by the Lime Rock Protective Association eventually made its way to the Connecticut Supreme Court. As a result, racing is banned at the track on Sundays, which has oddly worked to the facility’s benefit by expanding key events into two days of racing split by a Sunday car show.
The A-Paddock area, shortly after renovations began.
As anyone who’s ever visited the track for a race can attest to, the casual “spread a blanket on the hillside” vibe is part of its charm, though it doesn’t allow for the best viewing angles. The Road to 60 Project will address this by recontouring the infield spectator hillside to improve sightlines, giving fans a view of almost 45 percent of the track. The spectator hillside will be extended through the inside curve of the Righthander (turn four) to create a new viewing area for the No Name Straight and the Uphill (turn five), and in many locations, spectator fencing will be moved closer to the track itself. The entire track will benefit from a new PA system, increased cellular coverage, expanded Wi-Fi, and improved handicapped accessibility.
The new spectator area, seen from the Righthander.
Improving the fan experience is one focus of the modifications, but keeping professional racing’s sanctioning bodies (and teams) happy is clearly another. To this end, the A-Paddock will be expanded and rebuilt, with laser grading and fresh pavement ensuring that standing water is no longer an issue. Bathrooms will be rebuilt or refreshed in this area, and landscaping, defined pedestrian walkways with cobblestone curbs and wider roadways will be added. B-Paddock will be expanded and regraded as well.
Another reason for expanding the A- and B-Paddock areas is the growing number of automaker press events, driver training seminars and ride-and-drive events requiring larger hospitality areas. By investing in an expansion such as this, Lime Rock is positioning itself to remain competitive with other, newer, tracks in the area, built with the hosting of such events in mind.
The new shape of the infield hillside.
Ultimately, Barber hopes the changes will make Lime Rock Park “the most fan-friendly road course in North America.” Beyond that, Barber says of the Road to 60 Project, “We’re doing what we need to do–what we want to do–to ensure the track’s professional racing future. Major sports car races have defined Lime Rock since the day it opened, and I’m making sure that continues well into the future.”
The projects will be ongoing over the next two years, though construction won’t interrupt the track’s schedule. The hope is to have some of the work done by the season-opening Memorial Day Weekend Trans-Am Series, with more projects completed in time for the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar weekend on July 24-25. For additional details, visit LimeRock.com.
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