Classic Velocity

Sometimes, the blending of new and old makes for an impressive event. And so it was with the Grand-Am Rolex Series event at Limerock Park this past memorial day. It is a smaller event than the fall vintage weekend that I have been to many times, but it was still well attended. It was particularly exciting to see the array of modern racing equipment and crews. You could stroll the paddock and get up close and personal with the machines. The Daytona Prototype cars are as good looking as they are fast. They also have a distinctive bark that suggests ridiculous power. The ridiculous power is on full display down the front straight, where they make the GT cars look like they are slow !! However, it is the corners where they look most impressive to me. The DP cars seem to corner on rails. Even in the difficult uphill chicane, they just look like slot cars. The race was won by the Suntrust Ford/Dallara. The GT cars were dominated by the Mazdas. You could hear their distinctly different engine note as they revved into the stratosphere. The very impressive Speedsource Mazda RX8 proved victorious in the GT class.

Sometimes, the action and interest of a racing event is matched by the action and interest in the parking lot. The Timex to the main event’s Rolex if you will. And so it was with this event. There were car corrals for Audi, Mazda, and Porsche, but many car clubs make events like this a good excuse for an outing. Accordingly, a goodly number of vintage cars and bikes from all makes tend to show up. The bike corral is a buffet of touring and sport touring models. It resembled a shootout for a fictitious sport touring magazine. Newer Yamaha FJ1300s and Honda ST1200s and Kawasaki ZX-14s shared parking space with older Interceptors and Kawasaki ZXR1100s. Guzzis and Ducati ST2-3-4s were sprinkled about as well. BMWs were probably the most prominent single marque. I guess this says something about 2-wheeled fans of sports car racing.

However, the car park was a treasure trove. A sample of Connecticut’s vintage treasures appear at their local track, along with more from nearby New York and Massachusetts. There are not many venues where you can find a Model T parked next to a Ford GT !! A Ferrari or two did not necessarily stand out among Aston Martins and Lancias and Allards. The Porsche corral was not just the largest, it was amazing. There were 5 Real Carrera RS cars present. A beautiful 912 was parked next to a Carrera GT, continuing the old/new blend. A Peter Gregg Brumos Porsche was innocently sitting in the corral as if it was no big deal ! A number of other great looking early 911 cars were present along with a smattering of 356s, including a nice speedster. Incredibly, many of the cars present were just well maintained drivers, and not car show contestants.

Sometimes the spectators make the event.