Lime Rock Track Day June 21, 2007
On a beautiful Thursday in June, the Connecticut Autocross and Rally Team staged a track day and time trial at Lime Rock Park, in Lakeville, Connecticut. Lime Rock, the self proclaimed Road Racing Center of the East, is a tight one and a half mile road course located in the foothills of the Berkshires. Lime Rock is one of the tightest road courses on the east course, demanding precision driving from competitors. From the blind uphill section, the critical downhill, or the challenge of Big Bend, Lime Rock demands respect and precision driving.
Seventy car were entered for the event. Track driving can take a toll on car and driver. Several vehicles suffered
mechanical failures such as over heating, brake fade and power train problems. Three cars were damaged when they slid off the course and into the retaining barriers, but the only injury was to the driver's ego. Track driving cannot be taken lightly.
After initial orientation sessions, that were run by practice groups, the track was run with an open session. A maximum of twenty cars were allowed onto the track. As one driver pulled off, another car was allowed to go on the track. This maximizes the available track time, but it does force all drivers to be aware of their surroundings. Slower cars must be prepared to yield, faster cars must be prepared to give the other drivers some track room. Everyone cooperated, and the day went fairly smoothly.
The time trial was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Each driver entered was given a warm up lap, two timed laps and a cool down lap. Cars were sent out in three car groups. Forty one drivers decided to take timed runs. As the timed event started, the clouds began to gather and the skies darkened. About one third of the way thru the line up, the skies opened up and began to rain. While the rain didn't last very long, it did mess several drivers up, as their timed runs were made in a downpour. The unexpected rain caught a few drivers off guard, but no serious off course excursions were noted.
Bob Boucher took FTD with his Diasio, turning a time of 58.095. Joe Solury's AS Corvette and John Wechsler's ASP Elise did the unbelievable: They both turned in a time of 63.431! A great show of driving precision. Chip Rutan's DSP Integra took the informal Honda challenge, beating Duane Lariviere's EP CRX by .261 seconds. The results are listed:
