Who is going to win?.........

[RacerBill]

Really? To me the downhill is more ballsy and when I ran it kept wondering what all the fuss was about. Now turn 1 is quite a challenge at RA.

Well, maybe it's the fact that I first went over the downhill at LRP back in '67 or '68 and I've slept a few since then........

But I will never forget coming thru West Bend at 90 in a 427 Cobra with Mark Donohue and wondering how the car was going to fit under the bridge!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CRallo]

Well, maybe it's the fact that I first went over the downhill at LRP back in '67 or '68 and I've slept a few since then........

But I will never forget coming thru West Bend at 90 in a 427 Cobra with Mark Donohue and wondering how the car was going to fit under the bridge!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a similar memory with Bruce MacInnes in a Sprinter van!!

it's too bad they have since raised the bridge :/



and Greg, you don't give LRP nearly enough credit! But to each his own...

[Greg Amy]

Actually, Chris, I gave LRP a *LOT* of credit. I grew up in Texas simply dreaming of the "mystique" of Lime Rock Park, relishing the Memorial Day race on TV after watching the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 (?) the weekend before. When I came to CT for the first time my visit to LRP was the *first* thing I did, even before going to the hotel. And, yep, I ducked the first time I drove under The Bridge.

But since then, the mystique has quickly worn off. I've driven nearly two decades at that place, most of it on worn, buckled, and cracking pavement (on places where it wasn't a concrete patch). Most of it has been paddocking on dirt (when it wasn't mud or out-and-out standing water). Bathrooms are minimal - non-existent in the B Paddock - and it's only recently I haven't had to pay someone extra to clean them. Showers? Yeah, right.

And then there's the track. It was world-class course -- in 1959, when there were few other choices. Only 1.5 miles, visually attractive mostly because it has "park" in the name. Only recently has it been redesigned such that it won't ALWAYS kill you when you make a simple mistake, and that was only due to coming *this* close to losing one of its very few profitable weekends. And, recently the costs involved in playing there as a club has nearly tripled, and it's rare that I get out of there as a spectator for two bills when all is said and done.

And, of course, each time I decide to race (or sometimes spectate) there, it usually requires an additional day off work because there's no racing on Sunday. Oh, but that adds to the mystique, right...?

Bottom line, the dogs bark but the caravan moves on. Lime Rock Park was nice in its day, but that day is long past; there are so many better, world-class facilities, some of them historical but highly revised, most of them built within the last couple decades. Hell, even crappy-ass Nelson Ledges and Hallett are better tracks as driver's courses! If someone built Lime Rock Park exactly as it sits now, it would be heralded as a great "country club" facility for those with tons of money to drive their Ferraris around, but it would be unlikely to garner a lot of attention from the racers. And it would NEVER get a major date like ALMS. Not in a million years.

I do like the breakfast sandwiches and tots, though. Could live on those for a long time.

Hey, you always remember your first time: I still hold a soft spot for Texas World Speedway with its crappy roval configuration and a long sense of history with Indy and NASCAR. But in the light of day, when you look back at the high school yearbook photo of the girl you got your first kiss from, you soon recognize she was as dumpy as the rest of them...

[JLawton]

I'm not sure I'm catching your drift Greg??

LOL


I ducked the first time under the bridge at LRP. I also drove one of those Sprinter vans with an A/C unit on top at one of the schools. They strongly "suggested" not hitting the brakes while going under it............. Even under power I still heard a "thump" as I went under.

It's not the down hill at RA that's scary............ it's the concrete walls that seem to be only feet off the pavement at the bottom!!!

To each his own on tracks. I'm probably the only one in the world that likes Pocono.

[Ed Funk]

Nah, Steph likes Poke-In-Nose also. Don't know why, I find it boring.

[924Guy]

It's not the down hill at RA that's scary............ it's the concrete walls that seem to be only feet off the pavement at the bottom!!!

But at least it's just a case of "seems like" - not like Thunder Valley at Mid-O, before they moved the wall back... there were times you prayed you'd not miss the gravel! :eek:

[Ron Earp]

And, of course, each time I decide to race (or sometimes spectate) there, it usually requires an additional day off work because there's no racing on Sunday. Oh, but that adds to the mystique, right...?

WTF? No racing on Sunday? Sunday IS race day. When are the races, Fri and Sat? That makes it tough on the club racers with jobs.

No dog in this fight and I'd like to drive LRP sometime. But my only experience with it is in iRacing and it seems a bit short for a road course. But, hey, you have to drive what you have nearby and if this is it then so be it, still looks fun.

[gran racing]

Uh, 'fale'. You're not going fast if you do that.

You're just using to driving the NX too much there. Bet if you did that with Pablo or another B car you'd be faster. Actually, Chris Albin and Justin Poole "showed" me that.

[Greg Amy]

Bet if you did that with Pablo or another B car you'd be faster. Actually, Chris Albin and Justin Poole "showed" me that.

You just lost the bet.

You must not have heard, I drove Pablo there two days ago. If I had tried to keep Pablo checked up so I didn't have to drive out over that exit curb under the S/F stand I would have lost a lot of speed on the straight (yes, I have DL-1 data). I watched the ARRC races and all the leaders (and fast guys) were tracking out. I can't IMAGINE why ANYONE would think that pinching in a car on track-out is faster; would you do the same on the Downhill at LRP? Of course not, that's just silly.

And, by the way, I was faster than Chris Albin in qualifying.

A 6-pack of Sam's Octoberfest would be a fine ante-up. Better hurry, it's soon to go out of season.

GA

[gran racing]

No beer for you! At least not for that reason.

Heck, if one's doing it right they're not fully at the left going down the hill to save real estate.

We're talking two different parts of the downhill. I'm talking about going down the hill before the right hand turn; you're talking about track out. I suppose one could stay far left down the hill and try not tracking out as far.

I'm thinking about doing some really dumb things just so I can get my butt down there next year. Stupid racing!