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23 Sep

Scarsdale Concours Celebrates 11th Anniversary

Scarsdale NY – The 11th Anniversary of the Scarsdale Concours d’Elegance is coming up this October. The event is the second longest running Concours in the Eastern United States. The show will be held in the heart of beautiful Scarsdale Village, 29 Chase Road, Scarsdale, New York. Scarsdale is easily accessible from anywhere in the tri-state area and there is ample free parking.

This year’s show follows the success of last year’s 10th Anniversary event with 132 cars participating (plus approx. 25 new vehicles from a variety of sponsors, including BMW, Miller Motorcars, McLaren Greenwich, Pepe Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and Infiniti. Over $32,000 was raised for charity benefitting the White Plains Hospital, Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling Service, The Wounded Warriors Family Assistance Fund and the Scarsdale Foundation. This was an increase of approx. 30% over the 2012 Event.

The 2014 edition of the Concours is scheduled for Sunday, October 5, 2014, slightly earlier than usual, and the organizers are hoping to enjoy some beautiful early fall weather.

Beneficiaries of the event once again will include several very worthy local charities including The Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling Service and The Wounded Warriors Family Assistance Fund.

This year’s panel of judges will be comprised of distinguished members of the automotive press from various media outlets, including Top Gear, Consumer Reports and Car & Driver.

Public viewing will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will feature over 130 American & European automobiles as well as some displays of new vehicles from various manufacturers and dealerships. Viewing ends at 4:00 p.m. with Final Judging and an Awards Ceremony, followed by a champagne toast to the winners.

15 Sep

NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne at Lime Rock this Thursday, Sept. 18

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (Sept. 15) – Jeff Gordon, along with teammate Kasey Kahne, Rick Hendrick and Alan Gustafson, are at Lime Rock Park from 3:00 to 5:30, Thursday, Sept. 18, for the track’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for AARP Foundation’s “Drive to End Hunger” campaign. NASCAR star Gordon has spearheaded Drive to End Hunger since 2011.

Gordon, Kahne and Gustafson (Gordon’s crew chief on the #24 Drive to End Hunger Hendrick Motorsports Chevy SS in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series) are giving “hot laps” around Lime Rock’s storied 1.5-mile, 7-turn circuit to those who donated to Drive to End Hunger, following a 45-minute hosted interview for hundreds of fans, each of whom donated $24 to be here. They’ll be driving prototype 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28s.

Local racing star Liam Dwyer (Southbury, Conn.), the armed forces amputee who made national news in May following his IMSA race win at Lime Rock on Memorial Day weekend – and someone Gordon has wanted to meet – will also be here; he’ll be giving Gordon some “recon” laps prior to the hot laps as Jeff has not raced at Lime Rock before.

Lime Rock Park has set a goal of raising $96,000 in 2014 for Drive to End Hunger, the track’s Official Charity, and Thursday is the biggest element so far of the effort which provides food to needful seniors via the Connecticut Food Bank.

08 Sep

New England Hot Rod Reunion on tap for next weekend

Epping, NH – The coolest cars in the Northeast will proudly be on display Sept. 12-14 during the NHRA Motorsports Museum New England Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance at New England Dragway. Three days of classic cars, nostalgic quarter-mile drag racing, and honoring the legends of drag racing will take place at the scenic facility outside of Boston.

The event comes to life Sept. 12 at 8 a.m. as hundreds of vintage show cars pour into the facility for the start of the Show ‘n’ Shine featuring a streaming parade of hot rods, classics, and customs that will be on display during the event. Gates will open at 8 a.m. each day of the reunion.

The racing on the dragstrip begins Friday at 9 a.m. with nostalgic nitro quarter-mile drag racing. Cars that raced during the early days of the NHRA and New England Dragway will thrill those in attendance with passes down the track in a salute to days past. Time trials, qualifying, and exhibition runs will be showcased during the day.

The first day of the reunion concludes in exciting fashion at 5 p.m. with a jet car running at more than 200 mph. Flames, smoke, and the sound of a screaming jet engine is the perfect way to end the day.

Saturday will be the day that the legends take center stage at the event with a reception and autograph session at the track. Two autograph sessions will take place featuring grand marshal Bob Frey. Also honored will be Gil Coraine, John Healey, Al Hanna, George Weiler, and “Jungle Pam” Hardy. The Hot Rod Reunion Reception takes place at noon and is a perfect way to hear from the honorees at the event.

Saturday’s finale features the world-famous Cacklefest parade on the dragstrip. New England Dragway will come alive with the sounds of dozens of nostalgic race cars from yesteryear. The exhaust pipes on these machines glow red, and fans clamor for the sights and sounds of the dramatic day-ending event.

The weekend concludes Sunday with eliminations starting after the pre-race ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Also taking to the track will be an encore Cacklefest and another jet-car exhibition.

• SCHEDULE: The event begins at 8 a.m. each day, with racing beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12; racing starts at 9 a.m. Saturday Sept. 13, and 9 a.m. Sunday Sept. 14.

• TICKETS: Single-day tickets are only $25; three-day tickets are $75 at the gate; and children 15 and younger will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. Auto Club members, Show Your Card and Save on admission.

• ON THE WEB: For more information, log on to www.nhramuseum.org.

02 Sep

3rd Annual Boston Cup celebrating racing in New England on Sunday, September 21

Boston Ma – Racing in New England began with horses. With the advent of motorized vehicles, the early pioneers constantly looked for ways to make them go faster. This racing exhibition will feature over 100 years of racing heritage from the corners of our home tracks to corners around the world.

From the bike board tracks in Springfield and the early days of Readville, Cranston, Epping, Oxford, Thompson and Lime Rock, New England’s race heritage is one of the longest and strongest of anywhere in the country.

Beginning with a 1907 Vanderbilt Cup Renault all the way up to a late modified dirt track racer, the many styles and types of racing will compete for spectators’ attention at the 2014 edition of the Boston Cup. A 1936 stock car, a post war dirt track midget, a prototype Allard J2 first run at Thompson, Carroll Shelby’s Toyota 2000GT, Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79, both a 356 and a 911 Gt3 Porsche, Ferraris, including a rare 1962 GTO on display in the KTR Racing tent, a Corvette B production, a 65 California double engine rail dragster and many more including even a VW race support micro bus.

The New England Antique Racers Association will display the New England racers Hall of Fame. This legacy of racing in New England will pay homage to those tracks that are no longer running but are a part of our history. The show will be held once again at the Boston Common Parkman Bandstand on Sunday September 21st from 9AM to 2PM. It will be free to the public with access inside the fence for paid ticket holders. A limited number of tickets are on sale at www.thebostoncup.com

12 Aug

IMSA Tudor Championship Racing Coming to Lime Rock in 2015

Lakeville CT – The IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship series has announced its 2015 schedule, and it is set to visit Lime Rock Park for the first time, featuring the Tudor GT Daytona (GTD) and Prototype Challenge (PC) series on July 24-25, 2015.

“This is simply an outstanding and exciting schedule for racing fans across North America” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett in a statement, “We wanted to further elevate what was an impressive Tudor Championship schedule in 2014 and we accomplished that goal with the addition of Lime Rock Park by popular demand.”

IMSA Tudor GT Daytona (below) and Prototype Challenge (above) coming to Lime Rock in 2015

In addition, both classes (Grand Sport and Street Tuner) of the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series will be racing that weekend. “This will be a fabulous sports car racing weekend,” said track president Skip Barber. “All these championships are known for big, highly competitive fields, especially when they race at Lime Rock.”

Tudor GTD cars include the Aston Martin V12, Audi R8 LMS, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 Italia, Porsche 911 GT America and the SRT Dodge Viper GT3-R. The Prototype Challenge cars are much like the high-tech LMP2 cars but with a spec engine and chassis.

The Continental Tire series (above) was here this past Memorial Day weekend, where they put on a great show. The GS cars include Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M3, Chevy Camaro GS.R, Ford Mustang Boss 302 R, Nissan 370Z, Porsche 997 and Subaru WRX-STI. The STs are BMW 128 and 325, Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Genesis, Mazda MX-5, Nissan Altima and Porsche Boxster and Cayman.

“IMSA Tudor and Continental sports cars at Lime Rock are perfect for a mid-summer race weekend,” Barber says. “We are all looking forward to it.”

Lime Rock Park
860.435.5000
[email protected]

21 Jul

Bentley Motors Named Presenting Sponsor of ‘Sunday in the Park’

LAKEVILLE, Conn. – Murray Smith, chairman of each year’s Lime Rock Park Historic Festival, announced that Bentley Motors has teamed with Lime Rock to be presenting sponsor of Sunday in the Park, the annual concours d’ elegance on Sam Posey Straight supported by the Gathering of the Marques, an enthusiast meet that sees 800+ collector cars displayed on the remainder of the 1.5-mile circuit.

Sunday in the Park is a signature element of Lime Rock’s traditional five-day Historic Festival, and is organized by noted restorer Kent Bain.

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“Bentley is a brand synonymous with the terms heritage and performance,” Smith said, “and that makes them a wonderful partner for Lime Rock’s concours. Kent goes to great lengths to ensure our Sunday event celebrates both the art of the automobile and the essence of motorsports.”

With roots deeply engrained in motorsport, Bentley gained fame in 1924 when it entered – and won – the Le Mans 24 Hours, with a 3-litre car piloted by Capt. John Duff and Frank Clement, changing the course of Bentley history in the process. All told, the company secured five Le Mans victories between 1924 and 1930, forever immortalizing all their drivers, dubbed the “Bentley Boys.”

Bain said, “This year celebrates both the 90th anniversary of Bentley’s first victory at Le Mans and their much-anticipated return to motorsport with the new Bentley Continental GT3, run by Dyson Racing in Pirelli World Challenge. Bentley’s partnership with Sunday in the Park is a synergy not often realized. We are so pleased.”

Jon DiVaio, Bentley Motors Regional Marketing & Motorsport Manager, said, “While the brand has enjoyed great success on the racetrack, it also continues to produce the finest automobiles in the world, thanks to unparalleled quality and attention to detail that can only come from the hands of Bentley craftsmen. It is this dedication to company heritage and a passion for performance that continues to drive the new era of Bentley products. With our Sunday in the Park partnership, Bentley Motors joins Lime Rock Park in celebrating its victories of the past, present and future.”

Bob Reed of North Kingston, R.I., has entered a 1929 Blower Bentley for the Saturday and Monday historics races, while another ’29, the spectacular Ralph Lauren-owned “Birkin” Blower Bentley, will be on show all weekend. And at least a half-dozen Bentleys are expected to be entered into the Sunday concours. Dyson Racing is bringing one of its new Bentley Continental GT3 race cars, too.

Since 1983, the East Coast’s premier vintage racing and concours event has been the Historic Festival at Lime Rock Park, held annually over Labor Day weekend. No other venue in the U.S. has three days of on-track racing sandwiching a prestigious concours event all on the same property. Historic Festival 32 is Thursday, August 28 (Race Car Parade presented by Abarth U.S.A.) through Monday, September 1, while Sunday in the Park is presented by Bentley, August 31. Historic Festival 32 features Honored Guests Sir Stirling Moss & Lady Susie, and a very rare public showing of five cars from Ralph Lauren‘s personal collection. Schedule: Thursday Vintage Race Car Parade; Friday Practice & Qualifying; Saturday 18 races; Sunday in the Park Concours Presented by Bentley; Monday 18 races. Visit limerockhistorics.com

16 Jul

Ralph Lauren’s Collection: The Five Cars Gracing the Grounds of Lime Rock Park, August 29 – September 1

As if you needed another reason to attend Lime Rock Park’s Historic Festival 32 over Labor Day weekend, Murray Smith, chairman of the event, has confirmed which cars from Ralph Lauren’s private collection will be displayed over the four-day Labor Day weekend that comprises historic and vintage racing competition surrounding a concours d’elegance. Mr. Lauren’s private collection is spectacular – and it is a very rare event when cars of his are made available to the public at large.

At Lime Rock Park will be…

1953 Morgan Flat Rad
Ralph Lauren’ first car was a Morgan. This perfect example of a Morgan Flat Rad (radiator) is one of just 750 built and was purchased by Lauren in 1986.

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1964 Ferrari 250 LM
The Ferrari 250 LM was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in October, 1963 to great fanfare. In the LM, Pinninfarina presented a great case-study in how form following function can be beautiful. Unable to obtain the necessary homologation for GT racing, the 250 LM raced in the prototype category; a 250LM won Le Mans in 1965. Between 1965 and 1968, chassis 6321 – 31 of 32 built – was campaigned extensively and successfully in 19 Australian racing events, winning 13. Among those victories was the Surfers Paradise 12 hours in 1966, co-driven by Andy Buchanan and a young driver just beginning a brilliant career… Jackie Stewart.

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1929 Birkin Blower Bentley
The concept of the 4½ Liter, supercharged Bentleys (The Blower Cars) originated with Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, privileged son of a wealthy family whose resources allowed him to pursue his ambition of becoming a race car driver. Birkin developed a friendship with W.O. Bentley and given Birkin’s connections, Bentley realized that Birkin could help the struggling car maker (which was going bankrupt) to win important races. Birkin knew he would need a lot of power to compete with the supercharged Mercedes, Alfa and Bugatti racing cars of the time and came up with the idea of supercharging the then-fastest 4½ Liter Bentleys. Bentley, though skeptical, conceded and built 50 supercharged cars to qualify for the 1929 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Birkin built two “works cars,” but neither finished. (A “Speed Six” Bentley placed first, followed by 4½ Liter, non-supercharged Bentleys placing second, third and fourth.) With his money running low, Birkin convinced friend, noted socialite and horsewoman Dorothy Paget to help finance his team. Entering Le Mans again in 1930 with two Bentleys (#8 and #9) including chassis HR3976, which carries the Paget crest between the radiator cap and the Bentley badge, the Birkin cars did very well – while they lasted (the fastest race-lap, 6 minutes 48 seconds, was set by the 9 car). Birkin’s cars again failed to finish; HR3976, driven by Dr. Dudley Benjafield and Giulio Ramponi, completed 144 laps before it broke a piston. This car’s best finish was a second at the 1930 French Grand Prix (Pau) at the hands of Birkin. By the end of 1930 Paget’s patience with the Birkin team ran out; she cut off funding and the team closed up shop. HR 3976 was then sold to a Frenchman, racing at Le Mans in 1932 and 1933, again failing to finish either. This car was restored in 1990 by Traction Seabert of England with care given to not over-restore it but rather to maintain it in its “as raced” condition. It is one of only two “short chassis” (9’ 9 ½“) Bentleys built.

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1956 Jaguar XKSS
When it comes to performance, the Jaguar XKSS was in a league of its own, likely the world’s quickest and fastest production car in 1957. The XKSS was a road-going version of Jaguar’s incredibly successful D-Type race car; factory run D-Types won Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1957 while privateer D-Types won many other races, too. Jaguar was convinced by Briggs Cunningham that it could win in American SCCA production car racing, where the rules required 50 street-legal cars be built. So Jaguar changed the model number of 25 XKDs to XKSS, with 25 more to be built to meet the minimum 50. Turn signals, a larger windshield, bumpers and the like were installed. Unchanged from the competition D-Type was the engine (the 250-bhp dry-sump 3.4-liter straight-6), the rack-and-pinion steering and disc brakes. As the conversion work began on the first 25 XKDs, a fire at the Brown’s Lane factory in February 1957 destroyed nine of the cars – and all of the tooling. The 16 surviving XKSS were converted and delivered. Later, two original D-Types were returned to Jaguar and converted to XKSS specifications. One of those, XKD533, is the Ralph Lauren car, changed to an XKSS at the factory in 1958 for Pierre Chemin of France.

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1959 Porsche RSK
Porsche’s first outright victory in a manufacturer’s championship came in the 1959 Targa Florio, as the new RSK led three other Porsches across the finish line for a clean sweep. This car, 718-009, was used for practice in that event and was sent into battle for the remainder of the season. The most significant race for 718-009 was the Tourist Trophy on the Goodwood Circuit in England on September 5, 1959. Porsche lay third in the points with 15 against Ferrari’s 18 and Aston Martin’s 16. Victory for any of the three would bring the crown. The drivers of 718-009 were Count Joakim “Jo” Bonnier and Wolfgang von Trips. Holding off the 3-litre Aston Martin driven by Stirling Moss proved an impossible challenge, but 718-009 headed Tony Brooks’ Ferrari – boasting an engine twice the size of the Porsche – into the last of the race’s six hours. Von Tripps broke the class-B sports car lap record four times, running 92.9 mph on the penultimate lap, and finished in second place, two seconds ahead of Brooks in the Ferrari; Aston Martin took the championship.

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Details

1953 Morgan Flat Rad
Serial number:P2472
Engine:Triumph
Quantity Built: 750
Ownership History
1954: Unknown
1986: Ralph Lauren, USA
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1964 Ferrari 250 LM
Serial number: 6321
Body Builder:Scaglietti
Quantity built:32
Ownership History
1964: David McKay (Scuderia Veloce), Australia
1984: Ralph Lauren, U.S.A.
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1929 Birkin Blower Bentley
Model:4.5 Litre Birkin Team Car
Serial Number HR3976
Body Builder:Vanden Plas
Quantity Built:4 (One of only two short-wheelbase cars)
Ownership History
1929: Dorothy Wyndham Paget, England
1931: Unconfirmed; Jean Trevoux and E. Mary, France
1934: R.C. Murton-Neale, England
1935: Peter J. Robertson-Rodger, England
1946: William Shortt, England
1967: E. Neil Comer, England
1972: Anthony Bamford, England
1988: Ralph Lauren, U.S.A.
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1956 Jaguar XKSS
Year:1956 as an XKD (then changed to XKSS in 1958 )
Serial number:XKD533
Quantity built:16 + 2
Ownership History
1956: Delacroix, France; Monnoyeur, France
1957: Pierre Chemin, France
1970: Dr. Phillippe Renault, France
1988: David Cottingham, England
1989: Kerry Manolas, Australia
1989: Ralph Lauren, U.S.A.
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1959 Porsche RSK
Serial number:718-009
Quantity built:34
Ownership History
1988: Purchased from Richard Roth
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Since 1983, the East Coast’s premier vintage racing and concours event has been the Historic Festival at Lime Rock Park, held annually over Labor Day weekend. No other venue in the U.S. has three days of on-track racing sandwiching a prestigious concours event all on the same property. Historic Festival 32 is Friday, August 29 through Monday, September 1, while the Sunday in the Park Concours d’ Elegance Presented by Bentley is August 31. Historic Festival 32 features Honored Guests Sir Stirling Moss & Lady Susie, and a very rare public showing of five cars from Ralph Lauren’s personal collection. Schedule: Friday Practice & Qualifying; Saturday 18 races; Sunday in the Park Concours Presented by Bentley; Monday 18 races. Visit limerockhistorics.com

09 Jul

VCCC Celebrates America’s Military on Sunday, July 13

Next weekend the Valley Collector Car Club hosts their 13th Annual Charity Benefit Car Show in Downtown Simsbury.

18 Jun

Climb to the Clouds is returning to the Mt. Washington Auto Road June 26th – 29th, 2014!

Organized and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will be a 3-day motorsports festival including 80+ car competition field filled with some of the best drivers from around North America and the world as well as a contingent of rare vintage race cars.

Also known as the “Climb to the Clouds”, the Mt. Washington Hillclimb is one of America’s oldest motorsports events, first run in July, 1904, seven years before the first 500-mile race at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. The Climb to the Clouds was run sporadically from 1904-1961, then not again until 1990 when it was run consistently until 2001. Following a ten-year hiatus, the Mt. Washington Hillclimb returned in 2011 as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Mt. Washington Auto Road which first opened on August 8, 1861.

1st-official-speed-record-L.J.-Phelps-8-25-1903

L.J. Phelps sets the first official speed record at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in August of 1903, a year prior to the first Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb. Phelps record time was 1 hr 48 min and he drive his own car, a “Phelps”.

Originally referred to as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road due to the horse-drawn wagons that traversed the road to the summit of Mt. Washington in the late 1800’s, auto manufacturers believed that the Carriage Road would serve as the perfect proving ground for them to demonstrate the ability of their new “horseless carriages.” Promoted as “the greatest contest of motor vehicles ever held”, the inaugural Climb to the Clouds in 1904 included manufacturers such as Rambler, Mercedes, Oldsmobile, Stanley Steamer, Pierce and a high priced Daimler.

In the 1904 Hillclimb F.E. Stanley from Newton, Massachusetts, co-creator of the famous Stanley Steamer, drove his 6-horsepower, 800-pound steam-powered Locomobile to the summit of Mt. Washington only to be beaten by Harry Harkness from New York driving a 40-horsepower Mercedes that weighed 2,200 pounds. Harkness posted a winning time of 24 minutes, 37 and 3/5 seconds.

Since that first year of competition, many well-known drivers have competed and won the Climb to the Clouds including “Cannonball” Baker in 1928 & 1932 and the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1956. Driving a Franklin in 1928, Baker raced to a time of 14:49.6 seconds. Carroll Shelby, driving a specially prepared Ferrari roadster in 1956, posted a record-setting run of 10:21.8 on his way to victory.

Carroll Shelby racing a Ferrari in 1956

In 1961 Bill Rutan from Connecticut drove his Porsche Carerra-powered Volkswagen to another new record time of 9:13.0 that would stand for the next 29 years – until the return of the race in 1990 when Champion rally driver Tim O’Neil from nearby Franconia, NH drove his 300+ horsepower all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Rally Golf to the summit in an amazing time of just 7 minutes and 45 seconds.

Bill Rutan setting new record of 9 minutes, 13 seconds in the 1961 Climb to the Clouds

Following the return of the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in 1990, the event was run annually as part of the Mt. Washington Auto Road’s summer event schedule until 2001. During that time, several new course records were shared between 7-time Sports Car Club of America National Rally Champion Paul Choiniere from Shelburne, VT and multi-time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl from Mississauga, Ontario. Sprongl went on to set a record time of 6:41.99 in 1998 driving his 500 horsepower Audi Quattro S2 that would stand for 13 years.

Six time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl ascending Mt. Washington in 1998 in his 500bhp Audi Quattro S2, setting a record at 6min 41.99 seconds.

In 2011, ten years after the last Mt. Washington Hillclimb was run, Subaru Rally Team USA driver and 4-time Rally America Overall Champion David Higgins from the Isle of Man came to Mt. Washington for the first time. Driving a Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru WRX STI all-wheel-drive rally car, Higgins set a new overall course record of 6:11.54 – smashing Sprongl’s previous record time by more than 30 seconds!

David Higgins drives a Subaru WRX to new Mt. Washington record.

Those racing in the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will be competing on the very same 7.6 mile road as the original 1904 event 110 years earlier. Of course these days the surface has changed with nearly 87% of the road now asphalt and 13% still gravel. The 7.6 mile Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile alike. The serpentine road is lined with trees on the lower half and dramatic drop-offs above halfway as it winds its’ way to the 6, 288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak – Mt. Washington.

The 2014 entry list includes three of the past five recent Mt. Washington Hillclimb record holders (O’Neil, Sprongl and Higgins); the top twenty teams from the Rally America National Championship; a variety of high-horsepower, purpose-built hillclimb cars and a hand-picked vintage class filled with racecars steeped in motorsports history.

David Higgins recently stated “The hill is one of those special driving events and it’s mix of different surfaces, bumps and deceptive bends makes it so tough. The added history of the climb also adds some extra pressure. Then you throw the weather into the mix and you know you are going to have to be at your best to succeed.”

Other notable drivers attending the Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb in June include X Games legend, extreme sports icon and 4-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana from Davidsonville, MD, who set an unofficial Mt. Washington Hillclimb record of 6:20.47 driving a 2010 Subaru WRX STI rally car in September 2010 while recording a television special for Red Bull.

When asked about returning for this year’s Climb to the Clouds, Pastrana said “This year is very special for me because I had the record and now my teammate David Higgins has it. We with both get the chance to race with similar equipment and with similar conditions. It will be a fight to see who can claim the fastest time and a challenge for everyone competing to try and take the record, because anyone expecting to win will probably have to post a time that is faster than anyone has ever been.”

In addition to Higgins and Pastrana, former Belgian National Rally Champion David Sterycx, now from Los Angeles, CA, who competes in the Rally America National Championship will be testing his skills on Mt. Washington as will the 2009 Rally America 2-wheel-drive National Champion Dillon Van Way from Carencro, Louisiana; current and former New England Hillclimb Association Champions Kevin Gale from Sutton, NH and Sherman Baumann from Moodus, CT.

Also returning to Mt. Washington this year will be three very popular racers from New Hampshire who have competed in every Mt. Washington Hillclimb race since the event returned in 1990 – 14 events in all. These drivers include David Patten from Dunbarton, NH; Drew Young from Loudon, NH and Don Taylor from Claremont, NH. All three drivers are regular competitors in the New England Hillclimb Championship which hosts hillclimb events on access roads at the Mt. Ascutney State Park, Burke Mountain State Park, Okemo Mountain Resort and Mt. Philo State Park – all of which are located in the state of Vermont. Taylor will be pulling double-duty at this year’s hillclimb as he’ll also serve as the event’s Chief Technical Inspector.

The ever-popular Vintage Class meanwhile features a lineup of ten prestigious racing cars from the 1940’s through the late 1970’s. Although all vehicles featured in this class have played a significant role in motorsports history through the years, the 1958 Porsche Carrera-powered Volkswagen “Bathtub” probably boasts the most Mt. Washington history of all cars entered. Driven in 1961 by the legendary Bill Rutan from Connecticut, Rutan and the “Bathtub”, as it had come to be known, returned to Mt. Washington 29 years later in 1990 and raced to the top of Mt. Washington once again – beating his 1961 record-setting time by almost a minute!

Although Rutan won’t be sitting behind the wheel of the “Bathtub” when it return to Mt. Washington this coming June, the completely restored Carrera-powered Volkswagen will be driven by another well-known Connecticut racer, Wayne Carini from Portland, CT. The popular host of the Velocity Channel’s “Chasing Classic Cars” television show, Carini will not only be racing the vintage Volkswagen, he’ll also serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb.

Porsche Carrera-powered Volkswagen “Bathtub”

The three-day motorsports event will consist of two half-days of practice on Friday morning until noon and again on Saturday morning until noon, June 27th and 28th. Although spectators will not be allowed to view practice runs by the drivers and teams on Friday morning, they will be able to enjoy viewing practice from the base area of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Saturday morning for free or be shuttled to half-way for viewing from there for a fee.

10 Jun

NEAM Presents to the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society

New York, New York – This week the New England Auto Museum was invited to present to the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society’s monthly luncheon at Sardi’s Restaurant in Manhattan’s Theater District. The group is headed by Greenwich Concours Chairman Bruce Wennerstrom and has been meeting regularly for over 57 years. It is made up of influential car industry personalities and enthusiasts who enjoy the opportunity to trade stories and learn the latest news in the automotive world each month. Representing NEAM were President Mike Scheidel, Marketing Director Nick Ord and Advisory Team members Bob Sharp and Roger Garbow. Fittingly, the other speaker at the luncheon was Kit Foster who talked about his book “The Stanley Steamer: America’s Legendary Steam Car” which details the history of the famous Stanley Brothers’ exploits at the dawn of the motoring age. The concept of an automobile museum being established in Norwalk Connecticut was well received by the group and there were constructive contributions provided in the Q&A session. As summed up by Bob Sharp, “This was an opportunity to raise awareness of the museum project in the wider automotive world and gain new insights and perspective on our efforts from people who know the industry inside and out.”

Sardi’s in Manhattan’s Theater District

Bob Sharp speaking to the Chowder Society