Lime Rock Park
| Road Racing Center of the East | |
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Track layout
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| Location | Lakeville, Connecticut, United States |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (UTC-4 DST) |
| Owner | Skip Barber |
| Operator | Skip Barber |
| Broke ground | 1956 |
| Opened | 1957 |
| Major events |
IMSA SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix (2015-) Pirelli World Challenge Lime Rock Park Grand Prix (1992–1993, 1995-2005, 2007-2008, 2013, 2016-) American Le Mans Series Northeast Grand Prix (2004–2013) Rolex Sports Car Series Lime Rock Grand Prix (2000–2001), (2006–2008), (2010–2013) |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.50 mi (2.41 km) |
| Turns | 7 |
| Lap record | 43.112 seconds (P. J. Jones, Eagle Mk. III-Toyota, 1993, GTP) |
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Lime Rock Park Race Track
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| Area | 325.2 acre |
| Built | 1956 |
| Architectural style | Other, Race track |
| NRHP Reference # | 08001380 |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 2009 |
Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. The track is owned by Skip Barber, a former race car driver who started the Skip Barber Racing School in 1975.
The 1.53-mile Lime Rock track was originally conceived of in 1956 by Jim Vaill, who, along with John Fitch and Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, built the track utilizing state-of-the-art road and highway safety principles of the time. The first race, a mix of G-Production class and an MG class, was held on April 28, 1957. The winner of the G-Production was Ted Sprigg in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The winner of the MG class was Charles "Skip" Callanan in an MG TC. In 1959, Limerock hosted the Little Le Mans race, won by Charles "Skip" Callanan and Roger Penske in a Fiat Abarth. In 2008, the track was re-paved and two new corner complexes were added.
The track has a loyal following, though it did face some resistance from the local community shortly after it opened. In 1959, the Lime Rock Protective Association, with support from the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church, took the park to Litchfield Superior Court in an effort to ban Sunday racing. The court issued a permanent injunction against Sunday racing, and its decision was upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. While restrictive, the carefully crafted injunction was also enabling. It preserved the track's right to conduct unmuffled sports car racing on Fridays and Saturdays, plus testing on Tuesdays and other operating benefits. The injunction stands to this day.
The track has featured many well-known racers including Paul Newman, who supported his own Newman-Haas team with Bob Sharp,Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Sam Posey, and Mark Donohue.
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