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MetroWest Daily News
Lime Rock is a real racing retreat
By Jim Brady/Daily News correspondent
GHS
Sat Jul 28, 2007
Looking for a local connection to national auto racing? Look no further than the American Le Mans Series.
Wayland's Mike Durand formerly drove for the LMP2 Intersport racing team. The new Intersport driver is Richard Berry, the son of the team's new major sponsor. But Boston is represented by at least one ALMS driver. Tim Pappas, a 17-year race veteran, pilots the No. 54 GT2 Porsche 911. Pappas races in the ALMS GT2 class, and drives a specially prepared Porsche 911 GT3.
Then again, a new driver could be even more local: you.
For about $100,000, any person can drive a street-legal version of Pappas' car. But if you want to drive a real race car, Lime Rock owner Skip Barber, the founder of the famous Skip Barber Racing School, which has locations nationwide, has an answer.
Skip Barber's solution for intrigued drivers and 299 affluent colleagues is The Club at Lime Rock Park (www.limerockclub.com). Instead of selling the Lime Rock property to developers who wanted to build a golf club, Barber decided to start his own club a racing club.
"The first 50 years at Lime Rock created legendary drivers and historic moments," said Barber. "The next 50 years will preserve that legacy and allow Club members to experience the magic of Lime Rock Park for themselves."
For a $110,000 initiation fee and $550 dues per month, anybody can join the exclusive club. Membership guarantees the driver 20 days a year of unlimited use of the track, and members can test their cars and driving capabilities on a real race course. Members can also store their cars in a garage near the track. Members will also have access to an exclusive clubhouse and will receive VIP tickets for Lime Rock events.
Those who can't afford to join will have to settle for buying a $100 weekend pass to watch the action from the hillsides. But, of course, there is a silver lining to that eventuality: Spectators will watch some of the greatest racing action in New England. That's the case each year when the ALMS comes to the Northeast for a glorious weekend at the track in the pristine settings of the Connecticut countryside.
ALMS cars are unique. They are designed to run at 200 mph for 12 hours at a time. They run on diesel fuel and environmentally friendly E10 gasoline. They reach 100 mph in 3.2 seconds. They carry the names Porsche, Audi and Acura.
And each summer, the best of Porsche, Audi and Acura visit Lime Rock, New England's oldest and most picturesque road track. Just two hours away from MetroWest, the 1.53-mile course was designed 50 years ago. It combines tight turns with a very bumpy surface. The traditional design does not favor today's bigger and much faster race cars, but it makes any event at Lime Rock fun to watch, and the ALMS even more so.
The ALMS is unique in the world of racing because each of its practice sessions, qualifying sessions and races puts four different classes of cars on the track at the same time. The slowest of these groups is the Grand Touring 2 (GT2) Ferraris and Porsches, 500-horsepower machines which have a top speed of 180 mph. The fastest class is Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), which includes Audis and Lolas with 700 horsepower and top speeds well over 200 mph. That means the fastest cars on the track are at least 20 mph faster than the slowest cars.
Normally there is very little passing on a road track, and the cars are as evenly matched as the drivers' talent. That's totally different in ALMS. Due to the 20 mph difference between the fastest and slowest cars, there is plenty of passing and close racing action every lap, and the action makes ALMS races a real treat for the lucky fans watching events from the comfort of the Lime Rock hillsides.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x930996608
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