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ThePaddock.net
Lime Rock Park Announces Future Plan
Monday, 09 July 2007
Skip Barber, President of Lime Rock Park, announced his plan for the future of the track. The objective is to guarantee Lime Rock Park remains the premier race course in the Northeast; that the facility is significantly improved without losing any of its charm or character; and that the track is a viable business for the next fifty years. As a huge step towards these goals, Skip has created The Club at Lime Rock Park.
The Club at Lime Rock Park is an opportunity for a limited number of people, 300 maximum, to have significant track time with 60 dates annually to choose from while also enjoying the company of like-minded enthusiasts. This is unprecedented access to Lime Rock Park where it is currently impossible to rent even an hour.
Lime Rock Park is nestled comfortably in the lush green foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and historic road racing facilities in North America. Since opening in 1957, it's been "home track" to many of the East Coast's motor head population. On the way there you get to see some marvelous old houses, farms and estates. This is where the old money lives - quietly and without ostentation - and you can smell the history and pedigree in the atmosphere. And, the track fits in perfectly with the majestic green of the Berkshires rising all around, an old stone church just across the way, and track buildings that reflect and respect their surroundings. There's even a clear mountain stream running right alongside the pit straight and unmatched spectating from the shady hillsides overlooking the Esses. A perfect setting for a motor sport club and the only one currently open in the Northeast.
"But don't let the quaint New England ambience fool you: Lime Rock is one fast and serious racetrack!" - adapted from Burt Levy, Race Track Guide Series, Vintage Motorsport.
The membership cost at The Club at Lime Rock Park is $100,000 and the length of membership is 50 years. Membership can be passed down in the family or resold through The Club.
"My biggest fear is that, if the business and finances of Lime Rock Park are not sufficiently strong, the value of this beautiful piece of property could exceed its value as a racetrack and that when I am no longer around a future owner will be tempted to convert it to a golf course…like what happened at Bridgehampton," declared Barber.
The membership dollars will be used to improve the entire Park. This is a way to guarantee that all improvements on the "wish list" will happen - everything from repaving the track to new bathrooms, an updated Media Center/Clubhouse and a larger and more efficient entrance, to name a few. The economics of a road racing track by itself won't pay for this magnitude of improvements. Future owners will not have to make these capital expenditures.
More good news is that all the track's constituents - spectators, amateur racers, professional racers, club members, students and mechanics - will benefit from the improved facilities. Everyone will benefit from The Club at Lime Rock Park.
The Club at Lime Rock Park's first full season will be 2008. However, there are four dates reserved this Fall for qualified Club applicants to sample the facilities.
http://www.the-paddock.net/content/view/241779/49/
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