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| Preview Notes For The ALMS Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park |
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Rob Dyson and Greg Rickes (LRP Announcer)
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© Andrew S. Hartwell
Lime Rock Park may be 51 years old this year but she looks like a brand new gal right now. Skip Barber, Track President and Owner, was apprehensive about getting the track paved in time for this weekend's ALMS race but in the end the work was completed - most of it anyway - and the race will go on as planned.
Barber: From the walk over bridge (at the end of the front straight) through Big Bend and around through the left hander and part way up the back, we dug the whole thing up and then filled it to Department of Transportation turnpike specifications and standards in terms of the amount of gravel and membranes, etc. under it.
The new optional corner at West Bend , Barber continued, is a tight corner and we expect it to be a very exciting area for the fans. The result of the two new corners is we expect the lap times to be greater, even though the length of the track isn't much different.
A tremendous amount of work has been done including repaving the entire old' circuit, and adding two new sections. There is now an alternate route to get over the hill at the start of the back straight, and there is a new optional corner at West Bend. The ALMS cars will be using both new sections this weekend. They have the honor of being the first racing series to do so.
Sam Posey had the honor of being the first racer to take laps at speed when he drove his personal Formula Ford there on July 4th. He tried out the two new sections and he predicts the super-fast ALMS prototypes will find it a bit more taxing to get around this beautiful little track in the woods. (From the LRP press release: There is no question that the new corners will lead to passing opportunities, stated Sam when he finished his laps. There definitely will be a lot more gear changes than the ALMS drivers are used to doing at Lime Rock. The new corners create a much different situation in which probably all the gears will be used within a single lap. )
We had the pleasure of taking a few hot laps with David Brabham in the LRP pace car. We ran on both new sections and it was interesting to hear David say the new optional corners at West Bend would prove to be a challenge. We expect all the teams will find the learning curve a bit challenging as well.
Barber: The instructors in the Skip Barber Racing School here have told me this is now the smoothest racing surface in North America.
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