Lime Rock Park’s Historic Festival is returning on Labor Day weekend and will mark the 39th annual celebration of automotive history at the Connecticut facility, the track announced.
The event will launch on Thursday (Sept. 2) with one of the longest automotive parades in the Northeast, the Vintage Race Car & Sports Car Parade that will see more than 100 cars safely tour through 17 miles of roads in the surrounding area. Friday will feature the first full day of on-track action with practice and qualifying, with the Swap Meet also opening to those on-site.
Racing will come into full focus on Saturday and Monday, with competition comprising 16 classes among hundreds of entries, including two very unique classes in 2021. In addition to a robust field of air-cooled Porsches, a very large contingent of rare and rapid pre-war class machines including a Type 59 Bugatti, an ERA and an 8C Alfa will be in action at Lime Rock Park in 2021.
Sunday will see Lime Rock Park transformed from a place of speed and competition into the stage for history, beauty and diversity.
With upwards of a thousand cars lining the track grouped by make, country of origin or model that will likely cover everything from Volvos and Saabs to Porsches and Peugeots, the Gathering of the Marques will provide a huge variety of cars from through the decades and from around the globe, event organizers said.
The Lime Rock Concours will serve as the judged portion of the event and will feature six special classes including the “Best of Britain,” with iconic British postwar touring and sports cars, “Grand Prix Greats,” showcasing historically important cars from the Festival’s racing events, “Country Style” with Classic Woodies through the 1960’s, “Alternate Energies” with Steam and Electric cars, “Continental Style” American Power machines and “Local Heroes” featuring Cars of the Northeast.
There will be 10 traditional Concours classes including classes for pre- and post-war European and American cars, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Japanese performance cars, Competition cars, Motorcycles and the Barn Find/Preservation class.
Additionally, the Concours will include a special judged category for air-cooled Porsche 911s as well as the Porsche 356.
Porsche enthusiasts will also be keen to take in the special display from the Steven Harris collection, event organizers said, which is slated to feature a range of rare 911-based RS entries from his collection and a separate display of examples of Porsche competition machines.
Monday will see a return to competition for all race groups for a final day of racing to close out the 39th edition of this very special event.
“We were proud to be able to put on a safe and fun event for the 38th Historic Festival last year,” said Skip Barber. “It was great to carry on the tradition, and we expect great things this year for the 39th with a large and exciting slate of racing entries, plus a diverse Concours field headlined by some very special Porsches. With people excited to get out and be a part of special events like this, we are eager for this event to kick off.”
