EHS
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2002
- Messages
- 175
- Location
- Sleepy Hollow, Westchester, NY
- Corvette
- '00 Triple Black Convertible
Well, I guess "amusing" is one word for it, at least. 
The Manhattan Classic Car Club ( www.manhattan.classiccarclub.com ) is sponsoring an outing today (November 17, 2005) at Lime Rock race track in Lakeville, CT, and Michael Prichinello of Massapequa Park, LI (Classic Car Club President and fellow Chaminade High School alumnus) was kind enough to invite me to his "day before" shake-down of the track. If you're in the neighborhood, drop in -- the activities will be all day, and Corvettes are always welcome. No admission charge, just sign the waiver.
For those of you not familiar with the Classic Car Club, the Club was founded in London, and your membership gets you the ability to drive any number of classic cars (I have no affiliation, other than reporting that they do have several Corvettes available, including a mint '54 White/Polo Red convertible, a '63 Grand Sport, and a new 2006 C6 Z06 in triple black).
In addition, you get to drive any number of other cars for your dues, from a brand new Ford GT/40, to a vintage Porsche Speedster, Aston Martin Vantage, A/C Cobra, and a number of other cars (see the web site for details). The "clubhouse" on Hudson Street features a full bar, is open 24/7 to members, and has valet parking and service for your and the club cars. Not a bad deal.
Back to this story:
I had never been to Lime Rock, although its legend preceded itself. To say the least, I was under whelmed, at what is basically an overgrown go-kart track. Admittedly, the weather was rainy, and I had put the Goodyear M+S on the C5 the week before, but I was expecting something along the lines of Spa or at least Montreal. So I was a bit disappointed (Route 218 is more fun), although I did take the C5 around for a few laps (see photos below). I just never realized how small, narrow, and badly maintained the track was (oh, BTW -- Paul did not show up with any lemonade, although he will be there for the Classic Car Club inaugural event tomorrow with his trademark tomato sauce).
Another disappointment was the Ford GT - admittedly, it's one of the best $40,000 cars I've ever been in, but other than a monster supercharged pick-up truck engine, it was basically a badly-drawn cartoon of the original.
A good time was had by all (even though Zack did stuff the Subaru WRX/Sti into the tires for about $2,000 worth) - but that'll buff right out.
Some pics:
Go kart heaven
Paddock
View from the timing tower
View of the pits
Detail of the Ford Lightning pick-up truck engine with Magnusson supercharger
The Ford Lightning, err... Ford GT at "full chat," as the Brits like to say.
The Lime Rock "money shot"
The Manhattan Classic Car Club "gang." They even brought their own Formula 1 (Toyota) engineer over from London on a "bus man's holiday" -- he made sure the engines were properly "heat soaked."
The Manhattan Classic Car Club ( www.manhattan.classiccarclub.com ) is sponsoring an outing today (November 17, 2005) at Lime Rock race track in Lakeville, CT, and Michael Prichinello of Massapequa Park, LI (Classic Car Club President and fellow Chaminade High School alumnus) was kind enough to invite me to his "day before" shake-down of the track. If you're in the neighborhood, drop in -- the activities will be all day, and Corvettes are always welcome. No admission charge, just sign the waiver.
For those of you not familiar with the Classic Car Club, the Club was founded in London, and your membership gets you the ability to drive any number of classic cars (I have no affiliation, other than reporting that they do have several Corvettes available, including a mint '54 White/Polo Red convertible, a '63 Grand Sport, and a new 2006 C6 Z06 in triple black).
In addition, you get to drive any number of other cars for your dues, from a brand new Ford GT/40, to a vintage Porsche Speedster, Aston Martin Vantage, A/C Cobra, and a number of other cars (see the web site for details). The "clubhouse" on Hudson Street features a full bar, is open 24/7 to members, and has valet parking and service for your and the club cars. Not a bad deal.
Back to this story:
I had never been to Lime Rock, although its legend preceded itself. To say the least, I was under whelmed, at what is basically an overgrown go-kart track. Admittedly, the weather was rainy, and I had put the Goodyear M+S on the C5 the week before, but I was expecting something along the lines of Spa or at least Montreal. So I was a bit disappointed (Route 218 is more fun), although I did take the C5 around for a few laps (see photos below). I just never realized how small, narrow, and badly maintained the track was (oh, BTW -- Paul did not show up with any lemonade, although he will be there for the Classic Car Club inaugural event tomorrow with his trademark tomato sauce).
Another disappointment was the Ford GT - admittedly, it's one of the best $40,000 cars I've ever been in, but other than a monster supercharged pick-up truck engine, it was basically a badly-drawn cartoon of the original.
A good time was had by all (even though Zack did stuff the Subaru WRX/Sti into the tires for about $2,000 worth) - but that'll buff right out.
Some pics:
Go kart heaven
Paddock
View from the timing tower
View of the pits
Detail of the Ford Lightning pick-up truck engine with Magnusson supercharger
The Ford Lightning, err... Ford GT at "full chat," as the Brits like to say.
The Lime Rock "money shot"
The Manhattan Classic Car Club "gang." They even brought their own Formula 1 (Toyota) engineer over from London on a "bus man's holiday" -- he made sure the engines were properly "heat soaked."
