DeanP and JanusCole's EXCELLENT Adventure! Rolex GT at Limerock

[Wrecked944]

I've got to mightily thank Pelican member Deanp for bringing me to the Rolex GT practice session on Friday at Limerock. It was an absolute, unbelievable blast. Easily the best time I've had all year. For just $20, we got to see the GT cars (and a few others) do their practice runs and - even better - 100% accesss to the entire paddock area. The whole place was nearly empty of spectators as well. I guess most people aren't interested in attending an event on a Friday when there will be relatively little racing. But holy cow, if you are a p-car enthusiast or motorhead of any kind, then this was like falling in to Nirvana! As Dean and I wandered the paddock area, the loudspeakers recited the rules for spectators...

Don't get run over and don't touch the cars.

THAT WAS IT! No more rules. Everything else was permitted. I felt like a kid who got dropped in to Santa's Workshop at the north pole. We were allowed to get up close and personal with all of the teams and their rigs. Everywhere we looked there were stacks of gorgeous racing slicks, carbon fiber car parts, the slickest tools, insanely cool GT cars in various states of disassembly. It was enough to make a person's head spin.



After snapping that shot, I realized I was resting my elbow on a stack of racing slicks! Oops...glad I didn't get caught. But nobody seemed to mind.

A few times I thought Dean was getting too close to the action only to see a crew member chat him up or, in one case, halt assembly of the race car to let Dean get a good picture of the motor. It really exceeded my imagination. I even had an uncomfortably close moment when a Ford Focus drove right up behind me and startled me - a little too fast and a little too close for my comfort. I was turning around to say something inappropriate to the driver when Patrick Long stepped out from behind the wheel. And fortunately I was too star struck to say anything derogatory about his driving skills.

This car came so close I could have reached out and touched the bumper as it passed...



The actual practice session was pretty cool for photography.



I was surprised at how aggressive the drivers were even though they were supposedly "practicing." I didn't see any "wave the driver by" passing. Rather, it was all "in your face" competitive passing which sort of surprised me. I even saw some contact and we saw one "off" when the cars got three wide before a 90 degree bend and a 911 got forced into the dirt. I guess they were "practicing" with the gloves off, eh? Here is some fresh track damage on a 911...



We also lucked out big time and got to see some open wheel racers. Seems the BMW spec series was practicing on the same day. These cars were sooooo beautiful.



Not all of the cars were Porsches...




We also took a short pilgrimage to the "Bennet Curve" where our own ChrisBennet turned his 911 into a "Narrow Body Conversion" using a well-placed tire wall. I think Dean has some great pics of the BMW open wheel racers passing through there in the rain with all kinds of cool rooster tails coming off the back wheels. I observed many drivers applying their brakes before hitting the curve. Hmmm...Chris, are you taking notes?

In any event, it was an amazingly fun day and a great time was had by all.

[deanp]

Happy to have 'shown you the light'. What you saw on Friday, with the exception of some larger crowds, has been my experience our trip to Lime Rock regardless of the event.

Lots of good pics there, I haven't pulled mine from the camera yet, may get to it tonight.

Remember to keep the weekend of July 1st open for the ALMS race.

[Noah930]

Glad you enjoyed Lime Rock. It's possibly my favorite racetrack to visit. I just got back from there, myself. We happened to stay at the same motel as the Synergy team (came in 5th today). Not only is the access to the paddock fantastic at Lime Rock, but it's just a friendly atmosphere, in general. And the cars that people show up in are often as neat as the ones running on the track. I didn't snap a picture of it, but someone had a (1988?) black Kremer 930 with a for sale sign.

Can anyone tell me if this one's authentic? (Also note the 50th Anniversary PCA 997 in the background.)

[9dreizig]

Nice pics!! Hey Janus I was thinking of you today watching the racing on the speed channel, one of the crew had a ponytail half again longer than yours!.
Noah are you on the Messin List?

[Erik Mckenna]

[Can anyone tell me if this one's authentic? (Also note the 50th Anniversary PCA 997 in the background.)



[/B][/QUOTE]

No.. it's not a Porsche factory 550 from the 50's if that's what yer asking.... it's a nice replica kit car looks to be a Beck with some nice touches to it to make it look more authentic.... but no it's not a REAL deal 550..

-EM

[Noah930]

On one hand, I didn't think it's real. Yet, at the same time, why does the tag (on the license plate) look to be of proper vintage? What is a 1950's-era NY license plate supposed to look like? Is there some sort of "55" sticker in the upper right corner, like this car has?

[rtoms]

not sure if anyone saw my pcar but i was the brown 911 coupe with a cage an loud exhuast! ill try to get some pics up soon