We woke up this morning expecting scattered thunderstorms and chilly weather, but it turned out to be a beautiful and perfect day for racing.  The sun was out for most of the day, and combined with a slight breeze made sitting up on the hill great for picture taking and race watching.  The morning was the usual practices and qualifying, plus pace laps for the Mazda Corral Attendees, which grew trifold overnight with the addition of the Ohio and New York groups.  We took to the track two wide and stayed that way around the course, then spent the next ten minutes in the parking lot getting the rubber off our tires.  

Lots of practice, qualifying and race action on a beautiful Saturday at Lime Rock Park... The Memorial Day race weekend Road Racing Classic.

The open-wheel F2000 Championship Series drivers qualified for their later-in-the-day race 1 and at the top of the charts when the session saw the checker was former Skip Barber National competitor Ben Searcy. His :50.668 baaaaaaaaarely beat the :50.676 of Chris Miller, himself just a hair quicker than Remy Audette (:50.703) and Matt Inge (:50.726). Fifth was Tom Fatur, followed by Jonathan Scarallo, John Dole, Chris Camadella, Al Guibord, Jr., and Fabio Orsolon, a multi-time race winner in the Skip Barber National.

In qualifying for Monday’s Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Grand Sports (GS) race, Duncan Ende ran a track record lap of 57.171 (96.343 mph) midway through Saturday’s qualifying session to capture the pole. Ende’s first career pole – aboard the TRG No. 39 Digitrust Group/Adams Polishes/Racer’s Roast Porsche 997 – ended Matt Bell’s record pole-winning streak at three. Bell, driving the No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW M3, will start on the outside of the front row after running a lap of 57.227 (96.248 mph).

Bryan Sellers will start third after running a lap of 57.38 (95.990 mph) in the No. 77 Maxwell Paper Company Porsche 997, joined by Jack Roush Jr., (57.633/95.570 mph) in the Horsepower Ranch No. 61 Roush/Valvoline Ford Mustang GT. Roush briefly held the pole early in the session, before being bumped off by Ende.

Bell and co-driver Bill Auberlen won the opening race of the season, the Fresh From Florida 200, after starting third.

Ende and co-driver Spencer Pumpelly will be seeking their second victory of the season, after winning at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Sellers, co-driving with Daniel Di Leo, and Roush, co-driving with Hugh Plumb, are winless this season. 

Dean Martin and Ken Wilden, winners of the most recent KONI Challenge race at Mazda Raceway, will start seventh in the No. 59 Rehagen Racing Ford Mustang GT, while Homestead-Miami Speedway winners Peter Ludwig and Billy Johnson start fifth in the No. 18 Motorsports Technology Group Porsche 997.

The two and one half hour Lime Rock Classic 250 KONI GS race takes the green flag at 2 p.m. Live timing and scoring will be available at www.grand-am.com. Updates will also be available at www.twitter.com/KONI_Challenge.


The first race on Saturday was the 1:30 start of the 20-lap Historic Grand Prix F1 cars. Terrific stuff, as Hamish Somerville led from pole in the Alan Jones Williams FW07. Somerville then put a big gap on the Duncan Dayton-driven Lotus 79 – Mario Andretti’s 1978 title winner – but then Dayton put in a succession of hot laps that got him within a couple car lengths of the Williams. Suddenly, the race went full course yellow as the ex-Derek Daly March 811 driven by Mike Fitzgerald, who had started third, spun in West Bend. Didn’t hit anything, but the car had stalled.

Next time by we went green and Dayton leapt to the front when Somerville spun the giant rear slicks. The Lotus looked set for a runaway win but the Williams soon hauled Dayton in. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough time, though Somerville got within a half-second at the checker. Third was the brilliant orange March 761-08 (Vittorio Brambila) driven by James King, followed by the Bud Moeller-driven Ensign (Derek Daly), the ex-Jody Scheckter Wolf WR2/4 driven by John Anderson, Howard Cherry in the Ronnie Peterson March 761-02, John Watson’s Penske PC-3 piloted by Doug Mockett, Divina Galica in a James Hunt Hesketh and the Fitzgerald March 811.

Results, Historic Grand Prix F1 cars at Lime Rock Park

20 laps of 1.53-mile, 7-turn layout
Margin of Victory: .521 seconds
Fastest lap: :47.910 / 100.938 mph, Hamish Somerville
Finishing position, car, driver, town and best lap

1. Mario Andretti’s Lotus 79, Duncan Dayton, North Salem, N.Y., :48.003
2. Alan Jones’s Williams FW07, Hamish Somerville, Canada, :47.910
3. Vittorio Brambila’s March 761-08, James King, Belleville, Ill., :49.453
4. Derek Daly’s Ensign, Bud Moeller, McLean, Va., :50.619
5. Jody Scheckter’s Wolf WR2/4, John Anderson, Sebastopol, Calif., :51.795
6. Ronnie Peterson’s March 761-02, Howard Cherry, Fairfield, Conn., :51.981
7. John Watson’s Penske PC-3, Doug Mockett, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., :51.983
8. James Hunt’s Hesketh, Divina Galica, Lakeville, Conn., :51.804
9. Derek Daly’s March 811, Mike Fitzgerald, Newtown Square, Pa., :49.370

Saturday’s second event was the KONI Challenge Street Tuner (ST) race. After a great battle between Honda Civics, VW GTIs and Chevy Cobalts, John Kuitwaard and Travis Walker took their Civic Si to Victory Lane. The race finished under yellow, with second place going to the team of Ian Baas and Josh Hurley in their Volkswagen GTI. Third were the Canadian ‘‘boy/girl’’ team of Ashley McCalmont and Jamie Holtom in a Chevy Cobalt.

The end of Saturday’s racing was race one of the F2000 Championship Series. Searcy (see qualifying story above) cashed in his pole position for the win, a couple clicks of the clock ahead of Chris Miller. Two laps from the end, Matt Inge snatched third place away from Remy Audette, with fifth place taken by John Dole.

SUNDAY: Race fans will again have the rare opportunity to get out and race against top professional drivers on a historic race course, in Sunday's Race for Hope 5K run and Mutt Strut at Lime Rock Park.

Motorsport Technology Group (KONI Challenge #18 Porsche 911 driven by Peter Ludwig and Billy Johnson) and the Morris Animal Foundation are partnering again to raise funds and awareness for Canine Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA), a disease that claimed Steve Marcus's beloved Husky, Tasha last year.

The Race for Hope 5K run starts at 8:30 a.m., with registration opening at 7 a.m. Entry fee is $25. Notable runners from last year included Darren Law, Robin Liddell, Mike Johnson, Gary Biehl, Andrew Davis, David Haskell, Ryan Eversley, Nick Ham, J.J. O'Malley, Steve Marcus and Billy Johnson. Spencer Pumpelly and Johnson are both expected for Sunday's event.

The 5K will make 2 laps around beautiful Lime Rock Park's rolling track, finishing in pit lane. Water stations and observers will be set up around the track to ensure everyone has a safe and fun event. Trophies will be given to overall top three male and female finishers with medals awarded to top three male and female runners in each age group. Walkers are welcome to participate as well.

The one lap ‘‘Mutt Strut’’ will be held immediately after the conclusion of the Race for Hope 5K. Dogs are welcome to take their people for a leisurely stroll around the track. Entry fee is $20.

All entry fees are tax deductible and all proceeds will be donated to Morris Animal Foundation's Fund Meisha's Hope. All entrants will receive a tee shirt and be entered to win raffle prizes.

MONDAY: We want to remind everyone that you don’t need a special Media or VIP Pass for Monday’s KONI Fan Walk – a Lime Rock ticket is all you need. The KONI Challenge GS Fan Walk is Monday, 25 May, from 1:30 to 2:00. The cars, teams and drivers will all be in pit lane, with the drivers available for conversation and autographs. Noted racing commentator Greg Rickes will be on the PA describing the drivers, cars and teams. Take advantage of this unusual opportunity; direct access Lime Rock Park is noted for.

Don’t forget... Lime Rock Park has three free Paddock Tours on Monday. Get close to the cars right in their compounds!