The eighth Put-in-Bay Road Races Reunion will again wake up the residents of sleepy South Bass Island (off Ohio’s North Coast near Sandusky) with the sights, sounds and smells of vintage sports cars roaring through the island’s quaint streets and around its airport, much as it was on the island for one weekend a year back in the 1950s and early ’60s. This year’s event takes place from Monday, August 29 to Wednesday, August 31.
Unlike most vintage racing events, the Put-in-Bay Road Races Reunion (PIBRRR) welcomes owner-drivers of qualified racing and non-racing vintage sports cars of all types to be part of the show and participate in various events and activities. Those activities revolve around vintage racing generally, but racing is just part of what’s going on.
The racing is generally for the types of cars that raced at Put-in-Bay back in the 1950s: closed-wheel, small bore sports cars, sedans and sports racers, but this year organizers are expecting a significant turnout of specified open-wheel cars. Drivers of vintage Formula Vee and Formula Junior cars have been invited to experience PIBRRR’s surprisingly challenging airport circuit, with both a reduced pre-July 1 entry rate and a separate race group on offer.
“While FVs and Juniors never raced at ‘The Bay’ back in the ’50s,“ says race director and event co-founder Jack Woehrle, “we think those cars are the perfect fit for our event. Plus they can drive their racecars to dinner, if they want to — something you can’t do anyplace else!”
In 2015 Woehrle says he was pleased to be able to expand the previous one-day race schedule to two days and to conduct those races on a re-paved and expanded airport runway and taxiway surface: “Everyone said they like the new course layout and the improved surface, and we witnessed some really great races. I can’t wait to see a tight gaggle of FVs going wheel to wheel out there.”
For complete information please visit www.pibroadrace.com.
