{"id":490226,"date":"2008-09-01T10:30:25","date_gmt":"2008-09-01T10:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=51634"},"modified":"2024-12-02T19:57:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T19:57:56","slug":"lime-rocks-new-uphill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/lime-rocks-new-uphill\/","title":{"rendered":"Lime Rock Park Profile – The New \u201cUphill\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From May 27 to July 3, Lime Rock Park underwent a major transformation. Not only was the original 7-turn configuration completely re-paved, re-curbed and re-guardrailed, but Skip Barber went a step further. He designed and had built two new (optional) corner complexes, at The Uphill and West Bend. Mainly in the interest of slowing some of the fastest racecars (ALMS and Grand-Am prototypes, for instance), he also wanted additional passing zones. On the morning of July 4, the first driver on the track in a racecar was the venerable Sam Posey, piloting a recently restored 1981 PRS RH2 Formula Ford. But the next drivers on track were a clutch of Skip Barber instructors, putting in hot laps for more than an hour in the 2.0-liter Formula Skip Barber open-wheelers; Dean DiGiacomo, Jason Holehouse, Bruce MacInnes, John Murphy, Mark Hamilton Peters, Matt Sklarz and R.B. Stiewing. Vintage Racecar readers are among the very first to read how the \u201cnew\u201d Uphill is to be driven, courtesy of Murphy\u2026 \u2013\u2002Rick Roso, Skip Barber<\/p>\n

One of my all time favorite tracks is Lime Rock Park, a venue I first saw as a boy thanks to my parents\u2019 own fascination with this unique circuit. Since then, I\u2019ve had many opportunities to drive a variety of street and race cars at the track: Atlantics, NASCAR stockers, Formula Fords, Ferraris, Mustangs, Z28s, you name it. I\u2019m not the only driver who loves Lime Rock\u2019s high speeds and dramatic elevation changes, and over the years I\u2019ve experienced every one of Lime Rock\u2019s different \u201cpersonalities,\u201d from relatively smooth to extremely bumpy to concrete patches and now, back to amazingly smooth. After Sam\u2019s run, it was up to me and my Skippy cohorts to see what the \u201cnew\u201d Lime Rock was like\u2014we had a racing school to teach there in less than three hours!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n