Bridgehampton Race Circuit

Last updated
Bridgehampton Race Circuit
Bridge
Bridgehampton 1957.png
Location Sag Harbor, New York, United States
Coordinates 40°58′48″N72°20′28″W / 40.98000°N 72.34111°W / 40.98000; -72.34111 Coordinates: 40°58′48″N72°20′28″W / 40.98000°N 72.34111°W / 40.98000; -72.34111
Opened1957
Closed1999
Road Course (1957–1999)
Length2.850 miles (4.586 km)
Turns12
Race lap record1:26.640 ( Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme, McLaren M8B, 1969, Group 7)

Bridgehampton Race Circuit was a race track located near Sag Harbor, New York, United States. The circuit opened in 1957, following a series of road races held from 1949 until 1953. It was one of the first permanent road racing venues in the United States, opening after Thompson Speedway, two years after Road America, the year after Watkins Glen International, and the same year as Lime Rock Park and Laguna Seca Raceway. [1] In its early years, Bridgehampton was host to major international series, including the World Sportscar Championship, Can-Am, and NASCAR Grand National. By the early 1970s, the track was used mostly for amateur events. The track closed permanently in 1999. [2] [3]

Contents

Bridgehampton was renowned as a fearsome course, requiring the utmost of driver skill. [2] [4] [5]

Lap Records

The official race lap records at Bridgehampton Race Circuit are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleDate
Permanent Road Course: 4.586 km (1957–1999) [6]
Group 7 (Can-Am)1:26.640 [7] Denny Hulme McLaren M8B 1969 Inver House Can-Am Bridgehampton
Formula Atlantic 1:27.733 [8] Jeff Wood March 79B 1979 Bridgehampton Formula Atlantic round
Group 4 1:34.000 [9] Mark Donohue Lola T70 Mk.II 1967 Bridgehampton 200
Trans-Am 1:42.400 [10] [11] Swede Savage
Bert Everett
Hans Ziereis 		Plymouth Barracuda
Alfa Romeo GTA
BMW 2002 		1970 Bridgehampton Trans-Am round
Group 3 1:49.000 [12] Dan Gurney Shelby Cobra 1963 Bridgehampton Double 500
Stock car racing 1:53.246 [13] Richard Petty Plymouth Belvedere 1964 Bridgehampton NASCAR Grand National round
Street Circuit: 6.437 km (1949–1953)
Sports car 2:52.000 [14] Tom Cole Allard J2 1951 Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races

History

Early road races

Bridgehampton street circuit (1949-1953) Bridgehampton street circuit 1949.png
Bridgehampton street circuit (1949-1953)

The first road races in Bridgehampton were held on public roads around the hamlet of Bridgehampton from 1915 until 1921. The course ran counterclockwise on an approximately 3-mile (4.8-km) rectangle, beginning on Montauk Highway, then turning left onto Halsey Lane, left onto Pauls Lane, left onto Ocean Boulevard, and left back onto Montauk Highway. [15]

The races were revived in 1949, utilizing a 4-mile (6.4-km) circuit adjacent to the pre-war circuit in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack. It ran clockwise beginning on Ocean Road, turning right onto Sagaponack Road, right onto Sagaponack Main Street, right onto Bridge Lane, and right back onto Ocean Road. [16] The races proved successful, and joined the SCCA National Sports Car Championship when it was created in 1951. The road races came to an end in 1953, after a driver was killed in practice and three spectators injured during the race. [17] These events, combined with a spectator death in a crash at Watkins Glen in 1952, led the State of New York to ban racing on public roads.

Permanent circuit

Local racing enthusiasts formed the Bridgehampton Road Races Corporation in 1953 to finance the construction of a permanent race circuit in the area. [2] The corporation purchased a 550-acre (2.2 km2) parcel known as Noyack Hills in 1956, and constructed a 2.85-mile (4.59 km), 13-turn road course. Although construction was not completed, the first races were held in 1957. [18] The headline event, the Bridgehampton Sports Car Races, were a part of the SCCA National Championship; Regional races would be added in 1958. The race would shift to the professional United States Road Racing Championship in 1965, and resurrected the Vanderbilt Cup, which had been run on Long Island from 1904 until 1910. A second National event was added in 1961. This event would shift to the World Sportscar Championship for 1962, marking Bridgehampton's biggest event. The WSC gave way to Can-Am from 1966 until 1969. Can-Am was scheduled to return in 1970, but the race was moved to the newly opened Road Atlanta after heavy storms damaged the track. [19] A 1971 IMSA GT Championship event was the last major event at the track.[ citation needed ]

Decline and demise

Bridgehampton's included a small media and scoring building and a small grandstand. The Bridgehampton Road Races Corporation did not have the money to upgrade and maintain the tracks infrastructure to world-class standards. The track's land had appreciated to several million dollars in a few decades. [18] Locals began complaining about noise in the mid-1970s, and in 1983 the town passed an ordinance limiting noise and effectively ending any chance of big-league racing returning. Plans were announced in 1994 to turn the property into a golf course. Races continued until 1997, and a racing school and club meets lingered until 1998. [2] A portion of the course, including the Chevron Bridge, are preserved on the grounds of the golf course. [20]

Events

NASCAR Grand National results

YearDateDriverCar MakeWinner's prize
(USD)		Distance
Laps/Miles (km)		Average Speed
(mph)		Race Time
1958 August 2 Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Jack Smith Chevrolet $80035 / 99.8 (160.6)80.6961:14:10
1963 July 21 Flag of North Carolina.svg Richard Petty Plymouth $1,00035 / 99.8 (160.6)86.0471:09:04
1964 July 12 Flag of Texas.svg Billy Wade Mercury $1,22550 / 142.5 (229.3)87.7071:37:29
1966 July 10 Flag of South Carolina.svg David Pearson Dodge $1,37552 / 148.2 (238.5)86.9491:42:16
[21]

Trans-Am results

YearWinnerEntrantCar
1968 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue Penske-Hilton Racing Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1969 Flag of the United States.svg George Follmer Bud Moore Engineering Ford Mustang Boss 302
1970 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue Penske Racing AMC Javelin
[22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports Car Club of America</span> American automobile club

The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watkins Glen International</span> U.S. motorsport track

Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980). In addition, the site has also been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma Raceway</span> Motorsport track in California, United States

Sonoma Raceway is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 ft (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It has also played host to the IndyCar Series, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events with some open to the public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America. The track is 30 mi (48 km) north of San Francisco and Oakland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It includes a 0.686-mile (1.104 km) oval track, a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) road course, and a 4,400-foot (1,300 m) drag strip which is among the premier drag racing venues in the world. The complex receives about 500,000 visitors annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-Am Series</span> North American automobile racing series

The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types including road courses and street circuits. Trans-Am is split into the TA and TA2 classes for silhouette racing cars, while its production classes are the GT, SGT, and XGT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Tire Motorsport Park</span> Motorsport track in Canada

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, 64-kilometre (40 mi) east of Toronto. The facility features a 3.957 km (2.459 mi), 10-turn road course; a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) advance driver and race driver training facility with a 0.402 km (0.250 mi) skid pad and a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) kart track. The name "Mosport", a portmanteau of Motor Sport, came from the enterprise formed to build the track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit Gilles Villeneuve</span> Motorsport race track in Montreal, Canada

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, is a 4.361 km (2.710 mi) motor racing circuit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar Championship, the Champ Car World Series, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit Mont-Tremblant</span>

Circuit Mont-Tremblant is a 4.26 km (2.65 mi) race circuit located approximately 130 km (80 mi) north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the second-oldest existing race track in Canada, and was originally known as Circuit Mont-Tremblant-St-Jovite until it was renamed in the 1970s. Set in the shadow of the Mont-Tremblant ski hill, the twisting fifteen-corner track uses the natural topography and elevation of the land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road Atlanta</span> Race track

Road Atlanta is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road America</span> Race track

Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IndyCar Series, SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, ASRA, AMA Superbike series, and SCCA Pro Racing's Trans-Am Series. NASCAR replaced the Cup Series race at Road America with street racing through Downtown Chicago starting in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course</span> Auto racing complex in Lexington, Ohio, USA

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series, along with other club events such has SCCA and National Auto Sport Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia International Raceway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Virginia International Raceway is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan River. VIR hosts amateur and professional automobile and motorcycle events, driving schools, club days, and private test rentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summit Point Motorsports Park</span> Motorsports Park in West Virginia

Summit Point Motorsports Park is a road racing and driver training facility located in Jefferson County, West Virginia about two hours west of Washington, D.C. in the state's Eastern Panhandle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mugello Circuit</span> Motorsport venue in Italy

Mugello Circuit is a motorsport race track in Scarperia e San Piero, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The circuit length is 5.245 km (3.259 mi). It has 15 turns and a 1.141 km (0.709 mi) long straight. The circuit stadium stands have a capacity of 50,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results</span>

Race results from the automobile and motorcycle races contested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Races have been held on seven different track configurations:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6 Hours of Watkins Glen</span>

The Six Hours of Watkins Glen is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship, United States Road Racing Championship, World Sportscar Championship, IMSA GT Championship, Rolex Sports Car Series and currently the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Prix of Miami (sports car racing)</span>

The Trans-Am Series, Rolex Sports Car Series, and American Le Mans Series have all held races in the Miami area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgehampton Sports Car Races</span>

The Bridgehampton Sports Car Races was a sports car race held at Bridgehampton Race Circuit between 1949 and 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Grand Prix</span> Annual sports car race in Canada

The Chevrolet Grand Prix is an annual IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race held every July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The race originated in 1975 and is currently a two hour and forty minute race in order to fit the event into a television-friendly package. Previous editions of the Grand Prix were part of the World Sportscar Championship, the American Le Mans Series and the IMSA GT Championship.

References

  1. ↑ Galpin, Darren. "Bridgehampton track info". The GEL Motorsport Information Page. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Elizabeth Kiggen (May 2, 1999). "Last Lap for Bridgehampton Race Circuit". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  3. ↑ Frost, Guy. "History". Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group. The final checkered flag fell at The Bridge. International road racing on Long Island was finished, 95 years after William K. Vanderbilt Jr. first challenged the European automakers in 1904.
  4. ↑ Walla, Claire (September 30, 2010). "Rally Recalls Days of Daring Young Men and Their Driving Machines". Sag Harbor Express. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Bridgehampton Race Circuit". COM Sports Car Club. Archived from the original on 2008-07-08.
  6. ↑ "Bridgehampton" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Can-Am Bridgehampton 1969" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Bridgehampton, September 16 Septembre 1979" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "USRRC Bridge Hampton 1967 - United States Road Racing Championship (round 4)" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "Trans-Am Bridgehampton 1970" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Trans-Am Bridgehampton [U2L] 1970" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Bridgehampton 500 Kilometres - Grand Touring 1963" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "1964-38" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "100 mile Bridgehampton 1951" . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Bridgehampton Road Rally - Why We Rally" . Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Bridgehampton Sports Car Races (Program)". Racing Sports Cars. May 23, 1953. pp. Track Map. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  17. ↑ Leigh, David. "Trouble at Bridgehampton" . Retrieved April 27, 2011.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. 1 2 Hartwell, Andrew S.; Guy Frost (May 20, 2008). "Guy Frost's History Of The Bridge – From Streets To Straights To Fairways" (PDF). ash automobilia. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  19. ↑ Granger, Gene (August 4, 1970). "New Road Atlanta Gets Can-Am Race". The Spartanburg Herald . Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  20. ↑ Bamberger, Michael (July 15, 2002). "Member Only Welcome to the Bridge, the Posh New Club in the Hamptons That's So Exclusive Only the Owner Belongs". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Bridgehampton Raceway". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  22. ↑ "Bridgehampton - List of Races". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.