Labor Day Weekend is always offers great historic racing at the 1.6 mile Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.
This past Labor Day weekend’s Historic Festival 34 at Lime Rock Park has been nominated in the category of “Motorsport Event of the Year” by the U.K.-based International Historic Motoring Awards (IMHA), presented in association with Octane magazine and EFG Private Bank.
The search to find the “best of the best” in the international historic motoring world reached its final stages last week, as the panel of expert judges assesses the nominees that have been shortlisted in each 2016 category.
The IHMA categories celebrate the diversity and depth of the historic motoring industry and the individuals that work within it.
Judges such as Derek Bell, car designer Peter Stevens and Pink Floyd drummer and historic car collector and racer Nick Mason don’t have an easy task, with a splendid range of international candidates to choose from across the various categories, including Denmark’s Rømø Motor Festival, Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Germany’s Eifel Rallye Festival and no less than three American automotive museums.
The winners of each category will be announced November 17 when the “great and the good of the historic motoring world” gather at London’s Guildhall.
Lime Rock Historic Festival Chairman Murray Smith said, “I have to say, I see this Motorsport Event nomination as reward for all the hard work and creativity everyone at Lime Rock brings to bear for each year’s Festival. I like to think the IMHA recognizes the uniqueness of our having historic racing and a premier concours at the same venue at the same time. We are absolutely humbled and honored to be considered among other such prestigious events.”
For 34 years, America uniquely has one vintage automotive event that combines a prestigious concours d’elegance with authentic vintage and historic racing competition, all on the same property, all on one extended weekend.
In 2016, Historic Festival 34 (and its concomitant Sunday in the Park Concours d’Elegance) saw 264 authentic race cars competing over three days in a total of 36 races (including 28 authentic, 1966-1972 SCCA Trans-Am cars, all with documented, in-period race histories), while the Concours had 281 invited entrants plus another 588 collector cars of all stripes in the “Gathering of the Marques” exhibit.
American racing legends John Morton and Peter Brock were the Honored guests (following 2015’s Sir Stirling Moss and Jochen Mass), with Morton racing in six of the weekend’s races.
Lime Rock’s Historic Festival is by far the venue’s biggest, most popular, highest-attended event. It’s a massive affair, with dozens of automotive elements including “swap meets,” a vibrant Fan Midway and special displays to once-in-a-lifetime car collections (e.g., Ralph Lauren’s), demonstration laps (e.g., the 1939 Mercedes-Benz W154 Silver Arrow Grand Prix car) and iconic Honored Guests and Collectors.
2016 IHMA Finalists announced
For the complete list of categories and nominees, click here
Motorsport Event of the Year
Silverstone Classic
Eifel Rallye Festival
Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort
Lime Rock Park Historic Festival
Le Mans Classic
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Dragstalgia
Car of the Year
Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato
Ford GT40 P/1046
Sir Henry Segrave’s Sunbeam ‘Tiger’
Jaguar D-type XKD 501
Jaguar XJ13 recreation
Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Figoni et Falaschi
Touring Disco Volante Spyder
Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta ENASA Cúpula
Motoring Event of the Year
Concours of Elegance 2016: Windsor Castle
Regent Street Motor Show
Rømø Motor Festival 2016
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2016
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille
Museum or Collection of the Year
America’s Car Museum – The LeMay
The Mullin Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum
Porsche Museum
Lamborghini Museum
The British Motor Museum
Restoration of the Year
Ex-works Aston-Martin Ulster – Ecurie Bertelli
Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta ENASA Cúpula – Classic Restorations
Ford GT40 P/1046 – RK Motors Charlotte/Rare Drive
Lamborghini Miura chassis #4846 – Lamborghini PoloStorico
Porsche 911 2.5 S/T ex Le Mans – Porsche Classic
Lola GT – Allen Grant
Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria – RM Auto Restoration
Extremely popular race group at Historic Festival 34 was that of the authentic Trans-Am cars. Photo Casey Keil
A terrific collection of Formula Fords provided excllent open-wheel action. Photo Casey Keil
Photo Casey Keil
Source: Lime Rock Park PR
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