Bygone era cars keep on motoring at Lime Rock’s Historic Festival 40

LAKEVILLE — The Labor Day weekend Historic Festival 40 at Lime Rock Park from Thursday Sept. 1 through Monday the 5th,  Lime Rock showcased cars from a bygone era on the road and track.

This year’s event started on Thursday with the traditional parade of cars proceeding from Lime Rock to Falls Village.  The parade was larger than ever, with about 120 cars of every age, make, and model departing the track. From there they  rolled on to Lakeville, Salisbury, and Falls Village with friends and enthusiasts cheering and waving along the entire route.

A gorgeous Friday was filled with on-track activity. Practice and qualifying for more than 200 race entries in nine different race groups. The groups ranged from pre-war/early post-war cars , air cooled Porches, to the historic Trans-Am competitors of the 1960’s and 70’s. Saturday and Monday saw these cars competing wheel to wheel with the same competitive energy that drove them from their first races decades ago.

Sunday in the Park is a huge Festival highlight, and every year a new marque is chosen to be the honored centerpiece. This year it was the Chevrolet Corvette, marking its 70th anniversary, and they turned out in staggering numbers.

The General Motors Heritage Collection brought historic models of unique automotive significance. These, and other “Vettes” were part of the concours on the main straight, but Corvette owners from far and wide displayed their cars on track from the Big Bend all the way to the West bend.

In between the Corvettes were cars of every other conceivable marque, age, and rarity — from Alfa to Zagato.