American racing pioneer John Fitch’s contributions to Lime Rock Park, (and sports car racing in general) will be recognized when he serves as an honored guest at this year’s Lime Rock Park Vintage Festival on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29-Sept. 1.
After retiring from active competition for the likes of Briggs Cunningham and the factory Mercedes Benz team, Fitch devoted the next 10 years of his life to the development of Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park racecourse, where he served as the track director from 1955 to 1964. Fitch not only helped develop the intriguing 1.53-mile layout and brought it to fruition, but he also nurtured Lime Rock through its lean formative years. Or as Rich Taylor said about Fitch in his book “Lime Rock Park 35 Years of Racing”, “Without his knowledge and connections – not to mention, his international reputation – Lime Rock Park would probably never have gotten off the ground.”
“The unexpected hurrah over me at the Vintage Festival is a humbling joy,” Fitch said. “The best thing about it is the history it evokes of both the good times and the bad. But most of all, the friends and colleagues, new and old, who made it happen and keep it going and growing in style and substance. A lot has changed since the first race at Lime Rock, which is now approaching its 50th Anniversary,” Fitch said, “the new buildings – and true to its name, the park-like landscaping – has given it an ambiance like no other.
“But the people haven’t changed – another generation perhaps – but their enthusiasm, and indeed their often expressed deep affection for this charming and challenging playground for all ages nestled in the hills, is enormously gratifying to its founders.
It makes us feel we did it right.”
