IMSA @ Lime Rock- Suggestions

"hedbutter" (hedbutter) 04/19/2016 at 20:17 • Filed to: None

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Oppo- it looks like I may be in the area for the IMSA Racer at Lime Rock in July, so I’m thinking of going with my dad. We’re thinking of staying on site so we dont have to fight traffic getting to the track. I saw on their website that they have multiple places to camp, are there any specific camping areas that are better than others? Also, is pit-lane access granted with the general admission weekend ticket?

ITA Hondaboy > hedbutter 04/19/2016 at 22:06

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A few thoughts, traffic is usually not terrible in to the track. The staying 30-45 minutes away is the reason to consider camping though.

I can’t suggest a camping site, as I usually either day trip in or stay at a hotel.

The paddock is small, I am sure general admission will get you there. It will not get you in to the hot area of the pits though.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > hedbutter 04/19/2016 at 22:37

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I camped in the infield in 2009 with Bloody The LR Nut. One, get there basically as soon as it opens if you want to pick a spot. Also, you will be on top of someone else, this is not a state park, haha. We were about 10' away from other tents. Bring a bike, or comfortable shoes, they open the track at night so you can walk/ride it.

Go to a tech seminar the night after practice/qualifying. That was the best part of the entire weekend.

Skip the movie. You’re better off drinking with the other idiots who are camping.

Bring a cooler to sit on, go early to the corner you want to watch from and stay there.

It poured when we were there. 2" of rain. campsites flooded. Our tent did not. We were more lucky than good on that. The floor felt like a water bed there was so much under us. The ground does not soak it up because it is shale and such, so make sure you either have a tent/camper that is great for rain, or get a cot and keep your clothes up.

It’s great fun and yes, you can walk into the pits during specific times of the weekend.

Enjoy.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > hedbutter 04/20/2016 at 00:08

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I have never camped there.

I don’t know when you should show up. Camping is usually along No Name straight. RV campers are along the back straight.

Traffic isn’t too bad getting into/out of event. Given the rural location people meander in over the period of several hours. Also due to the rural nature most fans have a 1 hour trip home thus departures are spread out as well, with many leaving before the end of the race. As people tend to walk around it also helps spread out the influx/outflux of spectators.

you can walk in the paddock area where the trailers are stored and see the crews working on the cars before, during and after races.

You can stand @20 feet behind the pit lane during the race. before they will often stage the cars on the pit lane/grid and let the fans walk around.

Would strongly recommend ear protection.

hedbutter > ITA Hondaboy 04/20/2016 at 22:24

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That’s good to hear that traffic isnt awful if we go the hotel route. We were thinking about camping so that we wouldn’t have to deal with anything other than cooking some food when we wake up (and we’d have a 4+ hour drive after the race, so getting a bit more sleep would be nice). Any corners you’d recommend sitting at over others?

hedbutter > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 04/20/2016 at 22:28

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Looks like camping is now assigned spots (at least based on what i can gather from the everything has a number and specific location). My only concern for the entire weekend is if it rains. We can both make due sleeping in the truck, but would rather not have to deal with rain at all, haha. Any recommendations on corners? And thanks for the info!

hedbutter > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 04/20/2016 at 22:33

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Thanks for the reply. It looks like traffic may not be as bad as i originally thought (based on the replies here) so we may look into staying at a hotel. Good call on the ear protection, i didnt think of that. Any recommendations on corners/local places to hit up while we’re in the area?

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > hedbutter 04/20/2016 at 22:41

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I prefer sitting under the tree after no name straight, just before the uphill.

You get the noise and fury coming off the mountain from the straight, hard braking and then you can tell which cats are better set up by how early they shift going uphill in the chicane.

Simone DeSilvestro was making every other driver in FA look stupid with how quickly she could get back on the throttle and was around 5 mph faster at the peak of the hill on the back stretch because of it.

Also when the drivers are fighting for track, you get a lot of late braking mistakes there, so it's fun to see who has the guys to push it.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > hedbutter 04/20/2016 at 23:46

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at the track or attractions outside of the track?

Outside of the track: Litchfield county is sparsely populated. lots of quaint little towns. Local hotels and inns book up fast. route 7 is pretty, and there is a covered bridge in cornwall.

At the track its great in that you can walk all around.

http://www.limerock.com/index.php?opti…

There are 2 main places to park, “outside” near the church on the bottom, or “inside” the track over a car bridge.

moving clockwise from the starting line. you can walk most of the infield

1. on the bottom of the map above, this is outside the track. from there you can watch the cars come down the main straight. over a little footbridge brings you right inside the paddock.

2. near the yellow is another good hill to get a great view of the “essess”.

3. then you can look down no name straight

4. you can get near the track as they haul uphill and onto the back straight. 5. if you walk across the car bridge, there are 2 great viewing spots #36 to see the cars come towards you, and 37 to watch them barrel away down hill.

ITA Hondaboy > hedbutter 04/21/2016 at 22:02

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For a track with no grandstands, there are actually a lot of good places to watch. My normal pattern is never stay in any one place long.

The “outfield” at the end of the front straight is good.

The hill after the left hander is probably my one of my two favorites.

The sight line on No Name is much better than it used to be.

The chicane instead of the classic course’s uphill is probably one of my favorite places in all of the tracks I’ve been to (a lot). You are 15 feet from the cars as they go full boil up the hill from 2nd gear. It is LOUD, but it is awesome.

As for West Bend, there are a few places on each side that are nice to watch. In general, any of these spots I just rattled off are good for photos too. Not sure if you’re into that or not.

hedbutter > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 04/22/2016 at 07:22

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I guess both, hahahah. I’m thinking we may get close Thursday and then get there early Friday to get a lot of walking in/camp area setup. Thanks again for all the, its a ton of help

hedbutter > ITA Hondaboy 04/22/2016 at 07:41

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We’ll be sure to check all of these out, thanks for the details. And i’ve wanted to get into taking more photos, but havent had the time to really get into that just yet :/

hedbutter > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 04/22/2016 at 07:44

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Thank you! if we camp, we’ll be right near there so we’l definitely check it out.