Construction puts Lime Rock Park on fast track

LIME ROCK — A quick start at the flag is helping to keep extensive work on the Lime Rock Park race track on schedule. But not surprisingly, things change day by day, sometimes hour by hour.

Track owner Skip Barber is determined at some level not to agonize over it. Mounting a precision resurfacing and major renovations in the midst of the racing season is risky business. But when else can it be done? The weather needs to be suitable for roadwork, and that calls for warm temperatures.  

Looming is the first big series event of the season: The American Le Mans Grand Prix is scheduled for July 11 and 12.

Things started out very well. Work began immediately after the Memorial Day weekend season kick off. There were 31 days to do an estimated 90 days worth of work. Then the rains came, one drenching storm after another. Progress slowed faster than a vintage racer on an uphill chicane.

“It will be done,� Barber said, summoning up his usual optimism last Saturday, as he watched the second of three layers of paving being completed.

It will be done so close to the race date that the Le Mans drivers will have to learn the course as they go.

“Normally, they use simulators to become familiar with the track before they get here,� Barber said. “We won’t know exactly what our final elevations will be until we’re done, so they won’t have enough information.�

He added that a good driver gets to know a track very quickly. He is excited about giving them a track that is “as smooth as glass,� and getting past Lime Rock’s reputation for a surface that has to be re-learned each season for the imperfections gained over the winter.

Drivers also will find entirely new course sections and two very different tracks options. Classic Lime Rock Park will remain the very fast, four-corner course. “Optional� Lime Rock will actually offer eight variations for a slower course that will, by design, be more challenging. It will include five corners, three of them requiring heavy braking and at least 12 additional gear shifts per lap.

Even as that second layer was being applied, test borings were being drilled out. Barber explained that the first two layers, on top of a carefully designed gravel and sand base, are not just about getting a solid surface. Analysis of each will ensure the top layer will be as perfect as possible — and stay that way.

It began with virtual mapping of what lies below the track. A series of core sample were sent to a lab in Atlanta. It turned out that fill used for the initial construction was pretty clean.

“No old cars or bodies,� Barber joked.

The “exotic� asphalt mix, as Barber described it, cannot be changed once it arrives at the site. It is designed to have “flex� and withstand very high temperatures. Adjustments are made as needed to the equipment that applies the asphalt.

Joe Sauer, director of Operations and Technology at Lime Rock Park, explained further that testing of the new asphalt layers includes a look at air pockets — a good thing in the right proportion — and density. Too much density and the liquid asphalt in the mix rises to the top. Not enough, and the track lose its durability.

Just as important to Barber are improvements to Lime Rock Park that don’t directly affect racing: spectators. The park-like setting, which they are being careful to maintain, where spectators sit on grassy hillsides rather than grandstands, is both a draw and a drawback.

“It’s a great place to bring the family and have a relaxing day, but you can’t see most of the racing,� Barber said.

He began a tour of the new infield entrance: The purchase of adjoining property allows new ticket booths and driveways that will speed up getting in and out of the park. The booths are actual highway toll booths.

“They were right out of the catalog,� Barber said. “They suited our needs perfectly.�

The old entrance site is now part of the redesigned West Bend. Dedicated viewing areas around the adjacent bridge (with a pedestrian bridge to come later) will offer an unprecedented look at one of the most exciting parts of a Lime Rock lap.

“Cars will come out of West Bend and into the downhill and shoot out from under the bridge,â€� Barber said, demonstrating the walking experience that will  be much more than just getting into the park.

Once over the bridge, pedestrians will be able to walk all along the inside edge of the track, in places that were either physically inaccessible, or that simply seemed prohibited before.

That includes the camping area. For campers who like to pull right up to the fence and create their own space, things will be quite different.

Barber expects some grumbling. But the walkway will be fenced off to keep visitors from wandering into the camp grounds. There are also plenty of new amenities to make camping more enjoyable.

“There will be no more dirt roads, and no more jockeying for the best campsite. Everyone will have a great view of the racing,� Barber said.

This first phase is estimated to cost $5 million. It is funded primarily through membership fees for the Club at Lime Rock Park, established last year. Future improvements include rebuilding all the chalets and other buildings on the property.