The late, great John Fitch, recalled in film

MILLERTON — As part of Lime Rock Park’s Historic Weekend, Chris Szwedo’s documentary, “A Gullwing at Twilight: The Bonneville Ride of John Fitch” was screened at The Moviehouse in Millerton for three showings Saturday, Aug. 31.Szwedo and John Fitch’s son Steve were on hand for a question-and-answer period after the film, along with Rick Roso from the race track.“Gullwing” was shot in 2004, when Fitch, then 87, went to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to try and set a speed record for a two-seater sports car, in a Mercedes 300 SL known as the Gullwing.Fitch (who was the first American ever invited to race on the Mercedes team) drove a Gullwing in 1952 in the Carrera Panamericana; the film captures an important reunion between man and machine in Utah.Szwedo said Fitch’s entire demeanor changed as he approached the car. “When he put on his racing suit — take off 15 years. When he got in — take off eight more.“It was a perfect example that being older is actually cool.”The Gullwing is owned by businessman Bob Sirna of Farmington Hills, Mich., who enthused about the barren landscape of Bonneville.“There’s nothing to hit!”After Sirna bought the car a little over 10 years ago, he brought it to Lime Rock so Fitch could race it at the track there. The film shows the always-dapper Fitch, clad in a pink shirt with a white contrast collar and pink pants, clambering gingerly into the vehicle and Sirna showing him the gear pattern.The film required just six days of shooting, Szwedo said — four at Bonneville, and two back east.The footage includes an amusing sequence of Fitch mowing his lawn on Salmon Kill Road. He drove a small tractor with an assortment of old rotary lawn mowers attached.Steve Fitch said afterward, “That’s classic. He just cobbled together whatever came to hand.”In the film, Fitch was asked how the Salmon Kill Road lawn differed from Bonneville. “It’s about the same,” he replied before adding, “More to hit.”Szwedo said eventually it became apparent to him that the film was about more than going 170 miles per hour in the Gullwing (which would have set the record).“It was not about winning, but about going out and having an adventure.”Steve Fitch was asked if he was surprised that his father accepted the Bonneville challenge.“No, at that point I was used to this kind of thing. It was no surprise he would disregard the heat and the hours of sitting around.”In the film, Elizabeth Fitch (John’s wife, who died in 2009) was firm in saying her three children were not going to follow in their father’s footsteps.Steve Fitch: “We were discouraged from getting behind the wheel in any serious way.”The Bonneville attempt came up short — Fitch only got the Gullwing to 139.998 mph.It turned out the engine was damaged, and could only get up to 150 mph or so.It didn’t seem to faze Fitch. At one point in the film, he said that adventure per se is not about the situation.“Adventure is a result of a state of mind.”Fitch died in October 2012 at the age of 95.