Bridgehampton Sports Car Races
VenueBridgehampton Race Circuit
First race1949
Last race1971
Most wins (driver)Walt Hansgen (7)
Most wins (team)Briggs Cunningham (7)
Most wins (manufacturer)Ferrari (3)
Lola (3)

The Bridgehampton Sports Car Races was a sports car race held at Bridgehampton Race Circuit between 1949 and 1971.

History

The first road races in Bridgehampton were held on public roads around the hamlet of Bridgehampton from 1915 until 1921. The course ran counterclockwise on an approximately 3-mile (4.8-km) rectangle, beginning on Montauk Highway, then turning left onto Halsey Lane, left onto Pauls Lane, left onto Ocean Boulevard, and left back onto Montauk Highway.[1]

The races were revived in 1949, utilizing a 4-mile (6.4-km) circuit adjacent to the pre-war circuit in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack. It ran clockwise beginning on Ocean Road, turning right onto Sagaponack Road, right onto Sagaponack Main Street, right onto Bridge Lane, and right back onto Ocean Road.[2] George Huntoon won the inaugural race in an Alfa Romeo 8C. The races proved successful, and joined the SCCA National Sports Car Championship in 1952. The road races came to an end in 1953, after a driver was killed in practice and three spectators injured during the race.[3] These events, combined with a spectator death in a crash at Watkins Glen in 1952, led the State of New York to ban racing on public roads.

Local racing enthusiasts formed the Bridgehampton Road Races Corporation in 1953 to finance the construction of a permanent race circuit in the area.[4] The corporation purchased a 550-acre (2.2 km2) parcel known as Noyack Hills in 1956, and constructed a 2.85-mile (4.59 km), 13-turn road course. Although construction was not completed, the first races were held in 1957.[5] Walt Hansgen, driving for Briggs Cunningham, dominated the National Championship races at Bridgehampton, winning the first 7 on the new permanent course. In 1965, the race switched to the SCCA's professional United States Road Racing Championship. The switch also brought the Vanderbilt Cup trophy to the race, resurrecting the race that had run on Long Island from 1904–1910 and 1936–1937. The race did not continue when the USRRC was discontinued, but was revived as a 3-hour IMSA GT Championship race in 1971. This was the last major race held at Bridgehampton before the track's demise in 1998.

Results

Road course

YearOverall Winner(s)EntrantCarDistance/DurationRace TitleReport
Non-championship
1949 United States George HuntoonSamuel BirdAlfa Romeo 8C 2600 s/c100 mi (160 km)Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Racesreport
1950 United States Tom ColeAllard J2-Cadillac80 mi (130 km)Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Racesreport
1951 United States Tom ColeAllard-Chrysler100 mi (160 km)Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Racesreport
SCCA National Sports Car Championship
1952 United States Bill SpearBill SpearFerrari 340 America100 mi (160 km)Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Racesreport
1953 United States Bill SpearABill SpearFerrari 340 Mexico100 mi (160 km)Bridgehampton Sports Car Racesreport
^A Spear was leading when the race was stopped[3]

Bridghampton Raceway

YearOverall Winner(s)EntrantCarDistance/DurationRace TitleReport
SCCA National Sports Car Championship
1957 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamJaguar D-Type75 mi (121 km)Bridgehampton Inaugural Racesreport
1958 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamLister-Jaguar75 mi (121 km)report
1959 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamLister-Jaguar75 mi (121 km)Bridgehampton Road Race Course Sports Car Racesreport
1960 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamMaserati Tipo 6150 mi (80 km)report
1961 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamMaserati Tipo 6170 mi (110 km)Bridgehampton National Eventreport
1962 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamCooper Monaco T61-Buick70 mi (110 km)report
1963 United States Walt HansgenBriggs CunninghamCooper Monaco T61-Buick91 mi (146 km)report
1964 United States Tom O'BrienFerrari 268 SPreport
United States Road Racing Championship
1965 United States Jim HallChaparral CarsChaparral 2A-Chevrolet214 mi (344 km)Vanderbilt Cupreport
1966 United States Jerry GrantAll American RacersLola T70-Ford200 mi (320 km)Bridgehampton 200report
1967 United States Mark DonohueRoger PenskeLola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet200 mi (320 km)Vanderbilt Cupreport
1968 United States Skip ScottCarl HaasLola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet171 mi (275 km)Vanderbilt Cupreport
1969-1970: Not held
IMSA GT Championship
1971 United States Peter Gregg
United States Hurley Haywood
Brumos Porsche Audi Corp.Porsche 914/63 hours3-Hour Bridgehamptonreport

References

  1. "The Bridgehampton Road Rally - Why We Rally". Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  2. "Bridgehampton Sports Car Races (Program)". Racing Sports Cars. May 23, 1953. pp. Track Map. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  3. 1 2 Leigh, David. "Trouble at Bridgehampton". Retrieved 27 April 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Miller, Elizabeth Kiggen (2 May 1999). "Last Lap for Bridgehampton Race Circuit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  5. Hartwell, Andrew S.; Guy Frost (20 May 2008). "Guy Frost's History Of The Bridge – From Streets To Straights To Fairways" (PDF). ash automobilia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.

See also

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