Tin Top class rounds out Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35

Challenging new entrant David Porter in his 1965 Lotus Cortina Mk1 will be returning Lime Rock Park doyens Brian Rechtiene, Mike Agnifilo and Ross Bremer.

Brian Rechtiene's 1965 Volvo 122S, built for such rally races as La Carrera Panamericana and Targa Newfoundland, has shone on the track at Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen. Rechtiene, Race Shop Manager for Vintage Racing Services, says that the shop-rental Volvo "handles very well, and with a strong engine and 175hp, it is pretty competitive and fun to drive." He has been racing since 1989 and terms the Lime Rock Park track as "The great equalizer. The most powerful car might not necessarily win as the track is about keeping up momentum, which may be easier for smaller rather than more powerful cars."

It's a 1972 Datsun 510 for Mike Agnifilo. Lime Rock Park is home court for him, having grown up at the track with his racing father and stepfather.

"I started competing in Formula Fords in 1986 and have raced at almost every Lime Rock Park Historic Festival since 1992," he says. "My SCCA GT3 lap record at Lime Rock in my trusty Datsun 510 still stands! My Datsun was built up as a B sedan racecar from new; prior to my ownership in 1992, the car had seen SCCA action and street car service. I first raced it as a street car at the 1992 Lime Rock Historic Festival and then restored it back to a race car. We were back to Lime Rock in 1994, winning the group. I've been racing the car on and off ever since."

Ross Bremer and his wife Karen are Historic Festival frequenters. His 1966 Ford Anglia Super Tin Top-entrant previously ran on the circuit at the 1996 Historic Festival.

"It will be one of the smallest Tin Tops in the event (1300cc)," he says. "I most often competed in my 'Paul Newman' 1972 Escort MK I or the Canadian Trans-Am 'Twin Cam' Escort, and Karen in her 1969 Escort MK I RS 1600. I first raced SCCA in the 1963-64 seasons and then built the No.56 Anglia to compete in 1965-66. In 1967, I entered the Anglia in the FIA-sanctioned 12 Hours of Sebring (running fourth in class when she broke on the last lap). The Anglia and I were invited to the run-offs at the end of the season, but I could not attend. Anglia and I did not race from 1968 to 1991 when I took old No.56 out of her wrappings and restored her and found an Escort ex-rally car for Karen.

"We have been vintage racing for over 25 years and have both participated in, or won, numerous championships and/or races in SVRA-sanctioned events as well as Historic Sportscar Racing, Vintage Racer Group, Legends of Motorsport and track-run vintage outings. We have actively raced our eight Tin Top cars (European Ford Sedans-Anglia, Lotus Cortina, Escort MK I RS 1600, Capri MK I RS 2000) at Silverstone and Donington in England and venues in Canada, the Bahamas, California and most of the U.S. road courses east of the Mississippi."

This year's August 31 – September 4 Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 35 presented by the Prestige Family of Fine Cars celebration will rev up with the traditional Vintage Race and Sports Car Parade on August 31. The September 3 Sunday in the Park Concours d'Elegance will showcase approximately 200 rare and unique cars from the Brass Era to modern as well as motorcycles, and the Gathering of the Marques will line the track with 1,000 cars grouped by make, country of origin or enthusiast club.