Lime Rock Park sold to investment group, Skip Barber still in the mix

Any sports-car racing fan who has visited Lime Rock Park can tell you: The place has a kind of magic. Nestled in amid Connecticut’s hills and greenery, the 1.5-mile road course opened in 1957. For decades it’s served as a temple of speed amidst the trees for motorsport lovers in the Northeast. In addition to hosting countless bouts of motorsports competition, the facility has also showcased special events like Historics Weekend and various driving schools.

Those varied efforts have been the purview of Skip Barber for the last 37 years, but the longtime owner announced today that the track has been sold to an investment group: Lime Rock Group, LLC.

Barber isn’t stepping aside entirely. Lime Rock’s press release indicates that he will sit on the management committee and hold a significant ownership stake in the new venture.

“The Group’s General Partners, Charles Mallory, Dicky Riegel and Bill Rueckert along with a group of private investors have assumed control of Lime Rock Park and are bringing outstanding new vision and vitality to Lime Rock’s operations and to our local and regional community. They are the ideal stewards of the Park’s long and successful legacy. This is truly wonderful news for everyone involved with Lime Rock as we commence our 65th year of operations,” he says.

This “next chapter” of the Lime Rock story will be led by Dicky Riegel, the former president & CEO of Airstream, who will be taking over as CEO. “Lime Rock has been one of my favorite places and my home track for over 40 years; the same is true for my partners, Charles and Bill, both of whom consider Lime Rock a home away from home,” Riegel says.

That Barber himself is remaining involved with the Lime Rock Park is a reason to be optimistic. Over the years, despite many ups and downs, he managed to protect the feeling of reverence and history one experiences there. There are very few road courses left in America that have earned and retained that kind of respect. Especially in light of public events being cancelled this past year because of the pandemic, the future of events at Lime Rock may well look different than it has in the past. Here’s hoping that through it all, the magic in the air endures.