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.
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. 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. 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. The corporation purchased a parcel known as Noyack Hills in 1956, and constructed a , 13-turn road course. Although construction was not completed, the first races were held in 1957. 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 Year Overall winner(s) Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race title Report Non-championship 1949 George Huntoon Samuel Bird Alfa Romeo 8C 2600 s/c Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races report 1950 Tom Cole Allard J2-Cadillac Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races report 1951 Tom Cole Allard-Chrysler Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races report SCCA National Sports Car Championship 1952 Bill Spear Bill Spear Ferrari 340 America Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races report 1953 Bill Spear Bill Spear Ferrari 340 Mexico Bridgehampton Sports Car Races report
Spear was leading when the race was stopped
Bridghampton Raceway Year Overall winner(s) Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race title Report SCCA National Sports Car Championship 1957 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Jaguar D-Type Bridgehampton Inaugural Races report 1958 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Lister-Jaguar report 1959 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Lister-Jaguar Bridgehampton Road Race Course Sports Car Races report 1960 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Maserati Tipo 61 report 1961 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Maserati Tipo 61 Bridgehampton National Event report 1962 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Cooper Monaco T61-Buick report 1963 Walt Hansgen Briggs Cunningham Cooper Monaco T61-Buick report 1964 Tom O'Brien Ferrari 268 SP report United States Road Racing Championship 1965 Jim Hall Chaparral Cars Chaparral 2A-Chevrolet Vanderbilt Cup report 1966 Jerry Grant All American Racers Lola T70-Ford Bridgehampton 200 report 1967 Mark Donohue Roger Penske Lola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet Vanderbilt Cup report 1968 Skip Scott Carl Haas Lola T70 Mk.3-Chevrolet Vanderbilt Cup report 1969–1970: Not held IMSA GT Championship 1971 Peter Gregg Hurley Haywood Brumos Porsche Audi Corp. Porsche 914/6 3 hours 3-Hour Bridgehampton report
References
See also Bridgehampton Grand Prix