This is the real thing: the original HPDE (High Performance Driving Education) event in JCNA. Actually, it is still the only JCNA club organized Driving School and the Empire Division has been putting it together for 40 years. Two days, a bunch of DRIVEN Jaguars, one of the most scenic track in the country, a great party ... do we need anything else to have a good time, beside sunshine ?

Lime Rock Race Park, nestled in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains in NW Connecticut may not be the most technical or the longest race track but it is challenging enough to have been one of the traditional sports car track in North America ever since it was built in the 50s. When you drive through the little village of Lime Rock and come through the gates, you can feel the heritage of nearly half a century of sports car racing from the golden age of the 50s, the Trans Am races of the late 60s and 70s and the prototypes of the 80s and 90s. The Trans Am Series is still racing at Lime Rock and nowadays, XKRs are picking up where the E-type and XJS left.

This year, there was a big Jaguar North America presence at the track with the Jaguar Born to Perform tour making a stop with a fleet of new XJ8s and XJRs being made available for test drives on the Skip Barber autocross course. The course was set like a mini road course allowing drivers to push the new cars to the limit and appreciate their nimble handling.

The Empire Division Lime Rock Driving School is hosted in association with the Vintage Sports Car Club of America which helps sharing the cost of track rental and with logistics. It also gives us an opportunity to watch some of the best vintage racing with everything from C-Types to those typically British three wheelers, Lagondas, Bentleys and more. The Donovan racing E-types, now sponsored by Jaguar Select Edition, can also be seen in action.

Jaguar club drivers are split in 3 run groups based on their speed (car speed and skills...) with the slower group including first timers and students. Students first take a one hour class to lean the basic of high performance and track driving before their first session on track with instructors. To keep things safe and to ensure that all cars make it back home with the same sheet metal, passing is only allowed on the front straight and all passes must be done before braking into big bend. The result is a safe driving experience, the chance of driving your Jaguar the way it was meant to be driven.

During the driver's meeting, Charles Bordin presented a plaque that had been prepared in honor of Karen Miller, a long time Empire division member and VSCCA racer, who had passed away a few days earlier. Karen was well known for her work within JCNA and at the Jaguar Archives researching Heritage Certificates. A minute of silence was observed in her memory.

Weather is always an issue at Lime Rock with at least a few hours of rain although it has never really ruined the event; at worst one or two sessions are run in the wet. The track can get really slippery when wet and the drivers who brave these conditions are rewarded with a very interesting experience: smoothness is key when driving on track but even more so in the wet. This year the final session took place under a steady rain and it's a completely different ball game: hit the throttle too quickly exiting Big Bend and you will see the Esses coming at you sideways...

In the dry, a lap at Lime Rock is a higly enjoyable experience especially in a car like the V12 E-type. Blasting down the straight with speed climbing well past 100mph, the first corner comes up very quickly. Big Bend, as the name implies, is a long 180 degree double Apex corner which may take a while to get right. Hitting the brakes between the 4 and 3 markers and downshifting into 3rd gear, it's nice to see the escape road available just in case... Turning in for the first apex, you can carry a little bit more speed and scrub it off in the middle of the turn while drifting to the outside before turning in for the tighter second part of Big Bend. Clipping the second Apex, I stay off the inside curb which is too rough on the car. Tires screaming, power comes back in tracking out before coming back to the right of the track in preparation for the Esses. I had a moment there in the first session where the two drivers in front of me braked much harder than expected, forcing me to take it to the grass to avoid them...

The first Esse is left hander, the only left hander at Lime Rock, for which you want to turn in as late as possible to stay close to the left at the exit. This allows you to set up the car for the second of the Esses, the right hander leading on the uphill back straight; you want to get this one right to maximize exit speed on the short straight. Again, the P-Zeros scream for mercy, especially when over the concrete patches where grip drops from the asphalt sections. Hitting the apex, on the throttle as early as possible to accelerate while tracking out to the edge of the track and start the climb up the back straight. It's not really straight, there is a slight kink but it's all flat out till coming up the 90 degree Uphill turn. Unlike big Bend and the Esses, there is no runoff there, just a very unforgiving guard rail so you do not want to miss the braking point, usually a big V shaped tree on the left side. Start turning towards the apex, on the throttle with the suspension compressing where the track starts climbing briefly but steeply. Reaching the crest, you have no idea what's behind and have to trust the corner workers but you do want to make sure that the turn is complete and the steering straight or things will get hairy...

A short straight allows you to catch your breath briefly before West Bend a fast right hander, 3rd gear in my E-type. Then comes the final corner, the downhill turn onto the straight. Leaving West Bend, drifting to the outside and under the bridge where the road drops. To think that some guys actually remain flat out through the turn and on the straight... talk about commitment! Yes, there is some runoff but there is also a river on the other side of the tire wall so I slow down near the bottom of the hill approaching the turn in point and the go for the Apex which in my car means about 75mph. There are a couple or ripple in the track, slightly unsettling the car as it starts tracking out to the outside. If all goes well, it's all flat out drifting to the outside edge and then blasting down the straight ready for another one.

At the end of the first day, comes the Champagne Party on top of the hill. This is one great party! Big tent with a great view of the paddock and surrounding hills, a live band, free drinks including champagne and great food. None of the formal setting that often plagues club events... Speeches are always kept to a bare minimum and this year we were in for a treat as Lime Rock Park founder and sports car racing legend John Fitch was on hand to sign posters and share a few anecdotes.

Saturday morning, clouds started moving in but the rain held off until noon, just when the VSCCA races where due to get underway. With rain falling steadily, it made for some exciting action in the Esses with more than a few cars spinning off track.

Before our final session, another drivers meeting was called to see who was ready to go out in the rain... only 8 drivers showed up so the run groups were all combined in one with instructions to be very careful. By the time we got to the grid, only 4 cars lined up for some 20 minutes of top toeing around the track. No traffic, we had the 1.5 miles to ourselves!

Despite the rain, this annual Empire Division Lime Rock week end was once again one of the best event on the JCNA calendar; this was my 3rd time attending and it was worth the driving...

Steve Weinstein (JTC) in his 72 E-Type on the front straight