Racing History -Why We Rally in Bridgehampton.

As many autophyles know, the Bridgehampton area is steeped in racing history. Beginning in 1915, the Firemen sponsored street races as part of their summer carnival. Those races ran laps over a circular course that went east on Main Street, south on Halsey Lane, east on Paul's Lane, and back up Ocean Avenue to the monument. Homemade and modified cars piloted by local note-worthies like John Ambrose, Moosie Thompson, Court Rodgers and Norris Hopping put pressure on visiting racers as they reached speeds of up to 50mph. These early races continued through 1921.

Racing revived in 1949 when Bruce Stevenson, inspired by the first Watkins Glen race in 1948, organized a similar event in Bridgehampton. Predominately European racing cars reached speeds in excess of 100mph on a 4.5 mile road course that ran clockwise up Ocean Avenue, across Sagaponac Road, down Sagg Main Street, and back along Bridge Lane. 1953 saw both the last Bridgehampton race and the end of open road racing in New York State. However, during those 5 years the likes of Briggs Cunningham, Tommy Cole, George Huntoon, Freddie Wacker, the Collier brothers, Bob Grossman, John Fitch, television personality Dave Garroway and many others raced at Bridgehampton in the greatest races of the era.

In 1957 the soon to be world famous Bridge Race Track opened on 500 acres of open land just north of the village. For over 35 years races of international importance took place on its winding course. Community pressure from new residents who objected to the noise of the races eventually led to the track closing. The land, atop an important aquifer, became the subject of considerable controversy, when purchasers of the old racetrack submitted plans for 'Golf at the Bridge'. Ironically, many maintain that the racecourse was a much better environmental use of the land.

In 1993 Jeffrey Vogel and the Bridgehampton Historical Society organized the first Vintage Sports Car Road Rally to commemorate and keep alive the hamlet's racing history. Although the high-speed thrills of the earlier races cannot be recreated, our rally follows the lead of the great street races of the world. Italy's Mille Miglia, the Tour de France, and Sicily's Targa Florio have all been reborn as timed rallies, featuring vintage cars.

Our rally is a time and distance event. The course uses public roads complete with local traffic. Timing on each leg of the course is done to the 10th of each second. And often a few 10ths will decide the winner of a timing leg! Entrants must be skilled in driving, map reading and timekeeping to compete. The full rally regulations can be viewed in the Rules and Regulations section of this site.

Although initially only cars which could have competed in the Bridgehampton road races, were eligible, this year the Rally field will include sports cars made before 12-31-1959. If you are interested in participating, please see our "Contact Us" tab.  

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