Went out to Hutchinson Island to get some gravel miles on some of the old rail line, but the Army Corp of Engineers was grading the "road". So I just cruised the island and did some laps on the defunct/not defunct racetrack located out there. Technically public roads but they do everything in their power to stop you from getting around.
Wikipedia history of the track
Grand Prize of America Road Course
In the 1990s, a group of local businessmen formed the Colonial Motorsport company, deciding it was time to bring back international racing action to Savannah. Major international races had last been held on the streets of Savannah with the
American Grand Prize in
1908,
1910, and
1911; and the
Vanderbilt Cup Race in 1911. After four years of careful negotiations, an agreement was reached for a stand-alone race of the then
PPG/Firestone Indy Lights series in
1997, with follow up events in '98 and '99 offering the possibility of a future
CART round. Public monies helped build a 1.965-mile county road to serve as a 10-turn circuit; the first time a public road had been pre-designed with the intention of also using it for racing in the USA.
[9] In May 1997 the inaugural
Dixie Crystals Grand Prix was held, with support races for the
North American Touring Car Championship,
Barber Dodge Pro Series, and the
U.S. F2000 National Championship.
[10] Before of a race day crowd of over 30,000, future
Indianapolis 500 winner,
Hélio Castroneves, won the race.
[11]
Mark Blundell quoted, after a feasibility test for future CART races, "As a drivers track, it's good, It's quite demanding and really physical. It's a fun circuit to drive, and there are at least two and possibly three spots for overtaking. It doesn't have a street course feel, it's more of a road course feel. From a spectator viewpoint, there are plenty of great vantage points."
[12]
The event looked like a modest success; drivers seemed happy with the course, fans turned out in reasonable numbers, and a contract was in place for future years. However, creditors and several companies involved in the construction didn't want to give the promoters a reasonable time frame to make the event profitable. The resulting lawsuit threw Colonial Motorsport company into Chapter 11, and all its contracts, including the one with CART, were dissolved. The track itself came into public ownership and fell into disrepair.
[13][14]
In the 2010s the track was reworked and reopened for historic racing.
[15] As of 2014
Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) has been sanctioning the
Savannah Speed Classic,
[16] part of the
Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance, taking place the last weekend of October (in Savannah) through the first weekend in November (in Hilton Head Island) each year.
Morning Savannah!
