The Bridgehampton Sports Car Races was a sports car race

Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

 held at Bridgehampton Race Circuit

Bridgehampton Race Circuit

Bridgehampton Race Circuit was a race track located near Sag Harbor, New York, United States. The circuit opened in 1957, following a series of road races held from 1949 until 1953...

 between 1949 and 1971.

History

The first road races in Bridgehampton were held on public roads around the hamlet of Bridgehampton

Bridgehampton, New York

Bridgehampton is a hamlet in the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,381 at the 2000 census....

 from 1915 until 1921. The course ran counterclockwise on an approximately 3-mile (4.8-km) rectangle, beginning on Montauk Highway

Montauk Highway

Montauk Highway is one of the original through highways of Long Island, New York, extending from Jamaica, in the New York City borough of Queens to Montauk Point in Suffolk County, a distance of approximately 100 miles ....

, 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

Sagaponack, New York

Sagaponack is a village in the town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The village incorporated on September 2, 2005, in the wake of the failed attempt by Dunehampton, New York to incorporate. Dunehampton's incorporation would have blocked Sagaponack from Atlantic Ocean...

. 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

Alfa Romeo 8C

-1935 Monoposto 8C 35 Type C:Eight 3.8 litre versions, sharing no castings with the earlier blocks, were individually built for racing in five months, most being used in the Alfa Romeo Monoposto 8C 35 Type C, as raced by Scuderia Ferrari. The 3.8 produced at 5500 rpm, and had from...

. The races proved successful, and joined the SCCA National Sports Car Championship

SCCA National Sports Car Championship

The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America from 1951 until 1964. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the United States...

 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

Watkins Glen International

Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

 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 550 acres (2.2 km²) parcel known as Noyack

Noyack, New York

Noyack is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,696 at the 2000 census.Noyack is an Indian word meaning “a corner or point of land”. It’s...

 Hills in 1956, and constructed a 2.85 miles (4.6 km), 13-turn road course. Although construction was not completed, the first races were held in 1957. Walt Hansgen

Walt Hansgen

Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...

, driving for Briggs Cunningham

Briggs Cunningham

Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...

, 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

United States Road Racing Championship

The United States Road Racing Championship was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing...

. The switch also brought the Vanderbilt Cup

Vanderbilt Cup

The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...

 trophy to the race, resurrecting the race that had run on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 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

IMSA GT Championship

IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.-History:...

 race in 1971. This was the last major race held at Bridgehampton before the track's demise in 1998.

Road course

Year	Overall Winner(s)	Entrant	Car	Distance/Duration	Race Title	Report
Non-championship
1949	George Huntoon	Samuel Bird	Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 s/c Alfa Romeo 8C -1935 Monoposto 8C 35 Type C:Eight 3.8 litre versions, sharing no castings with the earlier blocks, were individually built for racing in five months, most being used in the Alfa Romeo Monoposto 8C 35 Type C, as raced by Scuderia Ferrari. The 3.8 produced at 5500 rpm, and had from...	100 mi (160.9 km)	Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races	report
1950	Tom Cole		Allard J2-Cadillac Cadillac Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...	80 mi (128.7 km)	Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races	report
1951	Tom Cole		Allard Allard The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. The company, based in Putney, London. until 1945 and then in Clapham, London, produced approximately 1900 cars until its closure in 1966.... -Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....	100 mi (160.9 km)	Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races	report
SCCA National Sports Car Championship SCCA National Sports Car Championship The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America from 1951 until 1964. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the United States...
1952	Bill Spear	Bill Spear	Ferrari 340 America Ferrari America The first America cars were the 340, produced between 1950 and 1952. Using the new Lampredi V12 developed for Formula One racing, the 340 America could produce over...	100 mi (160.9 km)	Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races	report
1953	Bill Spear	Bill Spear	Ferrari 340 Mexico Ferrari America The first America cars were the 340, produced between 1950 and 1952. Using the new Lampredi V12 developed for Formula One racing, the 340 America could produce over...	100 mi (160.9 km)	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 SCCA National Sports Car Championship The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America from 1951 until 1964. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the United States...
1957	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D-type The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different...	75 mi (120.7 km)	Bridgehampton Inaugural Races	report
1958	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Lister-Jaguar	75 mi (120.7 km)		report
1959	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Lister-Jaguar	75 mi (120.7 km)	Bridgehampton Road Race Course Sports Car Races	report
1960	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Maserati Tipo 61 Maserati Tipo 61 The Maserati Tipo 61 is sports racing cars of the early 1960s. The car was produced between 1959 and 1961 by Maserati for racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance classic. It used an intricate tubular space frame chassis, containing about 200 chro-moly steel tubes welded together, hence the...	50 mi (80.5 km)		report
1961	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Maserati Tipo 61 Maserati Tipo 61 The Maserati Tipo 61 is sports racing cars of the early 1960s. The car was produced between 1959 and 1961 by Maserati for racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance classic. It used an intricate tubular space frame chassis, containing about 200 chro-moly steel tubes welded together, hence the...	70 mi (112.7 km)	Bridgehampton National Event	report
1962	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  Monaco T61-Buick Buick Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...	70 mi (112.7 km)		report
1963	Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...	Briggs Cunningham Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  Monaco T61-Buick Buick Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...	91 mi (146.4 km)		report
1964	Tom O'Brien		Ferrari Dino 268 SP			report
United States Road Racing Championship United States Road Racing Championship The United States Road Racing Championship was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing...
1965	Jim Hall	Chaparral Cars	Chaparral 2A-Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...	214 mi (344.4 km)	Vanderbilt Cup Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...	report
1966	Jerry Grant Jerry Grant Jerry Grant , is a former driver in the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1965-1977 seasons, with 54 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1965-1968, 1970 and 1972-1976...	All American Racers	Lola T70 Lola T70 The Lola T70 was built for sports car racing, popular in the mid to late 1960s. Developed by Lola Cars in 1965 in Great Britain, the T70 was made for endurance racing... -Ford	200 mi (321.9 km)	Bridgehampton 200	report
1967	Mark Donohue Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972...	Roger Penske Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...	Lola T70 Lola T70 The Lola T70 was built for sports car racing, popular in the mid to late 1960s. Developed by Lola Cars in 1965 in Great Britain, the T70 was made for endurance racing...  Mk.3-Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...	200 mi (321.9 km)	Vanderbilt Cup	report
1968	Skip Scott	Carl Haas Carl Haas Carl A. Haas is an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the IndyCar Series with the late Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A...	Lola T70 Lola T70 The Lola T70 was built for sports car racing, popular in the mid to late 1960s. Developed by Lola Cars in 1965 in Great Britain, the T70 was made for endurance racing...  Mk.3-Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...	171 mi (275.2 km)	Vanderbilt Cup	report
1969-1970: Not held
IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.-History:...
1971	Peter Gregg Peter Gregg (racing driver) Peter Holden Gregg was a racecar driver during the golden age of the Trans-Am Series and a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona...   Hurley Haywood Hurley Haywood Hurley Haywood is an American race-car driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1977 , 1983 and 1994 and is the most successful driver at the 24 Hours of Daytona with 5 wins . He won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1973 and 1981...	Brumos Porsche Audi Corp. Brumos Racing Brumos Racing is an automobile racing team based in Jacksonville, Florida, currently competing in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The team was established in 1971 as a part of the IMSA GT Championship season, and is sponsored by Brumos Porsche, which has been an authorized Porsche dealership...	Porsche 914 Porsche 914 The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a mid-engined, targa-topped two-seat roadster designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 to 1976.- Development :... /6	3 hours	3-Hour Bridgehampton	report