Falcon

Here's what the bridge looked like in the mid 60's:



And here's what it looks like now from Tom's windshield:



Quite a contrast!

AU N EGL

The old Historic VIR photos are cool.

bradb

If you look closely, you'll notice the old bridge was closer to the exit of 6a than now. Those old shots are a hoot. Safety is so much better now, even more so than when I started racing in 1970.

robvuk

Looks like what WAS a chicane is now a modern interstate.

AU N EGL

Up Hill Esses




Back Straight


Oak Tree turn or is that Oak sapling?



Cows??



VIR history http://www.virhistory.com/

95jersey

Look at those tires sticking out of the ground at the apex...how did ANYONE at ANYTIME ever think that was smart?!?! You hit that apex to close and I would bet it would send your car sideways towards the bridge.

dmwhite

so what was it like to drive vir back in those days falcon?

AU N EGL

Now you know where 'gaters' come from. Old tree roots sticking into the track.

FB#1

I like the roll-bar on that #17. His head is almost completely outside of it.

redvetracr

check this out as well....Meadowdale Raceway west of Chicago

...redvetracr
http://www.meadowdaleraceway.homestead.com/

Falcon

AU N EGL

I think the Watts brothers raced endo go karts in the mid 60s there.

Falcon

Here's a track map from the time: (BTW- all of this info is from www.virhistory.com if you didn't already know.)

Jim 47

Those old "roll-bars" remind me of an old "head of the bed frame", and that's probably what some of them were.

Thanks you guys for a pleasant trip back to the past.

Jim

davidfarmer

those bars remind me of the bozos tryin to put a roll-cage in a C5 convertible AND have the top work. If you do it, your head will stick out the sides and top!

rocsvette

those were the old "audible apex markers" which predate orange cones

Miaugi

I wonder how our current Corvettes would do on that old course?

Looks like something you'd find in a pasture! But I bet those guys in the pic loved it!

davidfarmer

they say they didn't change the centerline of the track any, but the narrow track makes the corners look much tighter. Obviously widening an "S" turn wil make it easier to straightline, but those old S's look nasty

Wonder if anybody ever took the legs out from under that bridge......

Falcon

One of the best parts of that historic VIR site was the story the magazine writer wrote about borrowing Sam Posey's Lola Can Am car with a ZL1 427 Chevy motor in it. That was quite a story about his adventure around VIR in that car.

Here's the link: Holy, How Do You Drive This Thing, Batman!

wamara

That is so I never knew that even existed !!