Update from the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group

[sydude]

From l'art et l'automobile . Note that they want to do a 2 mile timed competition run in Garden City.
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News from the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group:

BRHG has been in the closet since we lost the lawsuit against Southampton, but we are once again flaring up like the proverbial Phoenix: October 2004 is the 100th anniversary of "Willie K." Vanderbilt's first Cup Race and we're preparing a significant celebration of this, the very first international automobile competition on our side of the Atlantic Ocean.

But first the bad news. We were assigned a Suffolk County judge who was slated for retirement. His Honor dismissed our plea and suggested we return to the Town Board for relief, as if we hadn't been camped out in town hall for the past ten years. In any event, we wound up some $13,000 in arrears and have given that up for the time being. Restoration awaits.

Ironically, Nassau County's government has now decided to hold a Vanderbilt Centennial Celebration honoring his contribution to American motoring. They've agreed to a demonstration run of the century long evolution of motor vehicles with a racing heritage and a parade for antique cars of the era on the original 28 mile Vanderbilt Cup circuit around Nassau County.

The County has assigned us a site with a paved grid/tech area and a field for paddocks, vendors, exhibits and seating across from the Cradle of Aviation Museum. For timed competition runs, we'll close nearly two miles of the four-lane roadway which encircles the historic Mitchel Field Athletic Complex in Garden City. The Vanderbilt Museum will show old films and exhibits and will recreate "The Great Vanderbilt Cup Race", a Broadway musical.

Though we're operating under a drastically condensed time frame, early responses from exhibitors and entrants and the enthusiastic assistance of Nassau County bodes well for a festive celebration of motorsports in America. In fact, County officials would like to see this become an annual event and have a keen interest in a full-blown professional race in the near future.

To let this opportunity slip by would be a sin.

But let's face facts. BRHG is deep in the red after our long battle to save Bridgehampton. Its already too late to obtain major sponsors. We are in desperate need of seed money to organize this event in a way that will favorably impress Nassau County and the public. Please respond generously to this plea and help us bring the excitement of motorsports back to Long Island.

Event schedules and entry forms will follow shortly. The Museum will host a press conference on September 30 at the Garden City Hotel. We'll set up on the north side of Nassau's Athletic Complex just west of the Coliseum on Friday, with multiple events on October 2 and 3. Please call Guy immediately if you can participate or have any suggestions or questions.

Sincere thanks to all of you who have supported our efforts to preserve The Bridge since 1981. I guess we can claim a small victory for keeping an additional 20 years of racing at "the most challenging circuit in the States" (Stirling Moss, QBE).

Please make your check payable to BRHG (note Vanderbilt) and mail to the address below.

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ALL POINTS BULLETIN:
Celebrate a Milestone in American History - October 1 - 3, 2004

It was October of 1904 and bold headlines from the New York World railed about the "speed-madness monomaniacs" who introduced international motoring competitions to America.

History was happening on Long Island.

An estimated 50,000 spectators made their way to the farm lanes of Hempstead Plains in Nassau County to experience America's first-ever international road race.

This was the inaugural Vanderbilt Cup Race. It was a challenge to visionary auto makers, daring drivers and their intrepid riding mechanics from all across Europe and America: an event that would define the 20th Century as being decidedly different from the past.

"Willie K" Vanderbilt's dream of a strong American automobile industry became a reality on the byways of Long Island from 1904 through 1910. This was truly a giant step that brought about America's first limited access highway, the Long Island Motor Parkway.

Nearly 150,000 spectators from around the world recently celebrated Vanderbilt's legacy at the annual Festival of Speed at Goodwood, Lord Charles March's estate in England.

Long Island in 2004 is the perfect place and time for America to commemorate the Vanderbilt Cup challenge, a truly significant centennial of our own local history.

YES!!! NASSAU COUNTY IS ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORTING A CELEBRATION OF 100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SPORTS. THE SITE IS THE MITCHEL SPORTS COMPLEX, HOME OF THE CRADLE OF AVIATION MUSEUM AND NASSAU COLISEUM, A MERE 15 MILES FROM MANHATTAN.

THIS YEAR'S EVENT WILL RE-CREATE THE 1904 RACE. AN ENTIRE CENTURY OF DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMOBILES WITH A RACING HERITAGE WILL BE COLLECTED. MUSEUM EXHIBITS, VINTAGE NEWSREELS AND TIMED EXHIBITION RUNS ON A ROAD CIRCUIT WILL ALSO BE FEATURED.

THE VANDERBILT MUSEUM WILL HOST A KICKOFF RECEPTION AND PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE GARDEN CITY HOTEL ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.

COUNTY OFFICIALS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS BECOME AN ANNUAL AUTOMOTIVE FESTIVAL. WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO GET THIS ORGANIZED QUICKLY. WE MUST FIND VEHICLES OF ALL AGES AS WELL AS SPONSORS, VENDORS AND EVENT PERSONNEL.

MORE DETAILS WILL FOLLOW SOON, BUT PLEASE LET US KNOW OF YOUR INTEREST NOW.

THIS IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING NEW LIFE TO MOTOR SPORTS ON LONG ISLAND.

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For a copy of the Vanderbilt Centennial Celebration Registration Form, please visit www.arteauto.com

Guy Frost, Exec. Dir. 5 Sinclair Martin Drive, Roslyn, NY 11576 T/F 516-621-2745


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