16th Annual Road Rally Comes to Bridgehampton

By Tiffany Razzano

This weekend, the Bridgehampton Historical Society will sponsor its 16th annual Sports Car Road Rally and Vintage Car Tour, kicking it off Friday night with a special, free viewing of the 1961 car racing flick, The Green Helmet.

The grounds of the Bridgehampton Historical Society, on Montauk Highway, will be transformed into an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater. The movie begins at 7:30 p.m. and free soda and popcorn will be given to anyone who shows up in a vintage car.

The Road Rally and Tour will be held on Saturday. The Rally is a 95-mile timed competition through the streets of the South Fork for cars from 1959 and older. "It's a timed event," said John Eilertsen, executive director of the BHHS. "They have to obey the speed limit and pass through timed checkpoints. And they're penalized if they get to a checkpoint too soon or too late."

The Tour follows the same course, but isn't competitive, and is open to cars from 1969 or older. "It's for people who just want to enjoy their cars for the day," Eilertsen said.

As for what course the cars will follow, in case you were planning on trying to catch a glimpse of these slices of Americana cruising around the East End, well, that's "top secret" for now, Eilertsen said. The race route doesn't get released until the morning of the competition to keep any of the drivers from having an unfair advantage. But, he said, some of the checkpoints that are used every year are on the map, including the Bridgehampton Club, Main Street in Sag Harbor and Jobs Lane in Southampton. "This is a competition," he said. "We don't want the drivers to know where they're going ahead of time."

The first car leaves from the BHHS grounds at 10 a.m. and the others follow suit in 90-second intervals. The race is split in two halves and the last car should make it back to the grounds any time between 3 and 4 p.m., Eilertsen said.

Between the two of them, the Rally and the Tour attracts anywhere from 20 to 45 vintage cars, depending on the weather. And you can sign up for the event until all the spaces are filled or by 9 a.m. the morning of the race, whichever comes first. Most of the cars signed up for the race are owned by locals, but the race has also attracted people from as far away as California, who brought their cars to Bridgehampton by trailer.

The Car Show, held on Sunday, is open to any car that might be of interest to automobile aficionados, no matter when it's from, and, in the past, has drawn as many as 100 cars. Awards are given out at the end of the day in several categories, including Best Paint Job, Best Interior and Best Sports Car. Admission to the show is $5 and children under 12 are free.

Car racing is a significant part of Bridgehampton's history and tradition. Street racing was popular in the area between 1910-20, then organized by the local fire department. Local interest in the sport resumed in the 1940s and 1950s, after World War II. Some cars allegedly went as fast as 100 miles per hour. However, it ended in the '50s, after a fatal crash caused the State legislature to pass a law banning street racing. But the Bridgehampton Raceway brought it back, again, this time in a controlled environment. The track closed in the early 1990s, when an influx of people moving to the Hamptons began to build more homes out here and didn't like the noise, Eilertsen said. "But it was a big part of our culture," he said.

This year's Rally, Tour and Car Show will also be commemorating the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's Model T, which is an American icon. The BHHS has invited several Model T owners to join in the event. So far, only one is confirmed to be in attendance this weekend, a Model T owned by Ed Tuccio, of Riverhead.

All proceeds from the weekend will benefit the BHHS. For more information, go to www.bridgehamptonrally.org.

Back to Contents