2026 Historic Festival 44 at Lime Rock Park | Vintage Racing, Concours & Historic Motorsport
The 2026 Historic Festival 44 at Lime Rock Park celebrated more than seven decades of motorsport history through vintage racing, historic car culture, and one of North America's premier gatherings of competition automobiles. Held across Labor Day weekend, the event featured nine racing groups representing everything from Formula Juniors and historic Trans-Am cars to World Challenge machines and classic sports racers.
Historic Festival 44 brought together rare race cars, legendary marques, renowned drivers, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts for a multi-day celebration of motorsport heritage. Practice sessions, competitive races, paddock access, concours activities, and the Gathering of the Marques made the event one of the most anticipated historic racing weekends in the United States.
Group 4 - 20th Century Competition Cars
Group 4 showcased a remarkable collection of twentieth-century competition machinery spanning pre-war racers, post-war sports cars, and classic production-based race cars. The field featured Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, MG, Triumph, Lotus, Morgan, Austin Healey, Lancia, Fiat, Renault, Porsche, Elva, and numerous specialty-built racing cars representing several decades of motorsport development.
From the Bugatti Type 37 Special and Alfa Romeo Monza to MG roadsters, Triumph sports cars, Austin Healeys, and Lotus racers, this group represented some of the most beloved and historically important vehicles in vintage racing. The variety of engineering philosophies, engine configurations, and body styles created one of the most engaging collections of historic race cars at Historic Festival 44.
Group 5 - Historic Trans-Am
Group 5 Historic Trans-Am featured one of the most iconic fields of the weekend, celebrating the legendary Trans-Am championship that defined American road racing during the muscle car era. The field included Chevrolet Camaro Z/28s, Ford Mustang Boss 302s, Mercury Cougars, AMC Javelins, a Penske Javelin, Dodge Challenger, Pontiac Tempest GTO, and other historically significant racing machines.
These cars represent a period when major American manufacturers fought fiercely for racing supremacy on road courses across North America. Their influence extended far beyond the racetrack, shaping performance-car culture and helping create some of the most collectible muscle cars ever produced. Group 5 delivered authentic sights, sounds, and competition from one of motorsport's most beloved championships.
Group 8 - Historic World Challenge
Group 8 celebrated the exciting era of World Challenge racing that emerged during the 1990s and continued into the early 2000s. Featuring GT and Touring Car machinery from major manufacturers including Porsche, Chevrolet, BMW, Audi, Dodge, Toyota, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Ford, and Volkswagen, the field represented one of the most modern categories competing at
Historic Festival 44.
The group showcased everything from Porsche GT3 race cars and Dodge Vipers to BMW M3s, Audi A4s, Chevrolet Corvettes, Toyota Supras, Lotus X180Rs, Ford Mustangs, and Volkswagen GTIs. Together these cars represented a golden era of production-based professional road racing in North America and highlighted the technological advancements that shaped modern motorsports.
Group 8 Race 4 | Historic World Challenge Finale
The final Group 8 race concluded a thrilling weekend of World Challenge competition featuring Porsche GT3s, Chevrolet Corvettes, Dodge Vipers, BMW M3s, Audi A4s, Toyota Supras, Lotus X180Rs, Ford Mustangs, Volkswagen GTIs, and Alfa Romeo touring cars at Historic Festival 44.
