Gridlife Lime Rock Park 2022
Gridlife has been high on my list of events I’ve been wanting to attend since it’s inception. Their motorsport-centric festivals are like a real life Forza Horizon - a full weekend of time attack, drifting, wheel to wheel, car shows, and parties. It’s an overused comparison but I can’t think of a better way to describe an event like this. It’s something everyone needs to check out at least once. This year Gridlife added Lime Rock to their tour so my chance had finally come to me! I tried my best to capture everything I could throughout the day from the track and from the show.
Gridlife at Lime Rock brought two special elements to this event. For the first time in it's history, LRP hosted drifting on it's main track. In the past there were drift events held here at the smaller autocross track within its grounds, but never the main track. Additionally, Gridlife partnered with Prime NYC of 7’s Day fame to curate a car show up on the hill overlooking the track.
Welcoming attendees to the show was this can't-miss RWB 993 covered in a Martini livery and sporting some Work Meister M1s with deep enough lips you could only see the face nearly head on.
RWB may have exploded in popularity in the past 10 years, but they're not the only tuner known for wide Porsches in Japan. Sunburst is another tuning house that's been crafting imposing 911s since the 993 was new and this 964 is the first I've ever seen in person. Their style is more a blend of traditional Japanese tuning and styling with OEM Porsche cues. The front bumper is Sunburst's 74RS type and the fenders are their RSR Type 3 offerings which come as a complete quarter replacement rather than a flare. Filling those flares are a very Japanese Work Meister S1s.
Alan of Function Auto wasn't driving today but still came by in his K-swapped, JTCC-inspired EG sedan.
Jorge brought out his incredible NA1 NSX running Mugen M7s for the occasion.
Loved this EG6 with a Back Yard Special wing and what I believe is also a BYS front lip but don't quote me on that. A clean and crisp interior and exterior highlight the Sprint Hart CPRs as a centerpiece.
Surprisingly, there were two WC34 Stageas on display. This Stagea had the de facto BNR34 front end swap. Advan GTs are a perfect wheel style for such a car and the gold color picked up on the warmer tone of the white paint.
If you prefer your Stagea to actually look like one, this one served as a great example of how good it can look when you keep the factory front end. Nismo LMGT4s were the perfect accessory to the look.
Loved this S30 running Star Road Glow Star wheels. The paint was such an excellent shade.
Always exciting to poke around a Lancia Delta Integrale!
These two simply styled AE86s made a good combo.
OEM aero, TE37s, a 4AGE, and ITBs - the formula for a timeless AE86.
I think this was my favorite AE86 in attendance. The rare Casablanca Mesh produced by Speed Star were perfect.
Crown Speed Lab brought their Voltex Circuit Version III S2000 and some Tsukuba vibes to the event.
The S-Chassis show out was pretty strong! Most of them were drifting but a few just came to flex.
A couple excellent, classic JDM street style Evos parked up together. The pair brought a solid Import Tuner Magazine 2014 vibe when JDM dream parts and the ultimate all rounder street machine were king.
The pits were like a car show as well! This 190E was a highlight of the event for me. It started as a basic 190E and now sports a Cosworth Evo II look over Rotiform monoblocks. Behind the wheels are six pot AMG front brakes and four pot rears off a C63. The brakes are foreshadowing the racing intentions of this build and the exciting power plant propelling it. The AMG theme spawned from the M133 2.0T from the GLA45/CLA45 mated to a 716.6 manual transmission from a W203. The M133 makes 375hp/350tq in stock form so the 400whp it makes now is hearty for the chassis but light work for the engine. The chassis features some interesting custom work to improve handling like W204 C63 control arms and knuckles, Bilstein coilovers, and an E46 M3 steering rack.
The homie George Ozmenkin of Select Speed Shop was getting ready to hit the track in his Origin Labo kitted, SR20 weapon. The exterior is stylish without being in your face and the interior is all business with behind the single bucket seat stripped of it’s interior except for the half cage to keep things stiff and safe.
This track was not an easy track to drift without power. The layout may have been simple, but the corners are long and sweeping. George’s S13 makes mid-400s with an SR20DET and a turbo manifold designed and fabricated by Select Speed Shop.
Yuki Wada brought out his ER34 sedan and used every ounce of his RB25 NEO!
Eric Peckham is an animal! His ballistic, big turbo Miata was blowing people away keeping up with all the JZ and V8 cars. It was weird seeing such a short wheelbase car hold steady with ease through such long, sweeping corners.
Style is great, aero is great, Panasport G7 C5C2s are enviable!
The North East has a thing for the X8 Cressida chassis that doesn’t seem to be shared in the rest of the country, and that’s a shame because they‘re an excellent chassis and look excellent too. With the prices of JZX90/100s going through the roof, it’s worth considering an earlier entry in Toyota’s sporting 4 door legacy.
PJ Prenderghast of Bosstown was driving his FC3S to it’s absolute limit. The roughly 250hp this 13B put down was probably the lower limit of power you’d need to link this track - or at least the more driftable first part. Between high temps and foot-to-the-floor driving, PJ dropped his front bumper and hood in hopes of increasing cooling.
Moments before disaster.
Jimmy Oakes was ripping in his 1JZGTE S13.