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BRIDGEHAMPTON - THE DUST AND THE GLORY

It stood at the pinnacle of American car racing during the golden age of the sport in the 50s and 60s. They called it “The Bridge” and mostly they loved and feared the place. Stirling Moss called it the “most challenging course in America ” and routinely it embarrassed world class drivers during the heyday of the Can-Am, Trans-Am and international sports car races. It was a place of wonderfully diabolical natural beauty.

The Bridge is no longer. It’s a private, luxury golf course now. Key portions of the track have been preserved however, and if you listen, you can almost hear the roar of the groundthumpers flying into Millstone corner at 200 mph to the whoop of 80,000 fans.

This is your site. It’s maintained as a tribute by the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group, a band of enthusiasts who kept racing alive at Bridgehampton for nearly two decades. If you ever experienced The Bridge, we welcome your photos and comments. Through this site, the excitement of Bridgehampton lives on.

Rogers House

The Nathaniel Rogers House, the newly renovated and fully restored Greek-revival residence is now outfitted with replica wooden shutters and a white picket fence.
Courtesy of Ellen Wallop

IN THE NEWS March 2024;

BRIDGEHAMPTON’S LEGENDARY RACING HISTORY FEATURED IN NEW GALLERY

Fans of the legendary Bridgehampton Race Circuit are celebrating the creation of a new exhibit at the Bridgehampton  Museum (pictured) dedicated to the legendary history of motorsport at Bridgehampton.

Covering the years 1915- 1997, the exhibits draw from the rich collections of the Bridgehampton Museum, the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group, and Robert Rubin. The new exhibition will include everything from early films and vintage photo collections to unique Bridgehampton racing memorabilia, and continuous showings of “Glory Days at The Bridge” a brand new proprietary film tracing  the history of Bridgehampton that features legendary racers and is narrated by Richard Kind.

The exhibits will be bolstered by scholarly assistance by the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group, and celebrity talks and cocktails, as well as the annual September Cars’ n Coffee event that draws hundreds of rare sports cars and other events celebrating racing’s Golden Age. Stay tuned!

Mark your calendars for June 2024, when the green flag drops on opening day!

Contact us & read more about how you can help shape this long awaited project.

 

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What's New

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Bridgehampton Race Circuit in active times (click for larger image)

It is with sadness that the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group announces the death of our co-founder Guy Ladd Frost on March 14, 2019, at the age of 85. Architect, preservationist, and well-known motorsports enthusiast, Guy was the prime mover behin CLICK HERE TO WATCH
In the driver’s seat of Bridgehampton’s glory days

Watch our 2021 video featuring 3 legendary drivers – Joe Buzzetta, Bobby Brown, and Herb Wetanson – and their cars as they recount some wild adventures during Bridgehampton’s heyday!
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
January 2009: Watch a rare video of the great 1968 Can-Am. It features memorable footage of winner Mark Donohue charging over the hill at the back of the pits into what he called "the roughest, most challenging part of the course." BTW; if anyone has January 2009: Watch a rare video of the great 1968 Can-Am. It features memorable footage of winner Mark Donohue charging over the hill at the back of the pits into what he called "the roughest, most challenging part of the course." BTW; if anyone has CLICK HERE TO WATCH
October 2013: The annual BHRG celebration of the Bridgehampton Race Circuit and rally through the back roads of the Hamptons is scheduled for October 5th. CLICK HERE TO WATCH
October 2012: The annual BHRG celebration of the Bridgehampton Race Circuit and rally through the backroads of the Hamptons took place on October 6, 2012, a beautiful autumn day.





Click here to view Bridge Days 2012 Photos by Andy Hartwell.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
October 2011: Maybe it was the threat of rain, but when the GT40, D-Type Jag, and Lister rumbled into the exhibition grounds through the fog early on Saturday Oct 1 for the Bridgehampton Days Festival, it felt just a bit like Le Mans in its heighday. CLICK HERE TO WATCH
October 2010: On a brilliant Fall day, the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group again hosted a celebration of the world-famous Bridgehampton Race Circuit. The event was held in conjunction with the annual vintage car rally at the Bridgehampton Historical CLICK HERE TO WATCH
October 2009: Customers at the Bridgehampton Candy Kitchen saw seismic waves ripple through their coffee when Jan Nelson fired up his Shelby Notchback Trans-Am Mustang at Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group's annual 'I Survived The Bridge' celebration. October 2009: Customers at the Bridgehampton Candy Kitchen saw seismic waves ripple through their coffee when Jan Nelson fired up his Shelby Notchback Trans-Am Mustang at Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group's annual 'I Survived The Bridge' celebration. CLICK HERE TO WATCH
January 2009: Watch a rare video of the great 1968 Can-Am. It features memorable footage of winner Mark Donohue charging over the hill at the back of the pits into what he called "the roughest, most challenging part of the course." BTW; if anyone has CLICK HERE TO WATCH
CLICK HERE TO WATCH

UsE THIStrackscanThe site layout featured a jaw-dropping 180-degree view of Long Island 's North Fork, Shelter Island, Sag Harbor and the sailboats on Peconic Bay. The circuit had four vertical elevation changes totaling 130 feet and eight distinct corners, including a banked hairpin curve around a hillock at the lowest point of the course. A flat-out straightaway nearly 3/4 of a mile long suddenly disappears into a hair-raising decreasing radius downhill curve, known as Millstone Turn. More than one international star has called this steep decline, which is blind and taken flat out in most race cars, the most difficult turn in racing. Sam Posey, for one, said that sailing off the abyss in a sports racer was like “flying into an air pocket” in a plane.