Current Photos

Paul Newman on his first ride around Bridgehampton with Mario Andretti. "It was 1967 and Mario took me around Bridgehampton in a 427 Mustang... my first ride with a professional driver. As we approached a fourth gear,blind,down hill righthander, I thought I'd have a better chance of surviving Custer' s Last Stand than this. When we stopped in the pits, I hurled myself from the infernal machine, belly down, kissed the ground, thanked my Maker, and vowed never to kick my dog or as it turned out later, his pig".

A ride with Walt Hansgen, Master of The Bridge:
"Every time he charged over the hillcrest and drifted through the
right-handers - sawing casually on the wheel and discoursing on a variety of subjects - I was convinced I was about to die. I had ridden with many professional drivers, including a number of laps in excess of 170mph around Daytona while sitting on the floor of Lee Roy Yarbrough's Grand National Dodge Charger, but never had I been more petrified than at Bridgehampton with Walter Hansgen."
Legendary automotive journalist Brock Yates in his classic book "Sunday Driver".

A long way from home.
"This here is the end of the earth, and that ain't no shit."
NASCAR grand national champion David Pearson, gazing around the paddock after arriving for practice for the 1966 Bridgehampton Grand National race. (He won, after rival Richard Petty did not start).

From the California Superbike School forum: "What is the most difficult turn on the planet" One poster replies: "Bridgehampton - Turn 2: End of the front straight, flat out, pinned under the bridge, thru kink, down the hill, thru 2 at the bottom and all the way to turn three. (But only on a smallbore) Slightest off-track excursion onto the beach = broken bones. Kinda like coming onto the front straight at Road Atlanta. A good bit faster and imagine no curb and the immediate runoff three inches beyond the edge of the track being deep sand. Always gave me butterflies. Brutal corner worker training, what with bones sticking thru leathers and exploded bodywork/machine clean up after every crash. It was so normal that I never saw a race stopped for an ambulance on track until I left the northeast."

"The Bridge put us through Perils of Pauline adventures - it was variously vibrant, then deathly ill, then on life support, then back to being merely deathly ill. I went there first during the Can-Am days, when the racing was glorious...Dan Gurney, Scooter Patrick, Denny Hulme - the names ring in memory -- the Can-Am days at Bridgehampton were as wonderful as that wonderful series got at any track in the land."
Leon Mandel, Publisher, Autoweek

"It's one of the most difficult course to drive in the country. A very challenging track. It's got some fast sweeps and a lot of blind corners. It's truly a driver's course."
- Hap Sharp, winner of the 1965 Double 500 International Race, aboard a Chaparral.

"It's very fast, tricky and great fun."
- Ronnie Bucknum, Honda Factory Formula 1 driver

"Everybody's always wondering if that road is really where they remembered it when they go over that hill."
- Skip Scott, musing about the task of throwing a monster 427 Cobra into Turn 1.

"This is really a very tricky course. You have to be concentrating every moment because of the blind spots. I'll have to be very, very careful!"
- Mario Andretti, feeling apprehensive moments before the start of his first-ever road race. The 1965 Bridgehampton Double 500.

"Some of my fondest memories are the great times running for Shelby at the Targa Florio in Sicily, Le Mans, Goodwood and Bridgehampton."
- Dan Gurney

"I raced at the bridge in 1979 on my 1978 Suzuki GS1000 superbike as an amateur. We drove all night because had to work and missed the ferry. Had one lap practice due to rain. I ran first until rest of class realized i didn't know where I was going.

The bike I am riding USCRA and AHRMA now is almost a replica of that bike. Great times! "
- Alan Perry

"I found this website about Bridgehampton road racing while just
surfing around one day. It's nice that some history of the track
still attracts some interest. As a member of the AAMRR, I raced at
the Bridge a few times from 1978 to about 1981 on my 1978 Yamaha
XS500E running number 571 or 516. A few fond memories for sure as I
got my first win there in the rain in 1979 as a novice, and still
have my trophy to prove it!"
-Steve Kouzoujian

"I raced the Bridge in the early 70's on grand prix motorcycles, had a ball, it was my favorite track. The Bridge was a real big-time professional track, wide, with all kinds of corners, many blind, great elevation changes. Once went there on a friday, preliminary to a weekend of racing and 'rented' the track for about $50 for the afternoon. No corner workers, no medical, but we were young and carefree but had enough brains not to overcook things and tempt fate. Never got a chance to drive the Porsches I later tracked for fun there, surely wish I had."
-Bill McCulley

"I had a pretty powerful experience when my wife and son decided to go to the south fork for the first time since he was born. I was hoping if the old Bridgehampton Race Circuit sign was still up that I could get a picture there with him. What we got was much more.

I've told my son a lot about the place, and was disappointed to see the sign is down and the entrance road is just a load of weeds growing through the concrete. I asked my wife to continue down Millstone, hoping maybe my son could get a glimpse of the downhill through the winter trees. Then I saw a small sign on the right with a checkered flag and we went in. There we were driving up the downhill and under The Bridge. We took it all the way to the end of the straight, the whole time with me telling my son where the pits were, the scoring tower, etc. As we drove back in the normal direction of the circuit, a UPS truck passed us...it was absolutely surreal. I took pictures of us by the Bridge, still with the Chevron Gasoline sign on it. As we left I told my wife had we done nothing else out east, that would have made it worthwhile. It was so special just to be there again, and to be there with my boy.

Afterwards, I couldn't get over what had happened. I told my wife it was kind of like closure for me. I was thrilled and sad at the same time. Then my son chimed in from the back seat and said "Well Dad, it's kind of like when I make a sand castle. I take all that time working on it, and then the tide just comes in and washes it away. That's just how things are." My wife and I looked at each other, stunned at such a profound comment from our boy who turns 7 in a week." - William Tynan

"Well Dad; it's kind of like when I make a sand castle. I take all that time working on it, and then the tide just comes in and washes it away. That's just how things are."

"Sad that the 'Bridge went under. I n my humble opinion, the greatest spectacle in racing was the start of B Production race, watching a dozen Corvettes coming down the hill 3 abreast- all waiting for the other guy to lift before the right hander at the bottom- THOSE WERE THE DAYS!"
-Dan Chapman

"I can't believe I found your site. My father, along with Steve Ross, used to run the AAMRR races at Bridgehampton. I have a lot of fond memories of that place. Memories that started out when I was a young child, getting my father's helmet to corner working and eventually racing an RS 125 at the bridge.

The sunday morning bicycle races are also forever etched into my mind. (we couldnt start racing until 1:00 PM on Sunday)

I will also never forget the fear I felt as a Novice racer the first time I came into turn 1 flat out. It was actually the second time seeing turn 1that frightened me. (If I recall you car guys used different numbers, 1 was the first kink after the straight, 2 was the turn at the botom of the hill) coming out of the pits 2/3 of the way down the front straight, turn 1 was a piece of cake. However, my second time around after a mile on the front straight turn 1 was intimidating.

Going through my head I remembered the ribbing others had gotten when their friends heard them back off . . just a bit coming into turn 1. The telltale sign of a guy's survival instinct getting the best of hime. I also remembered the stories of the SAND. Oh god, you get into the sand and your front wheel will knife in and over you will go. Broken collar bones were the bread and butter of the cornerworkers.

Who can forget echo valley. Or this one SMOKING hot woman who always used to work on turn 12. (13 and 14 to car guys). Half the time she worked, she would screw up my exit line, which of course haunted me all the way down the front straight. But oh god those cutoff jean shorts. . . but I digress.

Anyway, thanks for the walk down memory lane, complete with a picture of my father on his MTT125."
http://www.bridgehamptonraceway.com/DonMei.htm
-Don Mei Jr.

"A lot has been written about what it was like to race at the Bridge but not much about what it was like to watch a race there. Sure I scared myself silly on my Ducati at the Penguin Motorcycle Racing School but my fondest memories of the Bridge are of my wife and I driving our Wagoneer with our infant son through deep sand to get to our "private" viewing area at the top of hill. There we would spread a picnic blanket, tune the radio to the race call andspend the day watching the bikes come down the back straight, into the horshoe then up the hill right beside us. All the while we had a spectacular view of Long Island Sound. It was our own "place in the Hamptons."

Thank you for the phenomenal site."
-Robey Newsom
Brooklyn, NY