European style racing in Wisconsin
Michael August 8th, 2007
Elkhart Lake, the quaint resort town on the north end of the Kettle Moraine State Forest hosts one of the largest Le Mans circuit races in America. Road America is a four mile permament track with fourteen turns spread over 626 acres of land. They host a variety of events featuring Le Mans cars, Karts, Motorcycles, and vintage vehicles. The weekend of August 9-12 features Wisconsin’s largest road race event: American Le Mans on Saturday and Champ Car World Series on Sunday.
According to Roger Dornboos: #14 Minardi Team USACosworth/DP01/Bridgestone:
“Road America is a high speed track, more what I’m used to in Europe. You sort of have to shift your mindset, just as you’d change the setup on your car after racing on a street course. For one thing, there is so much more speed around the turns compared with the street circuits that you have to be much more delicate and precise with the car.
The history of Road America goes back to the early 1950’s when Elkhart Lake hosted road races on the streets around the town. The Wisconsin State Historical Society has a great article available online about early road racing in Elkhart lake.