John Fitch died.

[wisdonm]

John Fitch, the first prominent American sports car racer after WW II and builder of the Fitch Sprint, died Wednesday at the age of 95. We'll miss you old friend.

Edited November 2, 2012 by wisdonm

[Bernard Kron]

A hugely gifted and committed member of the US road racing community, John Fitch always found ways to make significant contributions to the sport throughout his very long life. He was there with the Colliers brothers at the beginning, raced with Briggs Cunningham during the post war emergence of road racing (and again in the mid-60's as both ,finally retired from top-line road racing), and was tapped by Mercedes who wanted to take advantage of his prodigious talents as both a driver and an engineer. A race winning world-class sports car pilot he went on to develop and manage Lime Rock Park and become a fixture in vintage racing. A gifted and prolific inventor, Fitch held numerous patents in the fields of emission control, medical treatments and auto safety. I marveled at the fact that in his twilight years he remained spry, sharp and active, pioneering deformable crash barriers for race tracks.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Bernard Kron

[sjordan2]

For some insights into this legend, I recommend a documentary film called "A Gullwing at Twilight," which records Fitch's 2004 attempt (while in his 80s) to set a speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the 1955 Gullwing that he raced over fifty years earlier. Beautifully shot, and available at Amazon.

Here's a behind-the-scenes look:

http://szwedo.com/makingofgullwing.html

[Rob Hall]

The latest Road & Track magazine came yesterday w/ a good article on him. I want to see that documentary.