Peter Windsor does laps at Lime Rock

Lime Rock Park has seen more than a few F1 cars take to its sinewy 1.53 miles, albeit in vintage form, while F1’s Charlie Whiting, the FIA race director and safety delegate, comes every few years to complete his track inspection preceding the issuance of Lime Rock’s circuit license. And it goes without saying that literally dozens of former Grand Prix drivers have competed at Lime Rock in other categories.

Yet, one of F1’s most recognizable and well-known – especially to American fans – players had never been to Lime Rock Park.

Until now.

On Saturday, November 14, Peter Windsor came to the famed track at the behest of local legend Sam Posey, a longtime friend. Posey was going to give Windsor some hot laps during one of the Lime Rock Park Drivers Club’s private track days.

Windsor works alongside Posey during the broadcasts of the Formula 1 races on SPEED TV; surprisingly, Windsor had never been to the circuit in all his years covering motorsport.

Posey, driving a Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 sedan provided by his friend Rob Moran, an M-B public relations officer, did a bunch of hot laps with Windsor riding shotgun.

“Of course, I’ve known of Lime Rock forever and had always wanted to visit," Peter said, “and it truly is a gem. The Downhill is brilliant – you carry a lot of speed through there, so your front straight velocity is much higher than you would think, given its length. I’m glad Sam asked me up here."

Windsor has been a player in the Grand Prix world since the late 1970s, when he began covering the sport for various U.K.-based racing publications. Throughout his F1 career, Windsor has held numerous influential positions on both the commercial and editorial sides of F1, including management posts with Williams and Ferrari.

Today, Windsor is the Grand Prix editor of F1 Racing Magazine (published by Haymarket Worldwide, which also produces California-based RACER and U.K.-based Autosport) in addition to his broadcast journalism duties with SPEED.

Of course, F1 fans know that earlier this year, Windsor and engineer/designer Ken Anderson announced the formation of their new-from-the-ground-up Grand Prix team, USF1, which is set to hit the season-opening grid March 12-14, 2010, at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Windsor is leading the first American F1 racing team – it’s headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. – since Penske Racing ran a U.K.-based team in 1974, ’75 and ’76