Lime Rock Park was saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Sharp, a true legend in sports car racing. Bob’s impact on motorsports, particularly at Lime Rock, was immeasurable.

Bob started out as a Datsun dealer from Wilton, Conn. He started racing at the age of 21 in 1960. Made history when he scored the first SCCA National victory for a Japanese car on Labor Day, 1964, with a Datsun 1500 in G Production. He scored his first National championship for Datsun in F Production — also Datsun’s first title. He wound up with six National titles along with an IMSA GTU championship. A winner of 45 races in 71 starts at LRP, Sharp retired from driving in 1976 after breaking his wrist in an accident at Lime Rock Park. He logged more than 11,000 miles at LRP.

Concentrating on running his dealership and racing team, Sharp’s early drivers included Sam Posey, Bruce MacInnes and Elliott Forbes-Robinson. When the marque’s name became Nissan, Sharp continued with drivers including his son Scott, team partner Paul Newman, Jim Fitzgerald, Walter Payton and Tom Cruise.