Anyone who has ever been around the Great Race can tell you it is truly an international event. Through the years the race has been run in the United States, Canada and Mexico. And it has had regular participants from Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. And this year is no different. There are six teams with international flavor, including four which all members are from outside the United States.

Thomas Karr from Uberherm, Germany, returns for a second time, this time with his son Benjamin as his navigator in a 1934 Ford Deluxe Phaeton. Thomas was a participant in 2012 with Ted and Mary Stahl.

All the way from England are Oli and Mike Hallowes, who will be attempting their first Great Race. Oli and Mike are from Stow-On-The-Wold, England, although Oli calls Orlando home now. They bought Dave Coon’s 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, which campaigned flawlessly in last year’s race.

Also from the UK are Tom Nawojczyk from Manchester and Wally Leach from Devizes. They will be competing in a 1966 Jaguar 3.8S, seen above.

The newest team in the Great Race is Guillermo Wam and Toshiharu Akasaka from Japan. Guillermo is originally from Peru but lives in Miami and Japan. They will be driving a 1970 Datsun (Nissan) Laurel.

There are also international members on two of our four X-Cup teams. Part of the McPherson College team from Kansas is Jake O’Gorman from Ennismore, Ontario, which is about 50 miles from the overnight stop we had on the race in 2012 in Barrie. They will be in their 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 again this year.

And finally, Scott Henderson and his daughter Mallory had so much fun on the Great Race last year that when they returned home to Mobile, Ala., they formed an X-Cup team. Joining Mallory navigating this year will be Isabell Janoschka from Ratingen, Germany, in the Henderson’s 1965 Mustang convertible.