Enthusiasts can Join the Historic ‘Great Race’ for as few as 3 days
NEW YORK – The 100th anniversary re-run of the 1908 New York to Paris “Great Race” is open to classic car enthusiasts who wish to participate on a less ambitious level than the 65-day, 22,000 mile rally. Enthusiasts interested in joining the around-the-world adventurers can participate in one of three regional segments or “stages”; Great Race North America, Great Race China and Great Race Europe. To provide an opportunity to get even more teams involved, Great Race is also accepting participants anywhere along the route for as little as 3-days to a week for the milestone adventure.
“The Great Race has always been a two-week long investment in time and money. Given the historical importance of the 1908 anniversary, we want to provide more teams with an opportunity to join us and celebrate one of the greatest motorsports events in history,” said Bill Ewing, chief executive officer of Great Race Sports, Inc., organizer of the event.
Classic cars that are at least 25 years old and older are eligible. Vehicles manufactured after 1983 may also be accepted on an individual basis. Teams may also participate in modern cars, powered by renewable fuel or hybrid-electric technology.
Additionally teams now have a choice of competing in one of two competitive classes; “Great Race Classic” featuring traditional Great Race rules or “Great Race International” which allows teams to participate with the use a GPS, calculator and an odometer.
The competition is a time-speed-endurance road rally. The participants attempt to follow precise course instructions while attempting to match a computer generated perfect time. They are timed using GPS communications transmitters, which will be installed in each car. (Seven day or two week participants only.)
Participants can join the world competitors, beginning on stage 1, Great Race North America. For 25 years, Great Race Sports has been creating vintage-car rallies across North America. In 2008, that event – known as Great Race 2008: North America will start on May 30 in New York City where a full field of North American entrants is expected to join the historic event.
Beginning in New York City, the Great Race will follow a route similar to what was traveled in 1908 with stops in Hyde Park, Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo, N.Y. The route then moves north to Canada where scheduled stops include Oshawa (Toronto), where a number of regional participants will join the race; Ottawa; Sault Ste. Marie;Thunder Bay, (where the teams will have a day off); Winnipeg, Edmonton, Canmore and Kelowna, with the finish in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Those teams participating from New York to Paris will be flown from Vancouver to Shanghai, People’s Republic of China where they will be joined by a new field of stage entrants for Great Race China. This is the 2nd stage of the Great Race, beginning on June 21 in Shanghai and finishing at Urumqi in western China on July 3. Teams are welcome to signup for either Great Race China or to participate from Shanghai to Paris.
Stage 3 from Urumqi to Berlin is next for the world participants. This is the longest stage of the event, traveling through Kazakhstan to the Russian capital of Moscow before the finish of that stage in Berlin, Germany on Saturday, July 26.
The New York-Paris cars will then be joined on July 28 in Berlin, Germany by the final group of regional and local participants for Great Race Europe – for a journey along some of the most scenic roads in the world to the grand finish on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Great Race Europe will include stops in Prague, Czech Republic; Munich, Germany; Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland; and Troyes and the final destination of Paris, France.
The deadline for the stage entrants is April 11, 2008
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 am
Is it possible to join the event during Stage 3, from Urumqi to Berlin, or at Kazakhstan, at Russia ?
March 25th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Absolutely! We welcome participants anywhere along the route. Please send me an email at mike@greatrace.com and we will send you some information. Thanks for your interest. Mike
March 25th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
What about in a motorcycle-and-sidecar outfit, if it’s black, sinister, and over 25 years old? Could me and my trusty sidekick compete wearing leather helmets and pilot goggles? We would promise to grow mustaches and twirl them.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Please! That sounds like fun… Of course then I will need to ask Professor Fate to stay home!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
Hi Mike, Can you tell me when and where the vehicles will be when they reach Vancouver - at the airport, the downtown docks or where? Thanks, - our club wishes to make an event of it and travel from Victoria (on the Island) for the day. Thanks again and I look forward to your reply.
Lorne
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
i’m a director of the local porsche club in edmonton, i suggest meeting the cars 100 km outside edmonton , drive with them to edmonton and make a stop in a park or the local porsche dealer and allow our drivers to mingle with the classic cars . Like your comment asap so i have a change to get approval from the excutive. Where will the group stay overnite in edmonton?
ps would it be possible for a 1984 porsche carrera be accepted as a noth american participant?( 24 years)
April 4th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
What date will the racers be in Kelowna, B.C. and where would the best place to see them be??
Thank you.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:14 am
What are the options for 3 day to 7 day participation in the US and/or Canada?