The Greatest Auto Race 2008 - New York To Paris Via Mongolia !

"I like people who do something, not the good safe man who stays at home" Theodore Roosevelt once said. According to Julie Fenster’s Race of the Century: The Heroic True Story of the 1908 New York to Paris Auto Race, Roosevelt delivered his speech to a crowd of 250,000 New Yorkers that had assembled in Times Square to witness the commencement of the longest race in the history of the then-fledgling automobile industry. Officially, it was called the "Greatest Auto Race on Earth." Six cars from four different countries competed in the contest, and only half would eventually cross the finish line in Paris some 22,000 miles (35,000 km) down the road. In an age before the interstate highway system, simply driving coast-to-coast would have been an extraordinary feat. The goal was to prove the “newfangled” combustion engine powered automobile was not only a practical, durable machine, but could also meet the demands of a future on the move.

Dubbed "Great Race World" the event will again commence in Manhattan on February 12 - Lincoln’s birthday - of 2008 and end some 80 days later at the Eiffel Tower. To reach their destination, the cars will need to travel approximately 400 miles per day across rugged terrain. The circuitous route, the details of which are still being finalized, will wind its way westward through San Francisco, then cross the Pacific by container ship to Shanghai, China, and then proceed to such exotic destinations as Ulaanbaatar and Irkutsk. From Beijing to Berlin and Prague to Paris, the Great Race World promises the ultimate in automotive adventuring. Despite many changes over the last century, teamwork, determination and ingenuity are still required to finish, let alone win. Not every vehicle will make it, as even the slightest human error or mechanical malfunction can end a team's chances of finishing. To celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Greatest Auto Race, two divisions will compete in this special event. In the Innovation Technology Division, race teams can use the latest alternative fuels and automotive engineering to create reliable, innovative solutions that may propel next generation of automotive travel. In the Classic Division, racers will drive street legal classic automobiles, manufactured in 1969 or earlier, as they follow in the tire tracks of the original adventurers’ quest. Unlike other motor sports events, anyone can enter and win GREAT RACE WORLD - private teams, manufacturers, and educational institutions are welcome to apply. The deadline to submit your application to enter GREAT RACE WORLD is February 2007. Only 40 teams (20 in the classic division and 20 in innovative division) will be allowed to enter. The entry fee for a two-person team is $65,000 for the classic division or $40,000 for private entries to the innovative division ($75,000 for corporate). But the rewards far outweigh the risk: namely, a $1 million innovation - vehicle prize and a $500,000 purse for the classic division. But to finish is to win - if for no other reason, President Roosevelt—no stranger to adventure himself - would like you for it.