Vintage Cars Storm Tacoma ( 6. July 2005, 22:11 by Derek Young) ~

We’re always fans of vintage cars. So the idea of missing The Great Race as it enters Tacoma just kills us.

Rally-racing street legal vintage cars 170 to 480-plus miles each day on sporty back roads, over all kinds of terrain and in every kind of weather imaginable, The Great Race is a race with a goal other than speed. Best described as a timed endurance rally-race, the smallest error or mechanical malfunction can end a team’s chances of winning.

Here’s how the competition works: Great Race Director of Competition, John Classen, logs more than 20,000 miles on three trips across the USA, searching for the most challenging back roads to incorporate into the competition. Most of the roads traveled by racers are back roads, so Interstates are used only to enter and leave cities. Each speed change, stop, start and turn is specifically detailed in driving instructions. Exact speeds and “perfect” drive times are allotted for each maneuver. The competitors objective is to match the perfect times established by John. To make it very interesting, no electronic devices of any type, including calculators and cell phones, are allowed in the cars, and odometers are removed or sealed.

Maybe you can make it. The cars roll into Tacoma on Saturday. I’ll be on a bike somewhere between here and Oregon. Send pictures.

Link: The Great Race