Outside Ogunquit, Maine, during the 2014 Hagerty Trophy Run. Photo by author.
The Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty is arguably the quintessential vintage car rally. First run in 1983, it was conceived as a time/distance/endurance rally across the country. Over time it grew to include five divisions – Grand Champion, Expert, Sportsman, Rookie and X-Cup – and is now open to all 1972 and older collectible cars, trucks and motorcycles (yes, a motorcycle competed once). In recent years it’s been massaged to a more manageable 2,400-mile, nine-day test of man and machine that has taken entrants down the east coast, along the Mississippi River and around the Great Lakes. So when it was announced that the 2015 Great Race would return to the west – for the first time in several years – and travel along historic Route 66, it was expected entries would be swiftly submitted.
On October 8 we reported that there were less than 20 spots remaining. Great Race director Jeff Stumb has since announced that the 100-vehicle field has been sold out in record time, and there is a lengthy list of hopefuls waiting to hear of cancellations.
Why cap the number of Great Race entries at 100 (excluding X-Cup, reserved for college and high school teams)? Teams depart each day’s starting line at one minute intervals. When you do that math, it’s easy to understand the limitation, not forgetting the logistics involved for officials and support crews that have to stay one step ahead of the racers.
For 2015, teams will begin arriving in Kirkwood, Missouri, in advance of the now-traditional, equally-challenging warm-up rally, the Hagerty Trophy Run, which will be held on Friday, June 19; reportedly it will trace the eastern end of Route 66 in parts of Illinois. Kirkwood will also serve as the official starting point for the 2015 Great Race on Saturday, June 20, at which point teams will rally to a lunch stop in Rolla before finishing the day’s stage in Springfield, Missouri.
Lunch and dinner stops from there – in order of appearance – are Claremore and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on June 21; Elk City (Oklahoma) and Amarillo, Texas, on June 22; Tucumcari and Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 23; Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico, on June 24; Winslow and Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 25; Kingman and Lake Havasu, Arizona, on June 26; Twentynine Palms and San Bernardino, California, on June 27; and lunch at City of Industry, California, before hitting the finish line in Santa Monica, California, on June 28.
Here are a few tips if you are already thinking of catching segments of the Great Race. As is always the case, the exact rally route is kept secret to prevent teams from practicing. Before the start of each day’s stage, teams are given course instructions just one hour before their start time; no GPS or maps are permitted in the rally vehicles, so drivers and navigators must rely on analog watches and course instructions to get from point A to B successfully and on time. The best locations to see the cars and meet the drivers/navigators are at the day’s lunch and dinner stops. Exact locations for each will become available as details are finalized at each host city. We will provide updates here as they become available, or you can monitor the official Great Race website, where you can also learn more about the Great Race history, rules, and award structure.
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