2008 marked the 100th anniversary of the original Great Race, which was run in 1908 to tout the potential of a relatively new invention called the automobile. The 100th anniversary race was originally scheduled to run in the summer of 2008, but the race was postponed after the Chinese government revoked travel permits for foreigners traveling throughout the country following demonstrations in Tibet and surrounding the Olympic Torch Run.
The Great Race: New York to Paris has been rescheduled to begin Spring 2010. The original New York to Paris Great Race in 1908 is widely considered to be one of the most remarkable automotive adventures of the 20th century—an automobile race before the advent of today’s modern highways and gas stations. In the anniversary rerun, thirty racers will leave New York and retrace the original route to Paris. One focus of the 2009 version of the Great Race is the use of alternative fuels, with a number of the entrants driving vehicles that have been retrofitted for a variety of fuels.
Ignite Digital has become part of the Great Race as the official vehicle wrap supplier to the designated "spokescar" for the race – the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette owned and driven by Jerry D. Price of Plymouth, Wisconsin. For over 34 years, Jerry has been one of the leading forces in the alternative fuel business. He has raced alternative fueled vehicles for years, and has converted the Corvette that will be used in the Great Race to run on six alternative fuels—propane, butane, gasoline, methane, ethanol and alcohol.
Upon leaving Times Square in New York, entrants will travel west in the United States through Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, & Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, they will board a ship with their cars and travel to Shanghai, China and continue driving across China through Kazakhstan, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, and France. They will finish at the Eiffel Tower in Paris 65 days after the start of the race. The Great Race 2009 is truly a historic event, all to celebrate the original adventures of 1908.
Ignite Digital has printed and installed partial vinyl wraps and decals for the sponsors of the Chevrolet Corvette and has produced display graphics for use at car shows and during the Great Race itself. The experiences we have shared with Jerry and the Great Race team have been incredible, and we wish him the best of luck and cheer him on to victory!
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