‘The Great Race’ slated for 2011

Plymouth resident Jerry Price, 50, owner of Price Team Racing and president of Collective Knowledge LLC, is the focus of media interviews these days, as he prepares to participate in the adventure of a lifetime – The Great Race around the World, from New York to Paris.

The Mir Corporation headquartered in Seattle, Wash., is organizing the 63-day event, which will encompass 23,500 miles through 12 countries – the United States, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland and France.

“The Great Race around the World is a rally,” Price explained. “The winner is based on the team scoring the highest amount of points. The rally is not based on speed, but on accuracy and on being in the exact location, according to the directions given each day of the event.”

Competitors will average 200 miles on the road each day. However, they will cover up to 500 miles per day on occasion.

“The most difficult part is finishing the race, because it takes a lot of endurance to continue driving for so many days,” Price said.

The winner of the race, based on the team scoring the highest amount of points, will receive a significant cash award, of a yet undisclosed amount.

There are two classes of cars in the race – Schuster and Innovation. The Schuster class is for cars manufactured prior to 1960, such as the Model T and Hudson. The Innovation Class for flex-fuel vehicles, such as Price’s Corvette.

Price’s father-in-law Richard Goshert, Warsaw, Indiana, and Ed Gaven a Yuba City, Calif. resident, will be Price’s navigators – Goshert for the first part of the race and Gaven for the second half.

Twenty-six teams of two persons each will compete in the race, beginning at Times Square in New York on April 14, 2011. On the route here in the United States, competitors will travel from New York to Chicago, St. Louis, Wichita, Dallas, Arizona, Las Vegas and end up in Los Angeles.

On April 25 at Long Beach, “Our vehicles will be loaded onto a ship that will transport them to Beijing, China,” Price said. “The contestants in the race will return home at that time.

The ship is slated to arrive at Beijing May 21. From May 21-24, 2011, the ship’s contents will be involved in clearing customs.

The race will then continue in Beijing on May 24. The Great Race around the World concludes at the Eiffel Tower in France on July 11, 2011.

Price’s wife Theresa will join him in France. She will also follow him with a group of her friends on the trek from New York to Chicago.

“During the race from New York to Los Angeles, several members of antique-car clubs and Harley clubs will follow along,” Price said. “Some Chinese and Russian people will follow along with their car clubs.”

The eight U.S. teams in the race will hold a Finish Party at the Safe House in Milwaukee, at a date to be determined.

Price will drive his white 2008 Chevrolet Corvette with a black convertible top. It is a flex-fueled car, able to run on six types of fuel – propane, butane, methane, ethanol, gasoline, and alcohol.

While he is in Russia, he will use vodka to fuel his car. “The Safe House in Milwaukee supplied 300 gallons of Smirnoff vodka,” he said. “I asked them if we had to burn it.”

In preparation for the race, Price had some modifications performed on his vehicle, which can reach a speed of 200 miles per hour.

A high-performance, fresh-air cleaner system was installed. Also, “Dick Binder, an auto technician at Cal & Gus Motors in Elkhart Lake donated his time to install a high performance dual exhaust system on my car,” Price said.

“My car increased 20 percent in performance with the modifications,” Price said. “It gets more miles per gallon now and is cleaner burning.”

Major sponsors for Price’s vehicle, among others are: Alliance Energy Services, North Kansas City, Mo.; Orion Energy Systems, Plymouth and Manitowoc; Safe House, Milwaukee; Lake Street Café, Elkhart Lake; Larry’s Good Times Inn, Kiel; Larry’s Shooters, Fond du Lac; Mueller’s Sales & Service Inc., Random Lake; Theel Auto, Elkhart Lake; Quic Qui Oc Golf Course, Elkhart Lake; Concept Works, Elkhart Lake; BC Signs, Manitowoc and Amy’s Apparel, Manitowoc.

“I have been able to get local businesses involved to produce products for the Great Race around the World,” Price said.

For example, Concept Works employees constructed the acrylic display signs that tell the story of the 1908 Great Auto Race, which next year’s race will commemorate. The signs will be displayed at various locations throughout the United States within the coming year.

Amy’s Apparel is handling the embroidery and selling of apparel for the Great Race around the World.

Also, BC Signs is providing the logos for all of the cars in the race and updated the logos on Price’s car.

The Great Race around the World is being held to commemorate the original Great Auto Race of 1908, sponsored by the New York Times and La Martin, a Paris-based newspaper. That race covered 22,000 miles through four countries in 169 days.

“It still blows me away that 250,000 people were in Times Square in 1908 to watch the cars leave,” Price said.

Six teams entered the 1908 competition, with four cars finishing the race. George Schuster, Sr. of Buffalo won the race with his American Thomas Flyer, manufactured by the E.R. Thomas Motor Co. of Buffalo. That vehicle is now ranked as one of the top 10 most important in history and is on display at a Las Vegas museum.

Price noted that Schuster’s great-grandson Jeff Mahl is working with the World Race Organization in laying out plans for next year’s race.

“The sister car of the 1907 Thomas Flyer car that won the 1908 race will be in next year’s race,” Price said.

The Great Race around the World was originally slated for 2008. However, it had to be postponed, after the Chinese government revoked travel permits for foreigners traveling throughout the country, following demonstrations in Tibet, related to the Olympic Torch Run.

Then, an earthquake that same year destroyed one of the roads on the China circuit that was to be used in the race. That road has now been replaced.

Meanwhile, race organizers had hoped to sponsor the race this year, but found that coordinating the details among the various media outlets that will be involved with reporting the race is a monumental task.

“It was a blessing that the race was postponed, as this now gives us more time to organize,” Price said.

Regarding the media coverage, live cameras will be placed in four of the contestants’ cars, including Price’s. He will then be interviewed on various TV networks each evening.

Viewers will be able to see much of the race on TV at ESPN, FOX, Comcast and CNN. Also Price’s Web site and the World Race Web site (listed at end of article) will have updates about details of the Great Race around the World.

Price continues to be the center of media attention, as he completes final tasks leading up to the race.

“Price Team Racing has had more than 250 interviews during the past year from media around the world,” he said.

Note: To keep informed of events regarding the 2011 Great Race around the World, access the following Web sites: www.worldrace2011.com and www.priceteamracing.com