“The Great Race” is still on … for now.
Organizers of the event, a re-creation of the legendary 1908 road race across three continents, filed for bankruptcy protection in Denver on Monday. The flagging economy and problems with travel permits in China put the brakes on Orange, Calif.-based Rally Partners Inc., president Bill Ewing said.
“It’s a Chapter 11 filing, so we plan to restructure and move forward with the race next April,” Ewing said.
But Rally Partners reported $2.3 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 in assets in its bankruptcy filing. Among its unsecured creditors are 33 registered racers who have paid a total of $1.4 million in advances on entry fees.
“I think with the momentum and perseverance that the Great Racers have, if we can get our collective selves together, we can make this happen,” said Jack Crabtree of Goose Creek, S.C., who paid Rally Partners $168,000 for his four-member team to race a 1930 Ford Model A. “It’s going to require some more money out of our pockets, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The event had been scheduled for May 30 to mark the 100th anniversary of the original New York-to-Paris “Great Race” in 1908.
But in April, Rally Partners postponed the race. The Chinese government revoked its travel permits after demonstrations in Tibet and surrounding the Olympic torch run, the company said.
The race of up to 65 days is now scheduled for next April 25. It is to begin in New York and travel west through Canada. A cargo plane is to fly the cars, most of them vintage models, to China, where the race is to continue west toward Europe.
Rally Partners and a predecessor group have run versions of the Great Race in North America for 25 years. The race has awarded $6 million in prize money, and its backers say it is the longest-running competition for classic cars.
Rally Partners is owned by a group of investors led by brothers Bill and Mike Ewing.
Rally Partners’ office is in Orange, Calif., though it lists a Centennial mailing address in the bankruptcy filing.
In the 1908 race, launched by a challenge from the French newspaper Le Matin and The New York Times, six autos started the three-continent journey in New York and three made it to Paris. The winner took 169 days, including a voyage across the Pacific Ocean by boat.
The race inspired the 1965 comedy “The Great Race,” starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
