May 8, 2000
Classic cars on their way to Duluth
By Irv Mossberger
When's the last time you saw a 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost?
Like most people, the next time you see one will probably be the first. And you could see one in Duluth on June 29.
The Rolls-Royce is one of 40 vintage cars taking part in the first Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge. The rally stops in Duluth from June 29-July 1.
Tim Winker of the Arrowhead Sports Car Club said headquarters for the local stop will be the downtown Holiday Inn. The cars will be available for inspection by the public, but just where hasn't been decided.
``We're working on that,'' said Winker. ``We're hoping to find some open place where people can see them. We've talked about a couple of places, but the problem we're running into now is that a lot of car clubs from around the country are going to be here, so we'll need some room.''
Those car club members also will bring their own cars, including Jaguars, Austin-Healeys, Alfa-Romeos, Citroens and others, said Winker.
``It looks like we may wind up with hundreds of cars, besides the rally cars. It could end up being quite a bash,'' he said.
The rally started May 1 on London Bridge with 100 cars. They were scheduled to be in Istanbul, Turkey -- Constantinople if you have an old map, Byzantium if it's an ancient map -- today.
Some cars were entered in only the London-to-Istanbul leg. The second leg is Istanbul to Beijing, or Peking, as the sponsoring Classic Rally Association refers to the city.
From China, the autos participating in the Around the World Challenge will be airlifted by Russian cargo planes to Anchorage, Alaska, for the North American leg starting June 11. That leg will take four weeks and run through Canada to Bozeman, Mont.
From Duluth, the rally continues to Newark, N.J., and then by cargo planes to Marrakech, Morocco, across the Strait of Gilbraltar to Spain and back to London for the final leg.
Winker and Randy Jokela of Cloquet will join the rally in Bozeman, filing stories and photographs for various car club magazines.
Drivers and their navigators from many countries are in the around-the-world event. Seven entries are from the U.S., including Bill Larson and Terry Maxon in the 1913 Rolls-Royce.
Other U.S. entries are a 1929 Bentley Speed Six and a 1952 Citroen. U.S.-made cars include a 1938 Packard touring sedan and a 1939 Ford V8 convertible.
Whether all 40 cars reach Duluth is another matter. The roads and the various mixtures of gasoline the drivers will encounter along the way could take a toll on the older cars, Winker said.
On the morning of Saturday, July 1, the cars will leave from near the William A. Irvin and proceed along Railroad Street, then over the Blatnik Bridge and through Superior on their way to Marquette, Mich.
Irv Mossberger can be reached at (218) 723-5303 or 800-456-8181 or by e-mail at imossberger@duluthnews.com