Rally the Globe launches Alaska to Mexico Marathon for 2023
Full capacity Generations Rally kicks off this year’s exciting programme of European events
Entries now open for this autumn’s Vintage Dolomites – an Italian classic for Pre-war cars
World awaits as Road to Hanoi Marathon now rescheduled for start of 2024
One of the world’s greatest driving adventures has been added to Rally the Globe’s new look calendar of events lavishing owners of vintage and classic cars with a once-in-a-lifetime motoring escapade from Alaska to Mexico.
With the ongoing global pandemic, together with political unrest in Myanmar, hampering the advanced planning of events in South East Asia, the timetabled Road to Hanoi Marathon has been deferred until 2024 and replaced on 2023’s calendar with an unforgettable journey through some of the most spectacular scenery in North America.
Crossing no fewer than 38 lines of latitude, this incredible marathon event will start in the Alaskan city of Anchorage on 27 August 2023 and end 30 days later on the Baja Peninsula, home of the legendary annual Baja 1000 off-road endurance race (outline route map below).
The epic 7500-mile (12,000km) passage south will transport intrepid crews from the striking landscapes and unique wildlife of Alaska to the tropical beaches of Mexico’s stunning Pacific coast. In between the extraordinarily diverse route will traverse asphalt and gravel roads lined with snow-capped mountains, rugged deserts, ancient canyons, towering rock formations and giant sand dunes.
As one of Rally the Globe’s long-distance ‘Marathon’ category events, the emphasis will be on endurance with competitive sections taking advantage of the many gravel and sandy tracks that will be a feature of the route.
Providing some well-earned rest as well as car maintenance and the opportunity for participants to share their unforgettable experiences, four non-driving days have provisionally been booked in Yukon’s old gold rush city of Whitehorse, Osoyoos in British Columbia, Moab the home of the Canyonlands National Park and, finally, the desert resort of Palm Springs.
“We are all very excited to be announcing the Alaska to Mexico Marathon,” enthused Fred Gallagher, Rally the Globe’s gold standard Rally Director. “It will be a very special adventure taking crews on a magical journey from bears in the Rockies to the beaches of Cabo right at the tip of the Baja Peninsula.
“The pandemic may still be presenting unpredictable challenges to the organisation of such international events, but I’m proud that the Rally the Globe team continues to deliver such top-quality experiences. The feedback from the rejigged programme we ran in 2021 has been terrific and, now with the addition of Alaska to Mexico Marathon, I’m confident the next 24 months will be every bit as well received.”
As so successfully run post national lockdowns last year, Rally the Globe’s cleverly conceived 2022 calendar starts in the UK before branching out back into mainland Europe.
The action recommences at the end of March with the innovative Generations Rally based in the picturesque Lake District in north west England. Three very different sorties on the continent follow swiftly thereafter: Carrera España; Ypres to Istanbul Challenge and Vintage Dolomites.
Created specifically to encourage younger family members of the rallying fraternity to experience the very special thrills and camaraderie of historic rally competition, the novel Generations Rally has proven to be an instant hit. The entry list has reached full capacity and a Reserve List has been opened.
The Carrera España which follows is the third of Rally the Globe’s well-loved ‘Carrera’ category events offering luxury accommodation plus asphalt speed tests and regularity tests. Starting in architecturally dazzling Barcelona and finishing in Santander, the capital of Cantabrian cuisine, the 11-day route is set on stunning driving roads through great Spanish countryside and promises fabulous discoveries.
For the more intrepid the Ypres to Istanbul Challenge is a 20-day escapade through eight European countries from the rallying heart of Belgium to the historic gateway to Asia on the Bosphorus in Turkey. As a ‘Challenge’ style rally – and in another step back towards normality – the exceptional enduro will offer Rally the Globe participants the exhilaration of long gravel sections for the first time since the pre-pandemic Southern Cross Safari in East Africa.
This year’s impressive roster of rallies concludes in the autumn with the Vintage Dolomites – entries for which have just opened.
Organised exclusively for cars in the Pre-war category, 2022’s outstanding finale will explore the remarkable scenery of the Austrian Alps and Italian Dolomites (photos and outline route map below bottom). Starting and finishing in Innsbruck the breath-taking itinerary will feature lots of mountain driving and great backdrops – however, as the cars are all more than 75 years old, the days will be a bit shorter with comfortable average speeds on the regularity tests.
“Our strategy of ‘Europe First’ has served us well by offering Rally the Globe crews with some much-needed competition and camaraderie in these challenging times,” explained Graham Goodwin, Rally the Globe Chairman. “Going further forward, we are now incredibly excited to be adding North America to our horizons before returning to an even more global focus with the Road to Hanoi Marathon now rescheduled for the start of 2024.”
For more information on Rally the Globe visit www.rallytheglobe.com.
RALLY THE GLOBE CALENDAR (2022-2023)
25-27 March 2022 Generations Rally
24 April-5 May 2022 Carrera España
13 June–3 July 2022 Ypres to Istanbul Challenge
24 September-2 October 2022 Vintage Dolomites
27 August-26 September 2023 Alaska to Mexico Marathon
27 January-23 February 2024 Road to Hanoi Marathon,Gooding & Co,McLaren
