The Great Auto Race
Newspapers knew they could sell papers with races and auto manufacturers saw a direct relationship between winning and sales. Presidents and Kings understood the value of such spectacles, feeding everyman’s hunger for competition and quenching their thirst for patriotism.
The challenge: to travel by car around the world from New York to Paris. And with the crack of a golden pistol, the greatest auto race on earth was begun on February 12, 1908.
The American Thomas Flyer, the German Protos, the French de Dion, Motobloc, and Sizaire all started from New York … three made it to Paris. What drove these men to take six months out of their lives and embark on a journey that no one at that time had ever attempted, and hasn’t since. Their prize: a trophy … and knowing that you had done it.
The Greatest Auto Race on Earth is a two-hour documentary that tells the story of these men and machines. George Schuster, Antonio Scarfoglio, Hans Koeppen, St. Chaffray, Hans Hansen, Sirtoria, Haaga … all characters whose lives were changed by this great event…an event now being told on film for the first time. “I like people who do something, not the good safe man who stays at home,” said Teddy Roosevelt. The Greatest Auto Race on Earth captures that enthusiasm … and reminds the world to dream …dream big!