GREAT AMERICAN MOUNTAIN RALLY REVIVAL

A Historic New England Challenge For The Modern Day Motorer

The Great American Mountain Rallye (sic) first ran on Thanksgiving Day, 1953. The three-day competition followed an arduous 1,200-mile route through New England and was specifically designed by the Motor Sports Club of America (MSCA) to put drivers, navigators, and the cars themselves to the test.

Indeed, a 1956 article in Auto Age described the GAMR as “America’s longest, toughest, and coldest rallye.” Despite—or perhaps rising to the challenge of—these characteristics, the event attracted exalted participation, including from automotive greats Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio as well as from automakers like Saab. It was also the first U.S. rally to be sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

FIA distinction is an honor for any motorsport event, but for the fledgling GAMR, it would have been especially vindicating: The MSCA which hosted it had been formed because its founders, Bob Grier and Larry Kulok, were refused membership in the alreadyestablished Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). The reason? They were Jewish.

This happened in 1945—just after World War II. The Allies had won, finally dispatching Hitler and his vile ideology to history. Yet anti-Semitism persisted, even in America’s most advanced and most cosmopolitan cities. Fortunately for the future of automotive culture, Grier and Kulok responded to this ugly, hateful ostracism not by capitulating or by retaliating, but by rising above. Their New York-based club soon grew larger than the nationwide SCCA and became the only U.S. car club to offer racing events.

The MSCA set the stage for enthusiast culture as we know it, and its signature event has recently reemerged in the form of The Great American Mountain Rally Revival.

The Revival was conceived by rally driver and historian Steve McKelvie, who partnered with Gary Hamilton to create a modern-day version. It’s still a threeday event, but it now covers roughly 500 miles. Each year’s route incorporates portions from the original GAMR and includes some timed regularity stages. Both vintage and modern cars are welcome.

Ed Owen, owner of European Auto Solutions in Waltham, MA and an important supporter of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, heard of the Revival through an article in Hemmings Motor News—the magazine’s Bennington, VT headquarters served as the end point for the first Revival, in 2018. “It’s a cool New England thing, and it has real history. I thought I’d like to be a part of reviving it,” he says. He also thought it sounded like a fun thing to do with his dad, Tom, and he had just the car for the job: He’d recently acquired a 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 16V and was eager to spend more time behind the wheel.

Though not as long as the original, the new route still proved treacherous, sometimes going off-road and along logging routes. Ed recalls a particular section that left him duct-taping his car’s bumper back on. Nevertheless, he and Tom enjoyed themselves enough to return the following year. For 2019, they drove a 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC and recruited museum friends Bob and Cindy Laughrea and David Geisinger and Aimee Cardwell to join as well.

“It’s a full day,” says Ed, who has participated in every Revival to date, “and it really pushes you and challenges you, but the people you spend this time with are really great.” That, he says, is what keeps him coming back each year.

Grier and Kulok established the MSCA out of necessity, creating a home for themselves as enthusiasts when others would not have them. Nearly 80 years later, their club’s legacy continues to foster a joyful community.

HARRINGTON