In 8th of June Peking to Paris 2007 Motor Challenge arrived to Novosibirsk. First competitors were observed on the Berdsky Shosse road 30 km before Novosibirsk's center at 2pm. This day they had a route from Bijsk to Novosibirsk and arriving here they should have a rest-day in 9th of June.

In 2007 this rally is celebrating the remarkable achievements exactly of 100 years ago with a timed re-enactment of the original "great race" – the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge... the first-ever trans-Continental motor-rally. It became an epic challenge between a Prince and a Pauper – Prince Borghese had the best funded entry and carefully researched the conditions of setting out on a journey where the first 5,000 miles saw no roads, at all, so, no maps and no garages. His chief rival was a fair-ground worker who until he read news of the race in a Paris newspaper, Le Matin, picked up blowing in the wind, he had never even sat in a motor-car, so had no idea how to drive one.

The second Peking to Paris was not held until the summer of 1997, when on the 90th anniversary, Endurance Rally Association staged the first-ever rally for classic and vintage cars to cross China, and the first-ever rally to cross Tibet.

2007 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge's full route is: Peking - Great Wall of China - Inner Mongolia - Gobi Desert - Outer Mongolia - Ulaan Baator - Steppes of Asia - Russia (Altai: Bijsk; Siberia: Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tyumen; Ural: Yekaterinburg; Central Russia: Perm, Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Moscow, St. Petersburg) - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Poland - Czech Republic - Germany - Paris - Place de la Concorde. More at the official site: http://www.pekingparis.com/

I had a chance to be among these fun cars these two days. Bob (Robert) Fountain - the friend of my friend and the owner of "Aston Workshop - Aston Martin for Sale" - took part in this rally on Aston Martin Lagonda M45 1934 and he needed some help to find some washing and repairing services here. Before he arrived to Novosibirsk I booked one garage for him and servicemen from there were the best to repair all what was needed for Robert's car.

All my photographs from this event are below. Read comments as usual... If you want to see all pictures taken by Bob from Peking to Paris race 2007 - click here.

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Buick Sedan Saloon (1938) near the railway station Seyatel.	Meeting of Bob on the way to Novosibirsk.	Bob is following our taxi.	Near the Metro Station Rechnoy Vokzal
First competitors arrived to Sibir Hotel	Bob and Joseph in their car	I am in Aston Martin Lagonda M45	Washing service station
Beginning of washing from engine.	The car in the washing box	Aston Martin after washing box.	Aston Martin in the repair shop box.
Parking in front of Sibir Hotel.	Parking in front of Sibir Hotel. part 2	Parking in front of Sibir Hotel. part 3	Ford Model A 1931
Two Buicks	Delage D6L 1930	La Salle Coupe 1940 and mechanic	Two Buicks and other cars in the line.
Volvo 1800S 1967	Buick Coupe 1937	Volvo 1800S 1967 from the front	Talbot 35 HP 1908
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