Rallying Cars and Racing Stars

NEW YORK — Watch out, civilians and innocent bystanders, because a wild road rally is about to ignite.  Bullrun 2006 is here and as the sun set over the Hudson River on Thursday night, the party was just getting started at the Hotel Gansevoort. Bullrunners have begun to arrive, and those who checked into their hotel rooms last night joined the small group that had gathered at the hotel's rooftop bar.

Bullrunners left to right: Brothers Dennis and Michael Collins of TeamTexas with Team Gas Monkey member, Richard Rawlings, in the lobby of the Hotel Gansevoort.

The competition has kicked off, fighting words were being spoken and Bullrunners were already talking about the fastest rides, who will win and where they might possibly visit. Exotic cars can already be spied in a garage across from the modern, chic hotel, located in the meat packing district. Launching from Times Square on Saturday at 8 a.m.,100 embellished rides will be driving, the 3,500 mile route, from New York City to Los Angeles in only seven days.

“We’re gonna kick ass, that’s a fact,” said Pete Michels who is on Team Forest Park Pictures and will be driving in a 2002 Porsche 996 Turbo with Tove Christensen.

An epic automotive rally, Bullrun is an invite-only, coast-to-coast exploit for automotive enthusiasts who want to experience the thrill of driving cross-country. The 2006 escapade spans seven days and involves 100 of the most unique cars imaginable, all of which will be filmed for a reality TV show that will air on Spike TV in March 2007. Old and new Bullrunners will be hitting the open road, each paying about $14,000 to participate, which covers the event entry fee, two drivers, five-star accommodations for seven nights, all meals and parties. Each team traverses approximately 3,500 miles, says Andrew Duncan, director of Bullrun.

Pete Michels and Tove Christensen from Team Forest Park Pictures + click to enlarge | view slideshow >

This year’s rally will have many new and exciting surprises. Joining Bullrun is racing legend Mario Andretti, along with previous years’ competitors Dennis Rodman, Hayden Christensen, Sir James Hewitt and Ryan Dunn, among others. These all-stars will be driving cross-country, stopping at destinations that they will learn of only the day before. They will be competing for several awards, including: Spirit of Bullrun, Magnaflow Andretti Hot Lap, Patron Party, Always First and Best Car Graphics.

“You can put one year’s worth of fun into four days. That’s what it looks like to me,” said Andretti.

The 100 drivers participating in Bullrun are a combination of drivers from past years as well as newcomers. A lot of the drivers are referrals or friends of returning drivers, said Victor Carrillo, vice president of the Id Agency, and a Bullrun spokesman.

“It’s all about driver attitude first and what they drive second — we only like to deal with nice people,” said Carrillo. “We will go through the list of who we have and decided who to invite on the basis of making the whole group of drivers that is involved interesting and fun. We want a good mix of personality types as well as cars.”

This party on wheels will learn of the destinations in stages. In the mornings the drivers will find out where the lunch location is set, and then at lunch the overnight location will be disclosed, says Carrillo. The locations are organized months prior to the rally, according to Carrillo, who will also be driving in the rally.

Related Story: Racing Legend Joins Automotive Rally

“Sometimes we organize the whole town and get thousands of people on the street, as in the case of Reno in 2005,” he said. “Sometimes we just book a hotel and keep the profile low to see what happens when we all roll into town.”

With no specific rally rules, except abiding by normal laws, the stage is set for Bullrun to be wild and thrilling. Superstars, race legends, people with a passion for automobiles — they all will be rolling out tomorrow in their various vehicles, from Rodman’s Lamborghini Gallardo to Team Numchuck’s Yellow School Bus.

Founded primarily for fun in 2003 by directors David Green and Andrew Duncan, this will be the fourth annual Bullrun, with this years’ coast-to-coast route being a first. After working for J.P. Morgan, participating in and organizing rallies was a dream come true for Duncan. “I used to be bored out of my mind,” he said.

Living in Europe, Duncan and Green had participated in various rallies throughout the continent. They decided to quit their jobs and move to America partially because it would be a new adventure in road rallying, said Duncan. It would be easier to organize a 3,500-mile journey across one country instead of nine.

Bullrun USA 2005, which began and ended in L.A., was an epic journey for racers like Rodman and Hayden Christensen. That year, Christensen spun out while racing Rodman across the Bonneville Salt Flats, 105 miles west of Salt Lake City, in his Lamborghini Murciélago. After the celebrity battle, a massive drag race of all 100 cars ensued.

Paris Hilton dropping the flag on the 2004 Bullrun + click to enlarge | view slideshow >

There was speed-racing and lots of partying during the 3,000-mile expedition in 2005. In the West Coast rally, Bullrunners visited places from the dry lands of the Grand Canyon to the gambling Mecca of Las Vegas to the ski slopes of Aspen. On top of multiple speeding tickets, there was one accident involving Rodman. His Lamborghini Gallardo was hit by a 1969 Ford Mustang Convertible being driven by Team Bikini Bandits. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Only spirits were crushed.

This year’s coast-to-coast adventure is not unlike that of the outrageous Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash founded by Brock Yates in 1971, minus the high-speed racing aspect. Yates, then a senior editor for Car and Driver magazine, named the race after Erwin “Cannonball” Baker, an early motorcycle pioneer who was also known for record-setting runs in automobiles.

As a protest against the then recently imposed 55 mph speed limit, Yates set out to prove “that good drivers in good automobiles could employ the American interstate system the same way the Germans were using their autobahns,” as he recounts in Cannonball! World’s Greatest Outlaw Road Race, his 2002 book on the subject.

Yates maps out the five crazy races from New York to L.A. from 1971 to 1979. Participants had to make the cross-country trip in the shortest time possible. By the final Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash the new cross-country record was set by David Heinz and David Yarborough, who made the trek in 32 hours and 51 minutes. The result of the 1979 Cannonball was chronicled, albeit not faithfully, in the 1981 movie Cannonball Run.

More Info 2006 Bullrun July 22-July 28, 2006 Starting at Times Square Official Site

“We loved Cannonball Run. Bullrun is a modern day version of the Cannonball Run — with more stops and more hedonism,” said Carrillo. “We believe this year is actually the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie Cannonball Run in ’81, so a New York to L.A. classic rally is appropriate.”

Bullrun may not be the extreme race that the Cannonball was, but this year it is gearing up to be a sizeable event. Bullrunners will be arriving in New York and greeted with social gatherings to kick off their rally.

Out of the 100 vehicles this year, there are 80 unique teams with equally unique names — Team SL Gay: Alex Proud and Nick Moran, driving a 2004 Mustang and a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK; Team Machine: Alan Duncan, driving a Ford Transit; Team Bikini Bandits: Yelena and Tatyana Shister, driving a 1965 Mustang Convertible; Team Los Hermanos Cubanos: The Cuban Brothers, driving a DVS RV; Team Star Wars, Vader Division: Hayden Christensen, driving a Lamborghini Murciélago E-gear;  and Team Cello: Marcello Thedford and Hassan Johnson, driving a supercharged, limited-edition Ford F150 handcrafted by Automotive Rhythms. Also said to be participating in the 2006 Bullrun are Paris Hilton, Helena Christensen, Joanna Krupa and Ashley Haim.

ForbesAutos.com will be posting ongoing coverage of this year's Bullrun.  Check back on Monday for dozens of photos and a report on the rally kickoff in Times Square as well as coverage of the first stop in Toronto.

Click here to see more ForbesAutos.com coverage from the 2006 Bullrun.

Photographed by Daniel Cavazos for ForbesAutos.com