One Passion Leads to Glory China Rally is Back! The second China Rally of International Classic Cars came to a perfect conclusion in Shanghai on 15th October, 2012. After last year s success, the international high-end event of classic cars is back to amaze with its magnificence this ancient but dynamic country. China Rally of International Classic Cars is the first international high-end event of classic cars held in mainland China; its journey began in 2011. After two years of thorough preparation and thanks to the strong support from FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens), the first China Rally was successfully held along a golden route from Beijing to Shanghai. The Rally was approved by FIVA, the International Federation of Classic Vehicles, and listed on its 2011 calendar. It was organized by FIVA and CVUC, honorably supported by FIVA and ANFs & Members of FIVA and co-organized by China Auto Road (Beijing) Culture Development Co., Ltd. Thirty-two classic cars with 123 participants from 12 countries gathered at the event. 2011 China Rally started from Shuiguan Great Wall on 18th September, crossed China s heartland through three municipalities and four provinces covering over 1600km, and finally arrived at Shanghai Automobile Museum on 23rd September. Horst Brüning, the president of FIVA, attended the opening ceremony. 20 journalists from 10 different countries followed along the whole journey and over 100 domestic media, including CCTV, reported on the rally. It is the first time that an international high-end event of classic cars has taken place in China drawing great attention at home and abroad, especially in the cities along the route. To once again charm the Chinese people and the automobile industry, China Rally opened for the second time on 7th October 2012 on the wake of its previous success. More than 30 classic cars set off from Shuiguan Great Wall in Beijing, crossed China s heartland through Tianjin, Jinan, Xuzhou, Hefei, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and finally arrived in Shanghai; they covered over 1800km in seven days, from October, 7th to 13th 2012.The Rally was organized by CVUC, in cooperation with China Automobile Culture Website (CACC) and China Auto Road (Beijing) Culture Development Co., Ltd (Auto Road for short).
The second China Rally surpassed the first edition by number and quality of cars and number of participants. Vehicles and guests came from a dozen countries and regions such as France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the USA, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Macao. Many world-class automobile brands joined the event, including Volkswagen, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Brabus, Land Rover and Jaguar. Some big names and senior directors from the automobile industry also contributed to China Rally in various ways. Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, raced behind the wheel of the 1956 Volkswagen Beetle Miglia Mile Edition.
China Rally attracted big names of the automobile industry from all over the world, such as Hans-Joachim Stuck, the former Formula 1 champion; Achim Stejslal, Porsche Museum Director of historic public relations; Markus Nels, senior director of Volkswagen (China) Investment Co. Ltd.; Edgar Meyer, founder of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route; Paul Hu, managing director of Volkswagen Brand of Volkswagen Group Import Co. Ltd.; Axel Bartkus, general manager of Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; Timm Zoellmer, general manager of VDA-QMC (Beijing); Jean Paul Debroise, president of Le Raid des Baroudeurs ; Mark Steinberg, founder of Marcol Group; Steven Collins, president of Marcol Planning and Zoning Commission; Nicholas Leslau, famous British entrepreneur; Kevin Davis, famous American entrepreneur; Luo Yiming, president of Hong Kong Collector Car Club; Liu Shuying, treasurer of Hong Kong Collector Car Club; and other celebrities and old-timer enthusiasts.
The pioneer of Chinese F1, Hopin Tung, and the famous racer Rose Tan both took part in the rally with good results. Many of the participating cars are among the most famous classic models or belong to super collections within the automobile industry, with a total value of more than 400 million RMB (around 40 million GBP or 50 million euros). To guarantee a successful event, participating industries all provided their trusted service teams; the total value of their working vehicles exceeded ten million RMB. A service team was also present. 2012 China Rally lived up to its name as an international automobile event in terms of vehicles, participants and service. 2012 China Rally drew great attention from domestic media, and more than 100 media agencies
including CCTV gave detailed reports on the event. Fifteen media agencies, including Beijing TV, Target, Trends Car, Auto Motor und Sport, Car Owners, AutoBild, Vintage Car, Auto News, sina.com.cn, auto.ifeng.com, xcar.com.cn, autohome.com.cn, PPTV, Superpower, Youku, etc. followed along the whole journey and provided constant updates on the adventure. According to preliminary estimates, this was the scale of media coverage about the Rally up to the end of November 2012: more than 600 newspaper and television reports, more than 4000 on-line reports with pictures, more than 120 videos and more than 210 pages published or about to be published on magazines. China Rally received the widest media attention in the history of classic cars events in China, be it for number of participating media agencies, length and depth of reports and impact. Harley Owners Groups of Guangdong and Shanghai also attended the event, adding to the variety of 2012 China Rally.
Goodbye 2012 China Rally. See you in 2013 in Beijing and across China!