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NEWS
Aussie attempt to break trans-America record
Adventurer Rod Wade will race against the clock across 10 US states in a Model A FordAustralian adventurer Rod Wade and co-driver Michael Flanders will drive against the stopwatch in the team’s 1930 Ford Model A, setting off in New York and finishing in California, in a tribute to the first American Coast to Coast drive, completed by H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker, over a century earlier.
The duo will depart on Christopher Columbus day – October the 14th – with the official start of the race symbolically marked by filling a bottle with water from the Atlantic Ocean, near Staten Island. The pair will then trek non-stop 2,947 miles (4734 kilometres) along a route that comprises the Lincoln Highway, sections of Jackson and Crocker’s and parts of the famous route 66 highway.
In order to break the previous record, the team must complete the trip in less than 60 hours. The finishing point for the adventure is Venice Beach in Los Angeles, where the water bottle will be emptied into the Pacific Ocean, the clock will stop and a new world record will be born.
Queenslander Wade, 70, said: “It’s symbolic that our adventure starts on the same day as Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the New World is celebrated. We hope this great explorer will be looking down on us as we embark on an incredible journey through this beautiful country.”
Enthusiasts can take a peek at the vintage Ford Model A, nicknamed “Tudor Rose” on the Snyders Antique Auto Parts stand at the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Hershey Classic Car Show before it departs for the cross-country escapade.
The historic Ford is no stranger to tough journeys, having recently completed what is considered to be the world’s greatest motoring challenge, the Peking to Paris Rally.
Wade has taken on the challenge to raise money for the American Kidney Fund. He has previously raised thousands for Kidney Health Australia, an organisation that has supported Wade's wife and daughter, both of whom suffer from kidney disease.
“The money we have raised in Australia will allow us to outfit RVs and campervans with dialysis machines so people requiring dialysis can have a little personal freedom to travel and enjoy life, instead of needing to be constantly within reach of a machine at their home, clinic, or hospital. We’re hoping that through this world record attempt, we can do the same for those having treatment in America.”
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