Jeep® with Alex Bellini at the Los Angeles-New York Footrace 2011
To face this adventure beyond the limits of physical endurance, Alex Bellini chose as his partner Jeep, the legendary American brand that celebrates this year its 70th anniversary. The seven slot grille of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited will be by the side of Alex Bellini in his trans-American adventure that will last altogether 70 days and will include 70 stages of 70 km per day.
Alex Bellini in partnership with Jeep will participate to the LA-NY Footrace 2011, the transcontinental race organized and promoted by the ultramarathon runner Serge Girard in order to revive the myth of the first footrace ever organized across the U.S., the Trans-American Footrace of 1928. Ever since the pioneers set foot on American soil, crossing the continent has been a myth and has fascinated collective imagination. Only 244 athletes have ever crossed the entire United States and 124 runners finished a race across the Continent.
The race will take place from June 19th to August 27th and it will go across the extreme hot temperatures of the desert of Nevada and the cold ones of New Mexico. It will descend to the expanses of Oklahoma, move along Missouri with its rivers, cross Mississippi and Illinois to Pennsylvania and finally reach the skyscrapers of the Big Apple.
Determination, tolerance to fatigue, capability to maintain the focus on the target, ability to overcome crisis are the skills that distinguish the talent of Alex Bellini and that will guide him in this extraordinary adventure. Therefore, the team of experts that gives support to Alex Bellini has developed a preparation that will provide him with the correct tool to manage his energy and motivation during the whole race. Based essentially on the importance of ‘breaks' - intended as the recovery time between one stage and the other - the preparation includes feeding, breathing and hypnosis.
The passion for life that becomes adventure features all the incredible challenges accomplished by Alex Bellini: from the Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan desert, to the footrace through the ice fields of the Alaska Ultrasport, the solo rowing journey through the Atlantic Ocean achieved in 226 days and his latest adventure, the one that marked his entrance in the nautical history: the successful and longest solo crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a rowing boat after a trip of 18,000 km and 294 days spent alone in the open sea.
After rowing across the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, Alex Bellini chooses to undertake a challenge that allows him to connect ideally the two oceans by land. "Running through the U.S. is more than just a run, it is probably anything but a run. It means to express freely my passion for life, to dedicate time to myself and to do it in the freest way I know: traveling. It is the desire to start a legendary journey with the purpose of discovering a new path within myself. This journey is nothing but an excuse to test on myself a wide range of emotions that I know I could never experience by taking a different path" said Alex Bellini.
Alex Bellini's challenge is more than a simple athletic competition: it is an endurance test, a physical and mental journey, an intimate and solitary adventure that is also an experience of sharing - on one side with the other participants and on the other with the support team that will follow him on board of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. It is the courage to listen to oneself and follow one's natural inclinations, because the way to happiness passes through this intimate listening. But it is also a commitment, a mission that proves that those who have the courage to believe in their capabilities and have the right motivation can face any challenge and achieve their dreams.
By sponsoring Alex Bellini, Jeep further strengthens its commitment to the world of sports and the outdoors, and confirms the ability to go anywhere and undertake any trip that marks the Jeep SUVs. The Italian sportsman fully embodies the values of freedom, adventure, authenticity, passion and uniqueness that are part of the Jeep DNA: freedom as a state of mind and individual determination to follow one's own instincts with the confidence of being able to undertake any challenge thanks to benchmark capabilities. Adventure as a vocation. Authenticity that belongs to the original brand that pioneered the outdoors and became clear leader, but also the ability to offer performance that transforms the driving experience into an extraordinary event. Passion as the impulse to bring one's individuality strongly and distinctively to the fore. Uniqueness that comes from the ability to distinguish oneself thanks to features that are absolutely unmistakable.
A Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara equipped with the powerful 3.8-liter V6 petrol engine producing 199 hp and a four-speed automatic transmission will be at disposal of the team that will support Alex Bellini during his race.
On the occasion of the trans-American challenge of Alex Bellini and in conjunction with the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the brand that is the leader of off-road driving, a new website dedicated to Jeep enthusiasts will be online at www.jeep-people.com. The new website will be a 'virtual' space dedicated to all fans of the Jeep brand who identify themselves in its core values. It will also be a ‘meeting place' where people can talk and share stories of talent, first of all the new adventure of Alex Bellini.
Jeep's new portal will be online on June 17th, exactly 70 hours before the start of the trans-American challenge and it will follow the daily performance of Alex Bellini by providing updates on the various stages of the race through videos and photo-galleries.
Jeep Wrangler: the Jeep icon
With almost 70 years of benchmark 4x4 capability, Jeep Wrangler is the legend that gave birth to off-road driving and became an archetype of the automotive industry. Direct descendant of the original Willys-Overland dated 1941, Jeep Wrangler is the original and authentic 4x4 and expresses the unconventional soul of the American brand by combining exceptional off-road capabilities with the driving enjoyment offered by a vehicle that is truly one of a kind. Since its first introduction, Jeep Wrangler has always been true to its characteristic styling cues and its philosophy, remaining a unique vehicle for the outdoors.
Today, the new Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited express more than ever before the two souls that have always coexisted within the Jeep brand: the purely off-road soul of Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, the authentic technological manifesto of 4x4 driving, and the more premium, sophisticated one represented by the Sahara model which boasts the product features of a SUV, resulting therefore better equipped for greater on-road comfort.
Jeep Wrangler is the quintessential off-road vehicle and offers benchmark 4x4 capability in an extremely easy to use package. Wrangler's signature features remain hallmarks for 2011, including classic round headlamps, a seven-slot grille, trapezoid wheel flares, exposed hinges, a fold-down windshield, sport bar, removable doors and removable hard, dual or soft tops. All these are unmistakable styling cues that have entered collective imagination and fully express the brand's core values.
With a 52 cm-longer wheelbase and room for five adults, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is the evolution of Jeep Wrangler. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited combines Jeep legendary off-road capabilities with the spaciousness and versatility of a car for every day driving, transforming the off-road icon into a unique 4x4 four-door convertible.
Offered in three models - Sport, Sahara and Rubicon - Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited are powered by the new 2.8-liter common rail turbo-diesel engine with standard DPF. Together with the turbo-diesel engine, a powerful 3.8-liter V-6 petrol engine is fitted on the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited lineup.
Jeep Brand
Built on 70 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with styling, versatility, craftsmanship and class-leading capability for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence.
A brand boasting an extraordinary tradition, Jeep has always been able to reinvent itself to offer innovative products marked by a strong personality and benchmark capabilities.
2011 is a very special year for Jeep as it marks together with the brand's 70th anniversary the renewal of the line-up through the launch in Europe of four main new products. Starting with the refreshed iconic Jeep Wrangler & Jeep Wrangler Unlimited equipped with the Jeep first Stop/Start application together with a new, more powerful and efficient engine, 2011 will also be the year of the new Grand Cherokee fitted with the all-new 3.0-liter turbo-diesel engine with Multijet II technology. The brand flagship shares its design cues with the refreshed new Compass, compact SUV of the Jeep line-up.