Tanya A. Bailey

Tanya A Bailey is a native of Toronto, Ontario. She lives in Savannah, Georgia where she researches history and racing for her small museum, The Great Savannah Races Museum at 411 Abercorn Street in Savannah, GA. Tanya first began working with motorsports while employed by Rothman's, Benson & Hedges and assisting marketing efforts for the Rothman's Porsche Series. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Toronto, majoring in Renaissance Studies, English and Biology. She has worked for more than twenty years in the auto racing industry, where she has been a writer, race history consultant, and volunteer in marketing and media relations. After moving to Savannah, Georgia, Tanya put her history background to good use and began researching and collecting international items related to the first American Grand Prix: the Grand Prize of the Automobile Club of America and the Vanderbilt Cup. She created and organized the Centennial of the Great Savannah Races in Savannah, Georgia in 2008 and is a regular speaker at racing events, automobile history events, and other related international and regional events held by various organizations. Tanya returned to college and completed an MBA, specializing in Project Management at Florida Institute of Technology. Soon after, she formed the corporation J.T. Martaneli Inc and purchased a property on the corner of Abercorn and Taylor Street in the Historic District of Savannah, where tourism is growing faster than Nascar, Formula 1 and Indycar put together! Tanya enjoys her role as the owner and curator of the new Great Savannah Races Museum and author of The First American Grand Prix. She continues to write for several publications. Tanya is very passionate about the pioneering days of auto racing and Savannah’s prominent place in road racing history and road building technology. She opened the museum to allow people who visit Savannah or live in the southeast region to learn more about these culturally significant events, and to explain why Savannah was chosen to host these mega races, attended by hundreds of thousands of spectators from all over the world. Part of the significance of these events revolves around the earliest development of the automobile, early road building and the aspirations of members of the Vanderbilt family who started the two big racing events of the early 1900s: the Vanderbilt Cup and the First American Grand Prix. Tanya has worked hard to bring items of great significance back to Savannah to share with race fans, locals and tourists alike. Look for more of Tanya's books in the future on early automobile events!