The History of the Gumball 3000
The Gumball 3000 rally is an annual 6-day, 3000 mi (5000 km) car race.
History
In 1933 legendary motorcycle racer "Cannonball" Baker crossed the United States coast-to-coast in approximately 54 hours. In the 1970s Car & Driver Founder & Editor Brock Yates started the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in his honor. The second race was won by Yates and Dan Gurney, former Formula One and Le Mans driver, in a Ferrari Daytona. They needed about 35 hours from New York to L.A. These events inspired the 1976 movies The Gumball Rally and Cannonball, as well as sequels such as Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run 2, etc. The "Cannonball" race was finally canceled in 1979 due to a combination of media attention and pressure from political and police organizations.
Drawing inspiration from the 1970s race, the movies and Smokey and the Bandit, Maximillion Cooper revived the spirit of the old races in the summer of 1999 by combining the racing element with nightly parties and layovers at luxury hotels. The "Gumball 3000" has since captured public attention through celebrity participation and coverage on everything from MTV to Vanity Fair, who rode with 2003 Winner Alex Roy through Morocco on the 2004 Rally.
Races
1999The original race featured 50 among Cooper's friends, and went from London, to Rimini, Italy and back, passing through Paris, to the beautiful Chateau d'Esclimont, before lapping the Le Mans race circuit, followed by a checkpoint at the Mas du Clos Ferrari Museum, then Monaco Grand Prix circuit in Monaco, the Ferrari Factory in Modena, the Ambras Palace in Austria and the Hockenheim Grand Prix Circuit in Germany before returning to London to cross the finish line on Park Lane. The winner drove a 1963 Jaguar E-Type. Other drivers included actors Billy Zane in a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, Jason Priestley in a Lotus Esprit V8 and Dannii Minogue in a Porsche Boxster.
2000
The second race was held in May 2000. The race started at Marble Arch in London and went to Stansted Airport, where all cars and people were airlifted to a private airport in Spain. The race then continued through Bilbao, Cannes, Milan, Hotel Bühlerhöhe Castle near Baden-Baden (Germany), the Nürburgring GP circuit and Hamburg before returning to London. Notable entrants included Drum and bass legend and James Bond baddie Goldie in an Aston Martin V8, It girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson in a Jaguar XK8, Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds in a Bentley, the indie band Placebo in a Lagonda, the Happy Mondays all crammed into a 2+2 Jaguar, and Maximillion in the famous Bentley Arnage 1WO.
2001The third race, held in April 2001, featured 106 cars, including Johnny Knoxville, Steve O and the rest of the cast of Jackass driving an 80s rusted out Jaguar XJ6, as well as F1 World champion Damon Hill driving a Lamborghini, comedian Vic Reeves in a AMG, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in a Blower Bentley and Maximillion in an original Shelby Cobra. The race went from Hyde Park Corner in London to Berlin, Vilnius, Saint Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen before returning to London. Kim Schmitz finishes first in his Mercedes Brabus EV12 Megacar. The race was made into an hour long Jackass Gumball 3000 Special on MTV and received the highest viewing figures of the year. Ruby Wax also ran in the event covering it for terrestrial TV in the UK on BBC1.
2002The fourth race was held in April 2002, the first to be run outside Europe. The race goes from New York to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, passing through a checkpoint at the Whitehouse in Washington DC, onto Nashville, Tennessee for lunch in Elvis Presley's Mansion, Graceland, before getting a Dallas Cowboys welcome in Texas, onwards to Cadillac Ranch, Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, Nevada before reaching the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills where Hugh Hefner and playmates awarded trophies. 175 cars entered the contest, including a 60s Corvette painted in the Stars and Stripes that won best car award, the 1959 Ferrari California Spider from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off that was bought at a cost of over $1m just to take part in the Gumball, as well as old American muscle cars taking to the road with modern day supercars. Fashion designer Donna Karan, models Amy Wesson and Rachel Hunter, and actor Matthew McConaughey were amongst the stars. The winners were Nicholas Frankl and Nick Connor, who flew to the finish line in their prison outfits after being released on bail.
2003The fifth race was held in May 2003, with more than 100 cars from San Francisco, California to Miami, Florida, passing through Reno, Nevada, Las Vegas, Tucson, Arizona, White Sands, New Mexico, San Antonio, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. This one was made into 'Gumball 3000' The Movie[1] and starred Jackass' Ryan Dunn racing a rental car alongside skateboard legends Tony Hawk in a Dodge Viper and Bucky Lasek, Motocross World champions Travis Pastrana & Carey Hart, and supermodel Jodie Kidd. Cars included an amazing mix of Ferrari F50s and 360s, Lamborghini Murcielagos, a Koenigsegg CC Supercar and Jesse James' custom VW Campervan.
Alex Roy won in his Team Polizei BMW M5, decked out in German Police Gear[2]. "Fastest Wheels" was awarded to Rob "Lonman" Kenworthy in a Porsche GT2. A Special Award was given to Richard & Sue Rawlings in their heavily modified Chevy Avalanche.
2004The sixth race was held in May 2004, back again in Europe. The race went from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Biarritz, Madrid, Marbella, then crossed over to Africa,(via Gibraltar) to Marrakech in Morrocco as guests of the King, before returning to Spain for the Barcelona Grand Prix, finishing in Cannes at the famous film festival. 192 amazing cars took part, but the car that stole the show was a little old Citroën 2CV painted like the General Lee. Ex Boxing world champion Chris Eubank drove a truck, whilst The Pianist Academy winning actor Adrien Brody favoured a Porsche and the 'Ai Ya' Boys just rented a Winnebago.
Gary Lutke & John Docherty won the coveted Spirit Trophy in the Citroën 2CV. First place went to Kim Schmitz in a Mercedes CL3000. The Style Award went to Alex Roy, this time dressed as a Canadian Mountie.
2005The seventh race started at Trafalgar Square on May 14, 2005. It went 3000 miles from London to Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and then to Dubrovnik in Croatia. The cars were then transported by ferry to Bari, Italy, then lapped the old Targa Florio circuit in Sicily, before heading north to Rome and Florence, and finally crossing the finish line in Monaco's Casino Square prior to the F1 Grand Prix. Participants included Daryl Hannah, rock stars and supermodels driving everything from the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee to Ferrari Enzos and Mercedes SLRs. Veterans Ant and Pete returned in 2005 in their diesel-powered BMW 3-series "D3", hit a deer, but finished anyway.
The Spirit Trophy went to Sue Bellarby & Kathy Huddart, whose Caterham 7 broke down just shy of the finish line. They were picked up by Gumball Legend Alex Roy and transported to the finish line in his "Guardia Civil" BMW M5 and finished 2nd dressed as a Spanish cop.
This year's unofficial winners were Greg & "Kalbas" in a Mercedes 2004 CLK-DTM, who edged out a week-old Mercedes-McLaren SLR whose engine blew up just short of the finish line.
2006The 2006 race started on April 29, 2006 in Pall Mall, London. It continued on to Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade. The drivers then boarded a plane in Serbia to be taken to Thailand for the race's second leg between Phuket and Bangkok. The final leg took place in the United States and ran from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.
Team Polizei drivers Alex Roy and Michael Ross dominated Gumball 2006, arriving in 1st place in Belgium, Vienna, Budapest, Furnace Creek and Beverly Hills, even beating the Gumballers that skipped the intermediate checkpoints. Team Polizei, suffering from both sabotage[citation needed] and accident damage in Thailand, sat out the Thailand leg and made a surprise visit to the Burmese border, where pictures were taken with border guards who thought the Polizei were UN inspectors.
Meanwhile Torquenstein returned from the extraordinary events of the 2004 rally no longer in a Dodge Viper, but now in a fully prepared & rally ready Ford GT A few modifications included a smoke screen, three GPS units and a radar drone system. Torquenstein and navigator Dr. E. Gruene placed 2nd in Belgrade, 8th in Thailand and 1st place in Las Vegas and Beverly Hills (resulting in a tie with Team Polizei).
The Spirit Trophy was won by Damian Williams, Richard Blackburn & Ezra Chapman of Team 15, who spun and crashed their camoflage Rolls Royce Phantom just south of Belgrade. Despite this setback they made it to the Serbian airport where the Gumball-Chartered Iceland Air 757 nearly left without them. They allegedly rode 500+ miles in a cab across Thailand, then picked up a brand new Rolls Royce Phantom in Salt Lake City which they drove to the Beverly Hills Finish Line. They arrived at the Playboy Mansion with the twisted grille from the first Phantom.
2007The 2007 route was scheduled to travel from London to Istanbul, via Amsterdam, Munich, Tirana, Dubrovnik, and Athens. Over 100 contestants were scheduled to drive through 16 countries in 8 days. The entrance fee for the 2007 rally was GB£28,000 (US$55,060) for first-time drivers.[10]
Upon arrival in Holland, On April 29, the Dutch police awaited the participants with 14 police cars and 7 unmarked cars. Seven pilots including rapper Xzibit lost their driver's licence for speeding with over 50 km/h more than allowed and two cars were confiscated. The Dutch government has forbidden streetraces by law, although rallies that are performed within the law (i.e. participating in a rally without a competitive element) are not forbidden. The next day, the German police stopped about 70 cars for speeding violations; they were escorted off to the airport. A police spokesman told the media that the information about the racing route had been available on the official Gumball 3000 website.Following the complications with the German police, the Gumball drivers were flown to Istanbul, but the Antonov planes set to bring their cars was diverted to Athens. The drivers were then flown to Athens the next day, but four teams (Team Polizei, Team Turkish Taxi, Team Aytac, and Team 15) chose to drive the distance in other vehicles.
On May 2, a traffic accident occurred near the town of Struga, Republic of Macedonia. The Techart Porsche 911 Turbo of Nick Morley and Matthew McConville hit an oncoming Volkswagen Golf (Some reports contend a speed of 200 km/h or more, while others doubt such a speed would be practical given the poor road condition). According to media reports, they tried to escape the country afterwards in a BMW M6 with Russian car number plates via the nearby border post. However, they were stopped and arrested by the police, and will be held in custody until their trial has begun.[16] The casualties reported in the accident were the 67-year old driver of the other vehicle, who died on his way to the hospital, and Margarita Cepunjoska, wife of Vladimir Cepunjoski, who died in hospital from injuries sustained in the crash on May 4. The organisers initially continued the rally despite the incident, in a later official statement the organisers stated that the clear details of the incident and confirmation of a fatality didn't occur until some hours after the briefing, at which point the decision to cancel the remainder of the rally was made. The rally was cancelled because of the accident on the evening of May 3. The following statement was released by Maximillion Cooper on the official website, explaining his decision to cancel the rally:
"Following our earlier release reporting yesterday's accident - As a sign of respect we have decided that this year's Gumball 3000 Rally will not travel any further and will end in Bratislava this evening, May 3rd 2007.
As the organisers of the rally we feel that it should be stopped as a mark of respect to Vladimir Cepulyoski who died today after an accident involving one the participating drivers.
We are very saddened by what has happened and feel that it would be wrong to continue. On behalf of Gumball 3000, we once again extend our deepest sympathies to his family and we are doing everything we can for them.
This is the first time anything like this has happened in 9 years of travelling through over 40 countries with 1000's of drivers and it is with deep regret that I make this announcement."
Nicholas Morley was released from custody on £17,000 bail, but was later re-arrested in Skopje while attempting to leave the country using a private jet.[22] The subsequent court hearing found him culpable in the deaths, passing a suspended sentence. [23]. After the verdict Morley's family released a statement [24] detailing its own expert's findings, which contradict those of the prosecution's expert. The statement also claims that the defence were denied the opportunity to present their expert's findings, which could contravene article 6 of the European convention on human rights, the right to a fair trial. An appeal may be made.
