Gumball 3000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gumball 3000 is an annual 3000-mi (5000 km) international car rally that occurs on public roads, typically in Europe. With stops at tourist attractions or in large urban centers, the race is modeled after coast-to-coast races in the United States and garners international news coverage and participation from celebrities in film, television, music, fashion, and modeling.
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[edit] History
In 1933, motorcycle racer "Cannonball" Baker crossed the United States from coast-to-coast in approximately 54 hours. In the 1970s, Car and Driver founder and editor Brock Yates started the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in his own honor. The second race was won by Yates and Dan Gurney, a former Formula One and Le Mans driver, driving a Ferrari Daytona. They needed about 35 hours to transit from New York to L.A. These events inspired the 1976 movies The Gumball Rally and Cannonball, as well as sequels including Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II, etc. The "Cannonball" race eventually was canceled in 1979 due to a combination of media attention and pressure from political influences and police organizations who were concerned about road safety.
Drawing inspiration from the 1970s race, the aforementioned movies, as well as the movie 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 widespread coverage including CNN, MTV, the BBC, Esquire magazine, FHM magazine, and George Gurley from Vanity Fair, who rode with 2003 Winner Alexander Roy through Morocco during the 2004 Rally.
[edit] Rally
[edit] 1999
The original rally featured 50 of Cooper's friends, and traveled from London, to Rimini, Italy and back, passing through Paris, with a stop at the [[Chateau d'Esclimont]. Lapping the LeMans race circuit, a checkpoint followed at the Mas du Clos Ferrari Museum, before moving on to Monaco Grand Prix circuit in Monaco, the Ferrari Factory in Maranello, 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.
[edit] 2000
The second rally was held in May 2000. The race began at Marble Arch in London and continued to Stansted Airport, where all cars and people were airlifted to a private airport in Spain. The race then progressed 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 villain 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 Cooper in the famous Bentley Arnage 1WO.
[edit] 2001
The third rally, held in April 2001, featured 106 cars, including Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and part of the cast of Jackass driving an 89 beater Jaguar XJ6; F1 World champion Damon Hill driving a Lamborghini; comedian Vic Reeves in an Mercedes-AMG; Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in a Blower Bentley and Maximillion in an original Shelby Cobra. The race progressed from Hyde Park Corner in London to Berlin, Malbork, Vilnius, Saint Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen before returning to London. Several participants were carjacked in Latvijas and the racers were banned from London on the return trip. Kim Schmitz finished first in his Mercedes Brabus SV12 Megacar. Select portions of the race were broadcast as an hour-long Jackass Gumball 3000 Special on MTV and received the highest vierwer ratings of the year.[citation needed] Ruby Wax also broadcast coverage of the event for terrestrial TV in the UK on BBC1, and wrestled with Chris Pontius of the Jackass crew.
[edit] 2002
The fourth rally was held in April 2002, the first to be held outside of Europe. Beginning in New York and finishing at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, the rally passed through a checkpoint at the White House in Washington DC before stopping in Memphis, Tennessee for lunch in Elvis Presley's Mansion, Graceland. After receiving a Dallas Cowboys welcome in Texas, stops were made at the Cadillac Ranch; Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Grand Canyon; and Las Vegas, Nevada before the final stop at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills where Hugh Hefner and playmates awarded trophies. Entering the contest were 175 cars, including a 1960s Corvette painted in the Stars and Stripes that received an award for best car, the 1959 Ferrari California Spider similar to one used in 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 American muscle cars ande modern day supercars. Fashion designer Donna Karan, models Amy Wesson and Rachel Hunter, and actor Matthew McConaughey were among the competitors. The winners were Nicholas Frankl and Nick Connor, who, despite being arrested and imprisoned for multiple safety infractions, were released on bail and flew to the finish line in prison attire.
[edit] 2003
The fifth rally was held in May 2003, with more than 100 cars beginning in San Francisco, California with a finish line in Miami, Florida. The rally passed through Reno, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, Tucson, Arizona, White Sands, New Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Featured entrants included Jackass' Ryan Dunn racing a rental car alongside skateboard legends Tony Hawk and Bam Margera in a Dodge Viper, Bucky Lasek, Motocross World champions Travis Pastrana and Carey Hart, and supermodel Jodie Kidd. Cars included a mix of Ferrari F50s and 360s, Lamborghini Murcielagos, a Koenigsegg CC supercar and Jesse James' customized VW Eurovan. Alex Roy won the Gumball Spirit Trophy in his Team Polizei BMW M5, outfitted with in German Police equipment. The "Fastest Wheels" award was presented to Rob "Lonman" Kenworthy in a Porsche GT2, with the "Special Award" presented to Richard and Sue Rawlings, owners of a heavily modified Chevy Avalanche.
[edit] 2004
The sixth rally was held in May 2004 in Europe, fielding 192 cars. The rally began at the Eiffel Tower in Paris and transitioned to Biarritz, Madrid, and Marbella before crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Africa. In Marrakech, Morocco, entrants were guests of the King before returning to Spain for the Barcelona Grand Prix and finishing at Cannes for the film festival. Former boxing world champion Chris Eubank drove a truck, while The Pianist Academy Award winning actor Adrien Brody favoured a Porsche, the 'Ai Ya' Boys rented a Winnebago RV, and Rob and Big Black of MTV2 drove the race in a rental car. Kim Schmitz won the race in a Mercedes CL3000. Gary Lutke and John Docherty won the coveted Spirit Trophy in a Citroën 2CV, and the Style Award was presented to Alex Roy's Team Polizei 144, dressed as Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Safety Award was presented to Torquenstein for surviving a near fatal Dodge Viper crash in Morocco. Former Champion jockey Richard Dunwoody and journalist Clement Wilson entered in a Volvo V70R and wrote an account entitled "Our Gumball Rally" published by Virgin Books, and the race is documented on the Gumball 3000 DVD.
[edit] 2005
The seventh rally originated at Trafalgar Square on May 14, 2005, and progressed 3000 miles from London to Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and onto to Dubrovnik in Croatia. The cars then were transported by ferry to Bari, Italy, followed by a transit of the Targa Florio circuit in Sicily, before heading north to Rome and Florence. The finish line was in Monaco's Casino Square prior to the F1 Grand Prix. Participants included Daryl Hannah, rock stars and supermodels driving vehicles ranging from the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee to Ferrari Enzos and Mercedes SLRs.
Known to be heading towards London, five drivers were arrested on May 9, 2005 by the Catalonian traffic police when caught speeding between Sagunto and Tarragona. According to the police statement, one of the organizers was among those arrested. The story was published in Spain's newspapers on 10 May 2005.
The Spirit Trophy was awarded to Sue Bellarby and Kathy Huddart, whose Caterham 7 broke down just shy of the finish line. The two were transported to the finish line iby Gumball legend Alex Roy in his "Guardia Civil" Team Polizei BMW M5 who finished 2nd dressed as a Spanish cop. The year's unofficial winners were Greg and "Kalbas" in a Mercedes 2004 CLK-DTM, who edged out a week-old Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren whose engine was destroyed just short of the finish line.
[edit] 2006
The 2006 rally was the most ambitious of any Gumball 3000 rally , starting in London and finishing in Los Angeles just 8 days later. The organizers flew all 120 cars from Europe to Asia and on to the USA in 3 Antonov An-124's and an Iceland Air passenger Boeing 757. The rally began on April 29, 2006 in Pall Mall, London, and continued on to Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade. The drivers then boarded a plane in Serbia and landed in Thailand for the race's second leg between Phuket and Bangkok. The final leg occured in the United States betweenSalt Lake City to Los Angeles, via Las Vegas, where Snoop Dogg performed live at the Gumball party.
Entrants included Jackass stars Ryan Dunn and Bam Margera, driving Margera's 'Billy Idol' customized Lamborghini Gallardo; Tony Hawk Mike Vallely, and Rooftop Escamilla in a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8; blink 182's Travis Barker drove his Rolls Royce Phantom with DJ Swizz Beatz; Dirty Sanchez used a Japan-Tuning style Nissan S15 Silvia; Dan Joyce, Matthew Pritchard, and Love Actually star Martine McCutcheon drove a pink Range Rover; and American television host Matt Johnston drove his custom 2006 Dodge Charger, among Gumball's regular assortment of eccentrics, celebrities, millionaires and billionaires from all over the world.
Team Polizei's Alex Roy & Michael Ross dominated Gumball 2006, earning 1st place overall, and arriving in 1st place in Belgium, Vienna, Budapest, Furnace Creek and Beverly Hills, even beating Gumballers that skipped the intermediate checkpoints. Team Polizei, suffering from both Ed Leigh's sabotage and accident damage in Thailand, did not participate in the Thailand leg and made a surprise visit to the Burmese border, where pictures were taken with border guards who thought Team Polizei were UN inspectors.
Meanwhile Torquenstein returned from the extraordinary events of the 2004, and rather than using a Dodge Viper, was driving a rally ready Ford GT. 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 tied for 1st place on the final stage with the Team Polizei Bentley driven by Alex Roy and Michael Ross.
The Spirit Trophy was won by Damian Williams, Richard Blackburn & Ezra Chapman of Team 15, who crashed a camouflage Rolls Royce Phantom at approximately 160mph just north of Belgrade. The team allegedly rode 500+ miles in a cab across Thailand, then received a brand new Rolls Royce Phantom in Salt Lake City and drove to the Beverly Hills finish line. Upon arriving at the Playboy Mansion with the twisted grille from the first Phantom, Hugh Hefner presented the duo with a fitting trophy, a Gumball machine.
[edit] 2007
The 2007 route is scheduled to travel from London to Istanbul, via Amsterdam, Munich, Venice, Dubrovnik, and Athens. Over 100 contestants are scheduled to drive through 16 countries in 8 days. (source). The entrance fee for the 2007 rally is GB£28,000 (US$55,060) for first-time drivers.
From the official site:
28th April 2007 Registration Launch Party
29th April 2007 Car display & Start in Pall Mall, London Cars drive to Amsterdam checkpoint
30th April 2007 Cars drive through the night to the Frankfurt Checkpoint. Cars and drivers loaded onto planes and flown to Istanbul Arrive in Istanbul
1st May 2007 Istanbul to Athens via Thessaloniki checkpoint
2nd May 2007 Athens to Dubrovnik
3rd May 2007 Dubrovnik to Vienna
4th May 2007 Vienna to Berlin via Prague checkpoint
5th May 2007 Berlin to London Final Party, music concert in London
[edit] Official Gumball Spirit Trophy Winners
- 1999 Ben Williams IV - 1979 Trans Am
- 2000 Spencer Naily - 2000 Trans Am
- 2001 Tim Parker - 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge
- 2002 Nicholas Frankl & Nick Connor - Porsche 996 Turbo
- 2003 Alex Roy & David Maher - BMW M5
- 2004 Gary Lutke & John Docherty - Citroen 2CV
- 2005 Sue Bellarby & Katie Huddart - Caterham 7
- 2006 Damian Williams, Richard Blackburn & Ezra Chapman - Rolls Royce Phantom
[edit] Unofficial Gumball Rally Winners
- 1999 Unknown
- 2000 Ben Williams
- 2001 Kim Schmitz
- 2002 Rob Kenworthy - Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG
- 2003 Rob "Lonman" Kenworthy - Porsche 996 GT2 (Speed award) / Richard Rawlings ("First to Nearly All Checkpoints" Gumball Trophy)
- 2004 Rob Kenworthy - (Won 5 out of 8 stages then went to jail for 4 days in Spain.)
- 2005 Remy Gelas & "Kalbas" - Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM
- 2006 Alex Roy & Michael Ross - Team Polizei Bentley GT
[edit] Comments on Unofficial "Winners"
From teampolizei / Alex Roy - Team Polizei
Gumball 3000 does not publish time-based figures for participants, who, by their entry contract, are legally barred from time-based competition. However, unofficial time-based results are commonly compiled and verified by fans through ALK/Copilot GPS timelogs/tracks, from eyewitness accounts, and from the official forums of the Gumball 3000. The largest fan forums are the Official Gumball 3000 forum, BMW M5 Board and Car Domain, where eyewitnesses discuss, debate and confirm unofficial rankings. Rankings are subject to a gentleman's agreement among drivers not to depart early or skip checkpoints - easily confirmed via ALK Copilot's Timelogs.
In 2005, Gumball 3000 signed a sponsorship deal with ALK-Copilot who provided, for the first time, a publicly-available method of tracking Gumball participants en route in near-real time. Each car was provided with a bluetooth-enabled GPS Navphone with a transponder, allowing for improved accuracy in tracking Gumballe participants. In 2006, several Gumballers decided to skip the Furnace Creek checkpoint to arrive early at the Beverly Hills finish line for an early dinner and drinks. The tradition among veteran Gumballers is to park in 5th place or lower in deference to those who take the longer route via all checkpoints. Among them in 2006 was Team 65 (the legendary veteran Alejandro Grimaldi & new co-pilot Salinas), who bore witness to the final results. Likewise, numerous fans posted evidentiary pics on the forums (listed above) of the 1st place tie between Team Polizei and Torquenstein.
[edit] External links
