Gumball 3000
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The Gumball 3000 rally is an annual 6-day, 3000 mi (5000 km) car race.
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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 Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in honor of, you guessed it, Cannonball Baker. The first race was held on April 1, 1971, and first prize was a Gumball dispenser. The first 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 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 (http://www.gumball144.com/Press.html), who rode with 2003 Winner Alex Roy (http://www.gumball144.com) through Morocco on the 2004 Rally.
Races
1999
The 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.
2001
The 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 Jag, 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 AC 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 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.
2002
The 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 Buellers 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.
2003
The fifth race was held in May 2003, with 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] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390067/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxsbT01MDB8dHQ9b258ZmI9dXxwbj0wfHE9Z3VtYmFsbHxodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=2;ft=21;fm=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 (http://www.gumball144.com/) won in his Team Polizei BMW M5[2] (http://www.teampolizei.com), decked out in German Police Gear. "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.
2004
The 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, 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 Citroen 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 General Lee Citroen 2CV. First place went to Kim Schmitz[3] (http://www.kimble.org) in a CL3000. The Style Award went to Alex Roy (http://www.gumball144.com/), this time dressed as a Canadian Mountie.
2005
The 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.
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 (http://www.gumball144.com/) and transported to the finish line in his "Guardia Civil" BMW M5 (http://www.teampolizei.com/) and came in 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-Maclaren SLR whose engine blew up just short of the finish line. Source: M5 Board (http://www.M5Board.com/)
External links
- Official homepage (http://www.gumball3000.com/)
Gumball Winners:
2003 Alex Roy
- Team Polizei (http://www.gumball144.com/)
2004 Kim Schmitz
- Kimble (http://www.kimble.org/)
Veterans Ant and Pete returned in 2005 in their diesel-powered BMW 3-series "D3" (http://www.antandpete.co.uk), hit a deer, but finished anyway.