Monday, May 01, 2006
I’m Maximillion Cooper, the host and proud founder of the rally which
kicked off for the eigth consecutive year on Pall Mall yesterday to the
sound of thousands of people, the roar of over a hundred of the world
most rock and roll supercars, and some dodgy music coming from Goldie
Looking Chain’s Bedford Rascal!
Since then the 240 Gumballers have crossed beneath the channel, driven
through France into Belgium where we stopped at the beautiful Blois
Chateau at about one in the morning for dinner. To my surprise hundreds
of crazy Gumball fans had waited up for us, a naked girl even tried to
get into my car…so guys you know where to come! We then set off to our
next check point, breakfast in Vienna and again crowds and crowds of
fans lined the streets, motorway bridges and side road hedgeways al the
way, I know that to me and all the Gumballers this support really makes
the 28 hour drive worthwhile!
So then that was us on the way to our last checkpoint in Europe, the
mighty 4 seasons overlooking the Danube in Budapest, yes you guessed it,
another few thousand fans thronging the streets all the way in.
Stay Tuned,
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
So Gumball fans – it’s the end of a long and eventful Tuesday here on
the rally and wow what and event it’s turning out to be! I can’t really
begin to describe the things I’ve seen and the emotions I’ve felt this
year, the guys in Budapest are fantastic, cheering us on and waiting
outside the hotel for the Gumballer’s to turn up even though it was a
rainy wet cold bank holiday Monday – The “Fuel‿ cars regular checkpoint
firework display certainly made a good impression.
After a quick and much needed power-nap; Julie and myself joined the
Gumballer’s for a great party at Moulin Rouge, one of Budapest’s finest
venues for some dinner and dancing to the music of the Ministry of Sound
DJ’s and a set from the infamous Cuban Brothers. Early the next morning
the beautiful square that the Four Seasons Hotel dominates will be
awoken to the cacophonous roar of the supercars tearing out on the way
to the final leg of their European Adventure…..Belgrade.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
As expected – there were less fans this morning – that’s a 7 o’clock
start for you and we did hit a bit of traffic on the way out of Budapest
but the drive down to the border for the next checkpoint was beautiful –
the countryside is very unspoilt down here – and to my surprise –
hundreds more fans lined the bridges all the way there! Sometimes there
were just fields and field as far as you could see and yet still there
were people out to cheer us on our way past – I don’t know where they
all came from!!
The border crossing was great – the Serbian guards were pleased to see
us and again there were guys out to see us but once in and on the roads
we were really going well and making a good pace towards our checkpoint.
But then, unfortunately we had some bad news on the way – a glorious
Rolls Royce Phantom was written off shortly after we had crossed the
border – luckily the mighty car protected it’s passengers perfectly –
prompting the driver to get out and rue his decision to be insured as
3rd party only! The passengers safe, the Rolls towed, the Gumballer’s
carried on to one of the most spectacular aspects of the rally so far –
the crowds of fans lining the streets of the Serbian capital and site of
former horrific bombings in the 90’s – Belgrade. Seeing the amount of
people out to welcome us really put in perspective how much the people
around the world love to see a collection of supercars – we estimate
about a million people were there to welcome us in, all giving us the
thumbs up, asking for stickers and welcoming us to Serbia generally –
wow – I’m still getting over it – the Police there had to be the most
welcoming of all – after they trapped one or two Gumballer’s with their
Radar guns they pulled them over to show them exactly how fast they had
been going before sending them on the way.
So then it was off to Belgrade Airport where the cars were loaded onto
three enormous Antonov transporter planes and flown to the next stop –
the Gumballers and I made our way to the Icelandic Air 757 waiting for
us with a great hand picked crew and settled down for a sleep – or some
of us did anyway…waking up the next day in the heat of a country as yet
untouched by Gumball wheels! Thailand!!
The heat hit you as soon as you got off the plane – where we met and
taken to one of the best hotels in the world – The Amanpuri on the
incredible island of Phuket. It truly is a glorious hotel consisting of
lots of little huts on stilts overlooking the beautiful blue sea – with
a day to chill before a great party on the beach the Gumballer’s all
relaxed in different ways – none car related though as the Antonov’s
didnt land until a little while after us. A day sleeping on the beach is
just what’s needed after the miles we have covered so far and have to
cover tomorrow; a 700 mile trip from here in Phuket up via a fantastic
checkpoint into Bangkok where it will be time to board our Iceland Air
757 again – this time America bound.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
What a rest! A full day at The Amanpuri Hotel on the beautiful beach of
Phuket!! Well deserved too – we’ve done our endurance leg, and we’ve
endured a really – really long flight with a lot of Gumballer’s in high
spirits too! So after we arrived in Phuket and had our day on the beach,
the Gumballer’s all met at the beack in the evening for a true Thai
style full moon beach party, with great food and a great DJ!
The next day, with a few hung over passengers, we set off to Bangkok –
having come off the Antonov’s with only a quarter off a tank of petrol
the local gas station saw off a super car motorcade like it had never
seen before – after a slow start and obviously driving slowly through
the windy roads (apart from the “Flash Lamborghini‿ that split a tree in
half!) the Gumballer’s made their way to a huge and beautiful bat cave
where we had some lunch before setting off for a final leg to Bangkok
where we had more treats in store. Namely – The Oriental hotel – with
120 super cars lined up outside we checked in and then made our way via
a little boat across a little river to where there was a great Thai
dinner set to live Thai music and a Thai boxing and dancing
demonstration.
A few drinks down, and full on beautiful food a few Gumballer’s made
their way into Bangkok for a few more – I think with the intention of
knocking themselves out for the flight tomorrow! |
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Friday, May 05, 2006
An early start this morning, and a police escort through Bangkok to the
Airport where the Antonov’s were waiting to load up again- this time the
flight was even more of a monster, 2 stops, the first in Japan and the
second in Alaska where I’m pretty sure a few Gumballer’s actually ate
the Reindeer dogs on offer, only a short stop though before hopping back
onto Gumball Air 1 straight to Salt Lake City.
Arriving at our hotel we were checked into pretty quick, the guys that
“lost‿ their Phantom in Serbia had a new one waiting, and we were all
rushed to our rooms to get ready and looking smart to go to the first
West cost screening of MI:3 with Tom Cruise – another Gumball first. I’m
having a pretty quiet night- the premiere was great but I need some rest
now after all that driving and flying – tomorrow is a big day – The
Miller Race Track!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
We were bussed to the Antonov’s this morning, cars waiting, a good
crowd, news vans, the whole works, even choppers flying around the get
the Gumballer’s leaving. Our first checkpoint today was at the
incredible Miler Race Track where the Gumballer’s could take their own
cars around the track to get out some of their frustration from the
American freeway 55 mph limit! A really hot day, loads of people,
helicopters buzzing around over head and a great lunch - and the fact
that we were driving on the forthcomiing American F1 track - hence we
beat Schumacher over the finish line - not bad going for one day - but
we couldn’t hang around - we had the Bonneville Salt Flats in our sights
- as I’m sure you know - these particular flats are home to many a
failed, and successful land speed record attempt - obviously we weren’t
going to try that but what was obvious was that a huge natural skid pan
was too much to resist for certain Gumballers - one of the sights of the
day had to be a classic white 911 and a new white 911 turbo racing
around the flats doing donuts - I’ll never forget it!
From then on it was hard driving through some classic scenery straight
to the famous desert oasis of Las Vegas - I convoyed with Bill and Gary
in the 911 turbo straight through little towns and big desolate spaces
until we saw the lights of the strip and pulled up in front of The Hard
Rock Hotel and Casino with about half of the other cars already waiting
for us - and what a scene we were greeted with - just what you would
expect from Vegas, big crowds, loud music, and gorgeous girls wearing
very little cleaning the cars in the car park - what more could you ask
for?? Exactly - a night out!
And what a treat we had in store for the Gumballers tonight - shepherded
through the crowds they were taken into a huge concert hall, The Joint,
Vegas style where Big Snoop Dog and all his crew played a great private
set. As you can imagine, when that ended, the night did not - a lot of
the Gumballers were seen heading to the tables - well with just one
night in Vegas you just have to don’t you!
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Getting up this morning was hard to say the least - it was a really
great day yesterday, to drive and see what we saw and then have Big
Snoop play live was incredible, probably the highlight of the tour for
me so far, and they aren’t kidding when they say Vegas is the city that
doesn’t sleep! But what better motivation to get up that to drive right
through the heart of death valley in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti!!
First stop - Furance Creek, an hour or so outside of Vegas, another
oasis - I saw some of the footage from the helicopter and the Furance
Creek Inn where we stopped for lunch is a place the size of a large
house, with lovely green grass and palm trees and a pool - not to
mention a great lunch but surrounded by miles and miles of flat lifeless
land - it could be on the moon it’s so desolate!
The Ferrari is saying the air temperature is hitting 45 degrees
sometimes - glad I’m not in an air cooled car - I even have to turn the
air con off because the car is overheating - I cant describe how mad it
is here - one of the lowest points on earth at a few hundred feet below
see level - yes - we are driving at below sea level - it’s like nothing
I’ve ever seen before and it really makes it seem like months ago that
we were in rainy grey Belgium but it is only a few days! Keep driving
though - LA is calling and the final party….
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Getting to LA this evening brought mixed feelings - on the one hand a
sense of great achievement - 3000 miles, 3 continents, amazing scenery,
great parties and every other benefit from this event but then also a
sense that I am going to have to wait another year before I can feel
this again- think next week is going to be a huge come down - I’ll miss
the sound of the guys revving their engines for the crowds!
There is light at the end of the tunnel though - pulling into Rodeo
Drive. It’s been closed off especially for this event and the LA crowds
were great of course, the Americans just love to see the type of cars
that the Gumball brings with them, you don’t see many Nobles and Ultimas
here! And then we see it…. the chequered flag - that’s it, the driving
done, the rally over - one last thing to do before Julie and I start
working on next years rally - which I promise is going to be on to
remember - and that is to get the Gumballer’s to the lovely Beverly
Hilton to get showered and changed - there are coaches waiting for us -
you probably already know where they are going to take us - there is
only really one place in the whole of the US that could do justice to
the final blow out - the party of the year - the Gumball Final Night -
yes - the fabled Playboy Mansion.
Of course we take a few cars up to the mansion - what better sight for
the guys on the coaches behind than a few Ferraris and Lambos, the
Playboy Mansion and a bunny or two (or three…). It’s great to be back
here - I had almost forgotten what an atmosphere this place has - the
famous pool and of course the grotto. But before we have a chance to
take too many drinks on board we assemble in the marquee where I have to
give the guys a full de-brief - well done all of you - you drove well,
arrived safely and I hope keen for next year - a few awards to give out
too - and naturally Mr Hugh Heffner himself is the obvious choice to
give out this years “Spirit of the Gumball” award. Of course it went to
the 4 game guys who lost their Phantom in Serbia, hitched through
Thailand and had another one waiting for them in Salt Lake - that’s the
spirit guys!!!
A great deal with Absolute Poker also offered the chance to win a
million if you were lucky with the poker cards. I’ll have to let you
guys check the forums to see what happened for the rest of the night,
I’m putting my lap top away now, there are drinks to drink and bunnies
to pet!
Thanks for reading, Julie, myself and the whole of the Gumball team hope
you can join us next year for Gumball 2007!!!
Drive safely…
Maximillion Cooper |
