Gumball 3000

[speeddemon]

I'm a new member to this site and was wondering if any of you are fans of the Gumball 3000 race? I got to see the starting line in San Francisco by pure coincidence and it looked awesome. I heard that there might be a video coming out but haven't seen one anywhere on the net yet. Also, if anyone knows anything about another event I saw coming up called the players run I'd like to learn more about it (Not just the hype from the organizers). I doubt I'll have the money to be in it but I'd love to see part of it if I could.
Thanks.

[Homem de Gelo]

Not a fan, only an admirer. Who knows one day I'll be there showing off in my car and pimpin' with the big siliconed boobed blondes.

[Evil Ewok]

I don't respect or admire this race at all. It is a true retarted thing to do and all it is doing is making it harder for street modified cars to be able to run one day with out being pulled over because the car looks fast. It's making our road laws more strict, and just everything else more complicated. It is stupid.

[DiabloVT]

dont be such a wet blanket dude haha. ive got the dvd and it looks sick!

[Swissbeatz]

Originally Posted by Evil Ewok

I don't respect or admire this race at all. It is a true retarted thing to do and all it is doing is making it harder for street modified cars to be able to run one day with out being pulled over because the car looks fast. It's making our road laws more strict, and just everything else more complicated. It is stupid.

Gumball 3000 is the best rally ever made in this world. I plan to join it soon. It's sick and furious. 911 Turbo, Ferrari Modena, Lambo Murcielago etc... who can beat them on a speedway?
Police chase and more. Maximilien Cooper had have a good idea.

[NoOne]

I have watched the videos of the Gumball because of the cars involved and out of curiosity as to how rich people play. My problem with it is the utter disregard for public safety and the law, the fact that they approach the law as something they can buy their way clear of because of their fat wallets.

I think it would be better if sections of highway could be closed from the public and given free reign to the racers, as in a proper sanctioned event. But in turn, speed limits be recognized and obeyed with zero tolerance, where highway closure is not possible.

I do admit that every year I search and download the videos, as I said not that I approve, but to satisfy my own voyeoristic curiosity.

[Evil Ewok]

Why race illegally, when you can go to germany and do the same on the Autobahn legally? Probally much more fun with all of the germans and dutch nudging your back bumper wanting you to go faster.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Evil Ewok

Why race illegally, when you can go to germany and do the same on the Autobahn legally? Probally much more fun with all of the germans and dutch nudging your back bumper wanting you to go faster.

Racing on streets and autobahns puts innocent families at risk.
They didn't chose to share the piece of tarmac with some speed junky.
Best advice is go to track days and then you can really take your car to it's limits ( and yours ).
Then you're sharing the space with folks expecting everyobne else to go as fast.
But watch out, there are still bad accidents. The most tearful at our local track was a new Porsceh 911 went out on a "Hot Hatch day". Now these are usually populated by 18 year olds with their Fiesta with lots of stick on bits and few performance add-ons. 911 was taking it "easy", overtook the Fiesta on the main straight. The kid didn't brake until he'd seen the 911's brake lights. Well as I'd said "no performance add-ons" so the 911 slows down a LOT, the Fiesta does nothing and rams the 911.
Thre's a group of us who 'share' track time on these days and avoid the loonies. Also most tracks in the UK will do "marque" days where you have to have a performance or competition car to join in the days fun. Now THOSE are a buzz.You get a whole day for anything from 50 to 200 US dollars !!

[Falcon500]

Well while i really dislikethe lack of any common sense of these people i will admit i find it morbidly entertaining...still would never doit and vocaly diisagree with it...but after the fact as long as no one was hurt ill watch.
www.rankinroad.com thats the sight that has a lot of illegal drag racing as well as some legal stuff too.

[Porsche Lvr]

undefined
It's wrong to assume just because someone speeds that they have a lack of common sense. Having common sense and then pursuing in doing opposite are always different. Someone earlier mentioned that high speeds on the Autobahn made others on the road more in danger. To combat that, the Autobahn is a safer highway system that our own American highways by about a .12 margin per 100,000km. Considering that the average driver on the Autobahn finds it comfortable cruising at 120mph and the higher-end drivers like to cruise at around 140-150mph, that's one hell of a difference. One another note, in Europe it's much harder to get a license than in America. American driver licenses are a joke compared to the rest of the world. Another thing to remember is that European cars, which what are mostly driven in the Gumball Rally are designed with the Autobahn and high-speed performance driving in mind. These cars are up to the task of handling themselves on the road as though they were professionals, even if the drivers are not professionals themselves. Another note, if there were any serious accidents involving multiple cars with the Gumball Rally you would be sure that the Media would EXPLODE onto the scene and make the Gumball Rally look like the most terrible thing in history; because we all know America loves a good tragedy. Lack of common sense? Maybe. But is driving in the Gumball Rally more fun than you could hope to experience from driving on a sanctioned track? Yes. And you think these people can buy their ways out of tickets all the time? If you'd seen the video that Mischief released it showed just one of the few drivers that had multiple tickets. One in particular who drove a Ferrari 355 got a ticket for going 75mph in a 70mph zone.
It all comes down to a simple thing; if you could participate, you would.
And those of you that wouldn't ever in their lifetime; well then, I guess you're all gonna get a special reserved spot in heaven for using common sense, I wonder where the rest of us will go?


P.S. ... Probably somewhere in the 200mph range.

[cls12vg30]

I love watching that video, great soundtrack. I'll freely admit that if I had the means I would run it. I didn't see those guys doing anything out on the highways that I don't see jackasses in much less capable cars doing every day.

[NoOne]

1. Passing on paved shoulders is not usually considered a safe practice ... especially when driving significantly faster than the other traffic on the road.

2. A high performance car does not make you a high performance driver.

3. Laws are in place to protect the general public, these people feel they are above that, that it doesn't apply to them.

4. A front wheel blowout at 140kmh is scary, I would assume it is much more dangerous at 180mph.

5. It may be just a matter of time before a serious accident does happen, when/if it does happen I hope they die slowly ... and alone

I do enjoy the videos, but I would not participate ... at least not 'til they stressed safety - theirs and the publics - over everything else.

[Porsche Lvr]

2. A high performance car does not make you a high performance driver.
3. Laws are in place to protect the general public, these people feel they are above that, that it doesn't apply to them.

Point taken, but driving in a Porsche is going to provide the driver with a much more stable platform to work from than say a Honda Civic trying to cruise down the highway at 120mph. Then again, don't follow Kyle Bass' example, that guy isn't all there in the head when it comes to driving his Porsche ( the guy in the Ruf R Turbo ).

Another point; drivers don't necessarily feel that they are above the law when going over the speed limit. I'm sure everyone has gone over the speed limit at least once in their lifetime (more than that most likely), did you feel as the higher power? Even Rory and Mark in the F50 during the 2002 rally got tagged at 187mph and were sent to jail ( but they did make bail soon after ).

Yet remember, the Gumball 3000 isn't the only event in America's history to have a cross country race. Although the Gumball isn't even a race, it's not about who gets to the other side first, at least not in the main points. Bragging rights are always appreciated but that's not the point. Movies like the Gumball Rally, Cannonball Run I & II, all have origins of truth in them. Didn't think that all of their stories were fabricated did you?

I understand why you have your reserves about public safety, laws, etc. America is poor in terms of their driver's training as I've stated in the previous post.

So anyway, don't fret, the next Gumball 3000 is being held in Paris, France. So the Euros can hoot and holler about how fast they are going. My girlfriend has always wanted to see Paris, but I'm not too fond the French.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Porsche Lvr

So anyway, don't fret, the next Gumball 3000 is being held in Paris, France. So the Euros can hoot and holler about how fast they are going. My girlfriend has always wanted to see Paris, but I'm not too fond the French.

The last Europen Gumball I saw on TV had them going through the gangster controlled areas of Poland/Rusia and it all looked a bit heavy !!
The other thing they forgot is how some roads may not be as well maintained as others.
Ferrari flipped into a field after getting into gravel on the road.
They were lucky to be alive !!

I agree it's good fun to watch and I'd loe to take part (maybe).
But as soon as there is one major fatality ( and heaven forbid it's a kid ) then it will be banned and be enforced VERY strongly.

[cls12vg30]

Movies like the Gumball Rally, Cannonball Run I & II, all have origins of truth in them. Didn't think that all of their stories were fabricated did you?

They sure do have origins of truth. Most Americans probably know about it, but I wouldn't expect people from elsewhere to know. A key figure to remember is Brock Yates. If you've ever seen Cannonball Run, he's the announcer at the time table at the start. He had a big part in getting the movie made, and it was largely based on his experiences. Today he's a writer for Road & Track. In 1974 he was already a respected automotive journalist. He and some other automotive writers and retired race drivers put together the original Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Run. This was a completely unsanctioned, illegal, underground road race from Connecticut to Santa Monica, California. The motivation behind the race was a protest against the new-at-the-time (and now defunct, thank God above) 55 mph national speed limit.
The real Cannonball was not a highly organized rally with stops and parties each night like the Gumball. It was flat out, non-stop, best time coast-to-coast. Brock Yates and Dan Gurney won the first race, driving a Ferrari Daytona. Their elapsed time was a bit over 33 hours.
I believe five Cannonballs were run in all, with the last in 1979. Many of the things you see in the movie are based on actual occurrences. Brock Yates and his team really did run a hopped-up Dodge ambulance one year, complete with doctor and patient. The one in the movie is in fact the actual ambulance they used. Other interesting entries over the years included an RV, a van fitted with five 55-gallon fuel drums, and two guys who agreed to "transport" another guy's Cadillac to California at a "liesurely pace."