What Is The Gumball 3000?

It seems almost crazy to imagine a luxury car race whose eccentric owners compete for sheer fun; Beyond science fiction, this competition exists and is called Gumball 3000. Obviously, it is something very different from Formula 1, or the rustic World Rally Championship.

In the Gumball 3000 we will surely be able to see models like the BMW M5, Citroen 2CV or even a Rolls Royce Phantom. These are sports cars that almost no one can afford, but that we all love to see in motion.

It is a very special race, with great charm for drivers and assistants; Luxury brand cars compete in it  , which is not easy to see at other events. A spectacle for the senses.

Origin of Gumball 3000

It all started in the 70’s, in the United States. It was at this time that the government planned to impose a speed limit of 90 km / h.

The goal: to reduce fuel consumption. To demonstrate the impracticality of this regulation, motorsport journalist Brock Yates considered going from New York to California in record time .

It took 41 hours of travel and the journalist showed that it was impossible to catch the offenders for this type of violation. Later, Yates’ feat became a tag team race called the Cannonball Run ; here the arrival times were shortened to 33 hours.

From this anecdotal competition the Gumball 3000 was born precisely. 1999 was the first year of its celebration: the traditional outing takes place on Ocean Drive (Miami) and culminates in Ibiza, Spain. They are 5,000 kilometers completed in seven days, although sometimes the routes and destinations change.

Race just for the rich

The problem is that traveling the highways of Miami, Atlanta, New York, Edinburgh, London, Paris and finally Ibiza, costs a lot of money. Registration amounts to € 40,000, although its participants have declared spending more than € 100,000 on the journey; only really wealthy people enter the event.

The competition is a luxurious and fun experience for the competitors. Special concerts, visits to museums, parties and special participations in royal races are part of the plan.

Each year is a different experience. For example, the 2008 edition had a final stop in Beijing while the Olympic Games were being held. And of course , the normal thing is to see celebrities like David Hasselhoff compete, or the late Paul Walker, from The Fast and the Furious .

The problem of traffic laws

As it is not an official race, the Gumball 3000 does not have special permits. Your competitors drive on streets and highways, and must be careful to inflict the traffic laws of each country. Of course, the competitors do not always respect the speed limits, nor the rest of the rules.

In fact, in 2005, Paul Walker and Adrien Brody were fined on the highway from Paris to Barcelona. Later, during the 2014 edition, 45 sanctioned participants were registered in the same way. In the event there are excesses, luxury cars and speed lovers with a lot of cash.

But since all the competitors are wealthy, they simply pay the fines in order to continue the fun. Of course, there is also room for nonprofits, philanthropy, and bystanders.

Some winners of the competition

The first winners of the competition were Luke Craft & Dylan Murray, in 1999. In 2001, Kim Schmitz was the first place winner; For those who do not know him, ‘Kimble’ is a businessman and hacker of Finnish-German origin, creator of Megaupload .

Former cyclist Miguel Ángel Serrano won in the 2007 edition, pairing up with Javier Millán. There are many anecdotes that can be told of this extravagant experience only suitable for millionaires.

Among the best known anecdotes, for example  in 2016 a car participated that was an exact replica of the batmobile from the video game Batman: Arkham Knight .

The Gumball 3000 organization was created by Maximillion Cooper, designer and pilot. By 2012, the event was valued at $200 million according to Forbes magazine.

The millionaires rally is illegal, eccentric and full of quirks, but it has fame, sponsors and a lot of money. Motor magazines and social press, and automotive are waiting for new occurrences and cars to see in future editions.