That’s right, the 2009 Gumball 3000 Rally runs from 2 to 8 May. For those of you who don’t know what it’s about, it’s a lot like the scooter rally we went on the other day through Cape Town, except completely different. It’s a cross country/ies 3,000 miles long and is done in ultra-luxurious, rare and exotic cars, with 120 celebrities, wealthy and eccentric people participating.

 

It’s that time of year again!

 

Wiki tells us:

 

The Gumball 3000 is an annual 3000 mile (5000 km) international rally which takes place on public roads, with a different 3000 mile route around the world each year. 120 cars participate, often driven by their owners. Now in its 11th year the event has grown into an established fixture on the popular culture calendar – annually attracting household names from music, film and sport to participate, including David Hasselhoff, Adrien Brody, Jodie Kidd, Darryl Hannah, Johnny Knoxville, and Tony Hawk. Although set up as a rally with no official timing, or prizes for reaching checkpoints first, during the rally, some participants have been fined for speeding and other traffic offenses by the police in countries they passed through. Cars participating have also been confiscated by the authorities of countries they pass through. In 2007 the rally was cancelled after a car participating in the rally was involved in a fatal collision with a non-participating vehicle. Although the organizers are careful to emphasize that it is a rally and not a race, it is sometimes referred to as a streetrace.

Gumball 3000 was founded in 1999 by Maximillion Cooper. Cooper invited 55 of his wealthiest friends to take part in a 6 day 3000 mile drive around Europe, partying every night. The event started off with a wild party with some of London’s A-list including Kate Moss, Guy Ritchie, Billy Zane, Chris Eubank and Dannii Minogue.

[more here – check it out, it’s a good read]

 

Pretty sick. And so are the cars they use. The rally has seen everything from vintage Aston Martins to Ferrari Enzo’s. Here are a few that have been readied for this year’s rally.

 

A Bugatti Veyron for the boys

Mercedes Benz SLR – fine!

Good

Oww, some Bentage..

With Puma stripes

 

I like what PUMA Motorsport have done in being the main sponsor of the event. That Bentley looks pretty cool with the PUMA stripes down the side.

 

 

They’ve made a pretty cool website as well (here) which gives up to the updates of all the action. If you know what you’re doing with Twitter, you’ve probably already gone to Twitter Search and typed in “gumball rally” or “gumball 3000.” that’s what smart kids like you do, right? It doesn’t more up-to-the-minute than that.

Or you can check out the Official Gumball 3000 Rally here.

Or follow the offical Gumball 300 Rally on Twitter here.

Better yet, if you REALLY want to get INTO the vibe, go to past and current Gumball 3000 Rally videos on YouTube here. they’ve got all sorts of stuff on the cars, past crashes etc.

This year features NBA bad-boy Dennis Rodman, who will be driving with Playboy Playmate Charis Boyle (no relation).

 

Rodders

Charis Boyle
Click that pic if you want to…you know..

It’s all quite exciting, don’t you think?

God it must be so much fun. And especially inticing as two 2oceansvibe friends, David Hasselhof and Billy Zane have already taken part – adding that jealousy factor. Mark my words, I will do the Gumball 3000 Rally one day.

And yes, of course, I’ll tell you all about it.