The point of the original Gumball Rally: cross the country in the fastest possible time without getting caught. While, at the same time, not killing anyone. It was a non-PC salute to Richard Nixon’s double-nickel speed limit. A political statement, of sorts. How in the world can you “recreate” this event with sponsorship, blogs, YouTube posting, and people without any political consciousness driving “arrest me” supercars that are 50 or more miles per hour faster than the original participants’ wheels (which included a converted ambulance)? Answer: easily enough, given the large number of magic feather missiles owned and occasionally operated by the rich and famous. I know: we’re giving these idiots the oxygen of publicity by even mentioning their pursuit of attention. But it’s time for TTAC Best and Brightest to rag or rave over this clear and present danger to public safety and auto enthusiasts’ image. If supercar owners want to do this sort of thing, they should either take it on the track or enter “open road racing” events. Ironically, sensibly, open road competitions consist of time trials on closed-off public highways: a safe place for over-testosteroned drivers to compete for something that benefits us all: a Darwin award.
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I’ve always called it the Dumbball. You get to see stupid people with tons of money, and it makes you think about how fair life is.
I’m with you on this Robert. That’s what tracks are for. And, JG, well said. Proof positive that money has nothing to do with intelligence.
The idea fair scares the you-know-what out of me. People with more money than good sense (as witnessed by their participation in this event) running supercars at insane speeds on public roads. This is a recipe for disaster.
All it takes is one grandma on the other side of a hill doing 40 MPH in the inside lane, or a bus coming up on a curve that Johnny Bravo has decided to slice on the inside…”Gee how’d that happen to me? Why won’t anyone accept my apology?”
“What are you doing? You’re taking my camera time…”
“Yo, I got more color and personality.”
*sigh*
Oh Jeez, I just watched the video, Darwin candidates waiting their shot at the award.
I don’t know, maybe I watched Cannon Ball Run too many times when I was a kid, but these always sounded fun to me. Are the contestants idiots? Most probably. I’d go for One Lap rather than this.
Like most hyper-cool things, once discovered, it is ruined.
There were a few stretches in Montana, Nebraska, and the Dakotas where I’d feel comfortable at 130 mph. I’d not want to try that near any major city or in less than perfect weather. I’d also be afraid of a tire blowout or road debris.
Working with Rally New York, I’ve had the pleasure of WFO down a pre cleared and pre-run stretch of public road, but if you don’t get that, you always have to consider the eight year old minivan with four different tire pressures on the road with you.
“Are the Gumballers Idiots or What?” nice rhetorical question
Several of the Dumbballs’ Dumbasses were arrested going in excess of 170mph and had their cars confined and they were jailed.
I’m trying to confine my opinion as to how stupid this event is and most of its participants. Just waiting for someone crash at high speed into a school bus full of children b/c they wanted to “open it up” on a public road b/c the camera was rolling. Then we can see the zoo that will really happen as Congress will want to debate the event.
Agreed, with license suspensions to boot. It’s very hard for an everyday driver to dodge a Veyron coming towards you at triple the double-nickel, and there were a couple of fatalities with Gumball 2007.
It’s a totally reckless event, IMO. The people that arrange events like this should be held accountable as well as the competitors/idiots in fast cars. There are tracks all over the country that can be rented for the purpose of a rich man getting his jollies, they should not be putting the lives of the public in danger for that purpose. Encouraging what one would imagine to be triple digit speeds on public roadways is insane and irresponsible.
Although I must admit that my feelings of this practice kind of make me feel old. Ten years ago I would have probably cheered this, but I guess wisdom comes with age.
I had some a-hole on a sport bike pass me in the exit lane on 95 last week at triple digit speeds. I almost clipped him. At that velocity I would have paid a price as well.
Getting up to 70 or even 80 is no big deal. At 150 plus there is no time to react to a situation because you are going around 200 feet per second.
F1 drivers they are not. Money does not make anyone particularly skilled at avoiding killing other motorists.
Sell the cars at auction and pay for public services. At least the other motorists can get a tax break.
Wait for the accident in a “sponsored” car which results in the sponsors being sued.
See how long the rally lasts when Monster Energy Drink gets sued for $10M+.
It looks like some douchebag’s Veyron is getting the impound lot treatment, that’s a good start. Too bad they’re using a flat bed instead of a regular tow truck.
There is no worse combination than stupidity coupled with arrogance.
The phrase “More money than brains” springs immediately to mind. ‘Nuf said.
“Like most hyper-cool things, once discovered, it is ruined.”
So true.
On the other hand, think of all the ticket revenue these guys generate as they cross the country. It’s like it’s own stimulus package.
IMO, the Mongol Rally is much more cool, but even that event ain’t what it used to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Rally
The penalty for being caught doing 50 or more MPH over the speed limit should be loosing your car.
It would be a lot more interesting if these people were required by the event organizer’s rules to drive cars that are cramped, underpowered and not-suited-for triple-digit speeds.
Aveos. 10k versas, 1986 Hyundai Excels. Sort of like 24 Hours of LeMons on the street. Now that would be entertaining.
As it is, you’d be hard pressed to find more douchebags in the “personal hygiene” aisle at Walgreen’s.
This is one of the better known ones, but there are plenty of opportunities to legally go as fast as you want on public highways.
http://www.silverstateclassic.com/
Here is the non-idiot, real driver version of this, still with Brock Yates:
http://www.onelapofamerica.com/
http://www.speedsportlife.com/2009/04/29/2009-one-lap-of-america-preview-and-predictions/ (Jack Baruth)
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/02/one-lap-of-america-2009-the-flag-drops/
Die Gumball, please. Just die.
Looking forward to some new photos on Wrecked Exotics!
(and I sincerely hope none of these idiots hurt anyone)
I think gumballers are mostly idiots. Some are actually pretty good drivers and take the competition very seriously. But they are in the minority.
Richard Chen, you are incorrect however. In 2007 there was 1 fatality. The only fatality in 9 years of gumball. And the forensic investigators determined that the non-gumballer (an older man in a VW) caused the accident when he turned onto a the main road from a rural road without looking. He was t-boned by a gumball Porsche going 26km over the limit. The investigators determined that the accident would have been unavoidable even if the Porsche was going the speed limit of 50km. In fact, I’m pretty sure there has been less than a dozen accidents in the 9 years of gumball but I could be wrong on that one.
But yeah. Most gumballers are idiots.
Everyone’s so upset about this, but really I can’t agree. Sure the idiots going 170 are going to rightly pay the price, but I doubt entry into the Gumball was the start of their speeding career. Almost anyone shelling out this kind of dough for a car is planning on flagrant violations of the law, I know that on the one or two occasions I’ve been in a serious sports/super car (with owner in tow) I’ve at least doubled the speed limit, and I don’t regret it or apologize for it.
The real problem with these guys at the gumball is the drunk (or even badly hungover) driving. A friend of mine was in CA for work this week and actually called me from the start of the rally (coincidence he was there). According to him the pre-party was a straight up drinking scene, which is awesome, but really not what I’d be doing just prior to piloting an expensive and dangerous machine.
There’s definitely a macho incentive to break the law in groups like this, but at least now the gumballers go out loaded to the gills with tacky stickers etc…and cops know they’re coming, and the drivers know it. In that context I’d prefer this to random car clubs meeting up to (guess what?) break the law dangerously in macho groups without anyone being prepared for it or the cars being obviously visible. Car club members, don’t deny it, I’ve seen the convoys myself.
Besides, how do you make this illegal? All that’ll do it strip the cars of their stickers and whatever slim shred of social responsibility they’ve maintained to this point.
Otherwise I agree that this is stupid when events like the Targa Newfoundland exist. That’s were I’ll be headed when I’ve finally got a third, completely expendable, car to play with.
This isn’t really a story about “THE DANGERS OF SPEED” more about the dislike of rich yahoos having too much fun.
Keep your eyes on the road and check your mirrors and get off the cellphone. Sticking in the left lane at 65-70 with quicker driver behind you causes more accidents than pure speeding.
And to any rich person who happens to be reading this that goes into the gumball events; Charity Social Event attended by Socialites looks better on the news than rich people at drunken piss up.
I’d rather eat day old cold brussel sprouts than watch those two douche bags another second. Monster should be ashamed.
If you’re asking if the Gumball somehow “causes” this sort of behavour, then no. Street racing idiots are street racing idiots, this just gives them a particular goal. They’re morons trying to relive a time in our history where morons didn’t seem to know any better or cared.
I have zero sympathy for any of these rich assholes, they deserve what they get. It’s even LESS of an excuse for them to say “we can’t go to the local race track” because they’re LOADED–they can go to any racetrack they want whenever they want, for however long they want.
Looks good on em.
“Sticking in the left lane at 65-70 with quicker driver behind you causes more accidents than pure speeding.”
Care to offer any data in support of that conjecture? Personally I can’t stand it that people don’t practice good lane discipline and I wish California had laws and enforcement which made sense in that regard, so I share the dislike of left lane hoggers. But, I seriously doubt they are the cause of many accidents.
Gumballers are idiots endangering everyones safety.
The more we bitch and whine about it, the more people are going to think it’s cool. Perhaps it’s just because the increasing population of “sheeple” in this country willing to follow the first person who claims to know what “the common good” is, but for some reason I find this rebellious, risk taking admirable. As someone mentioned earlier, I think the underlying problem some people (not all, so if it’s not you save your breath) have with this is that it’s the RICH doing this.
Personally I can’t stand it that people don’t practice good lane discipline and I wish California had laws and enforcement which made sense in that regard, so I share the dislike of left lane hoggers. But, I seriously doubt they are the cause of many accidents.
There is evidence that speed variance does contribute to accidents. A lack of lane discipline contributes to speed variance because it effectively increases the speed variance of cars in the same lane, which raises the likelihood that they will make contact with each other (which of course is a bad thing.)
Here’s one example of an article about a study that addresses the variance component, although it’s not clear that it deals with the lane discipline component: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/8236 There are other ones that have made similar conclusions.
Do bears defecate in forested areas?
Is a frog’s anus watertight?
Does GW Bush mispronounce nuclear?
There is a fine line between enthusiasm and douchebaggery. These guys are way over it. Enthusiasts participate in events where skill, or commemoration of the past are important. These guys are just pumping their own egos. It isn’t about cars, or even some movie from the 70s. It is about them, and their money.
–chuck
Here’s a good followup: What car would you take on a cross country (dumball) rally?
Maybe it’s becase I’m still young and immature, but a rally like that looks like fun. However, the “I wanna feel A-listed” participants and the $20,000-$30,000-ish entry fee (varies from year to year) are both turnoffs. It’d be a great time to do some social networking, though.
This year, Gumball was cross-promoted with D1GP (Japanese drifting grand prix) and some entrants did a parade lap on the track…among the expected lineup of exotics, there was a bass-boat-green boattail Riviera on 26-inch rims, a Jaguar MK2 sedan, a restored 70s looking Land Rover, obvious rentals and a Prius.
The guys in the Prius will probably win.
Areitu
“What car would you take on a cross country (dumball) rally?”
An Ariel Atom of course (duh), preferably with a DI nitrous hookup.
Then I’d hand the keys off to a D1 driver at above mentioned parade lap (I’m assuming they drifted it) and say, “go right ahead, try not to embarass yourself.”
Imagine the bragging rights. “Yeah, this is the car that Sam Hubinette pissed his pants in.”
While I cannot, and do not, condone their behavior, these are the folks to beat: http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/15-11/ff_cannonballrun
If you are serious about it, as they were, you keep it quiet, plan rigorously, use all the technology at your disposal, and bring a witness from the media.
Again, just to make it clear, I am not recommending anybody else try this.
A 250cc limit on engine size would make this a relatively safe, fun, and interesting event!!!!
My friend and I were travelling back from Las Vegas to Albuquerque on Monday, 5-4. We saw the Arizona State Police lined up like Vampires along I-40 Eastbound.
We were passed by Porsche GT3, Maserati, Ferrari, Ford GT, Beemers, Benz’s….
And about every 15-20 miles they had groups of Gumballers pulled over with flat bed trucks to tow the cars. They were taking them right to jail and skipping the tickets, apparently.
Even New Mexico was into nailing them, including towing the cars. It seemed almost like the word was out. It was a slaughter.
By the time we got to ABQ, we were passing Gumballers and we were going the speed limit. They had been decimated, and the remaining drivers were in really old Jaguar’s and similar vehicles. And they all looked scared.
Back in the day, the Gumballers were real drivers…not wannabees.
More importantly, CB was state of the art and most all police transmissions could be scanned.
Today, that “stupid person” in the “crappy car” has a cell phone and WILL call 911 to report a convoy of exotics over 100 mph at mile post XYZ.
CB is somewhat useful, and cops now have scramblers and cell phones.
SP/CC will enjoy every second of seeing you “rich guys” “get yours” while his first year Elantra huffs along at 68 mph.
Want to drive fast ? Four doors, no stickers and keep your colors dull. Pissing off fellow drivers is a bigger threat than cops on routine patrol.
With my apology to RF for what it may do to his reputation, I agree with him on this issue. They have strayed from the reasonable hell raising into the grotesque.
Here’s a good followup: What car would you take on a cross country (dumball) rally?
BTDT, in a 1965 Jaguar E-type.
For the 2001 event we bought a mid-70s Mercedes 450sl. But Yates & Swig cancelled the event due to low turnout.
I’ve since re-re-restored the Jaguar, and I’d drive it cross-country again in a heartbeat. I’ve done several trouble-free (nothing I couldn’t fix myself in other words!) multi-thousand mile road trips and (non-douchey) rallies in the 65E. In fact I’m planning a west coast round tour later this year with my son(s).
–chuck
I envy these gumballers.
They have lots of money which allows them to buy these expensive supercars, while I putter around in an underpowered 20-year-old civic.
They have lots of money which allows them to hire a top notch attorney that can keep them out of jail and retain their license, while I cruise the streets in paranoia of Virginia’s finest who are itching to pull me over at the slightest hint of a traffic infraction.
They have lots of money so they can spend their time doing low-altitude flights across the country while I have the soul sucked out of me for eight hours.
I’m not afraid to admit that I’m downright jealous of them.
Richard Losee crashed his Ferrari Enzo on 2-Aug-2006 during the Utah Fast Pass Road Rally, for which participants had paid a $5000 entry fee and police had closed a 15-mile stretch of highway. Losee claimed he was close to 200MPH when he hit a bump and rolled approximately seven times. He survived with a couple cracked vertebrae and some broken bones. http://www.trendpimp.com/article/192/How_to_Crash_an_Enzo_Ferrari.html
On February 21, 2006,Stefan Eriksson lost control of a Ferrari Enzo while driving along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu at about 199 mph (320 km/h) as shown on a videotape recorded on in the car. The car careened off an embankment, hit a pole, split in half, and left a trial of debris 1/4 mi long on the PCH. Eriksson escaped with only a bloody lip.
Ericksson, it turned out had a long criminal record, and spent two years in jail on charges arising out of the post crash investigation.
On the other hand, just because you are driving an Enzo, does not mean you will survive a crash. 64-year old Gary Irwin Eisenberg died when his Enzo struck a tree not far from his home in Monterey, CA, and caught on fire.
Open road racing has also proved to be dangerous to spectators. The Mille Miglia (Thousand Milles) was an open-road endurance race in Italy from Brescia to Rome and back, a figure-eight shaped course of roughly a thousand Roman miles (1500 km) twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (13 before WWII, 11 after).
The race was banned after a fatal crash in 1957 that took the lives of driver Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver/navigator Edmund Nelson, and eleven spectators, at the village of Guidizzolo. The crash was probably caused by a blown tire.
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. The first Targa Florio covered 277 miles through multiple hairpin curves on treacherous mountain roads, at heights where severe changes in climate frequently occurred.
Later the race was run on a closed circuit. It started with a length of 148 km (92 miles) for a lap, then was shortened twice to the 72 km (45 mi) lap that was used in the last decades.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, race cars with up to 600 hp such as Nino Vaccarella’s Ferrari 512S raced through small mountains villages while the people were sitting or standing right next to or even on the road.
Due to safety concerns, the last real Targa Florio as an international professional race was run in 1973. The Targa was continued as a national event for some years, before a fatal crash sealed its fate in 1977.
The Carrera Panamericana was a sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico from El Ocotal, on the Guatemalan border to Juárez, across from El Paso, TX. Run from 1950 to 1955, it was widely held to be the most dangerous race in the world.
The race was cancelled after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. 27 people had died during the five years of the Panamericana, and competitors, spectators, and safety control personnel were among the casualties. The long stage sections made it possible for several hours to pass before an accident was noticed.
Matthew Danda>
250cc limit ?
I’d recommenced This
Even small motors can be really powerful.
No_slushiebox is correct. The “Gumball” rally was and is a pathetic copy of the Cannonball Baker Memorial Sea-to-shining-sea Trophy Dash, neither original, nor inspired. As evidenced by the two rocket-scientists in the vid.
What is this, a prude-off?
Some nice pics, and second vid on this page especially poignant (geriatrics need not apply):
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60-m5-e61-m5-touring-discussion/137052-gumball-2009-pictures-leaving-los-angeles-4.html
Its great that people can have these nice cars and run together around the country. Endangering others is a no-no though. I’m not sure anyone can be trusted with such a vehicle as a 911 Turbo or whatever all the time really. The public deserves to be protected from these guys. I think the gumballers deserve a little room to speed sometimes, but very lightly and as responsibly as possible.
there’s something kind of similar to this in europe, but the main point is retracing the “Targa Florio” route i think (hope i remember correctly. where filthy rich people drive their supercars in a sort of Show. they get the attention, they get to drive an amazing road, but all that within the speed limits. (i’m sure some of them break it most of the time). the gathering of such cars is attractive for bystanders, fans, and the rich people themselves.
oops, nothing is similar to the Gumball, but lets face it, public safety aside it does sound fun to do. but how can you go so fast nowadays, you risk loosing your license and if you max a Veyron, your freedom…..
Just look at the douchebags in the still image of the clip. Need I say more?
The Gumball Rally is one of the greatest car movies ever. Much better than the Burt Reynolds ripoffs, Dom Deluise notwithstanding, may he rest in peace.