2009 Gumball 3000 Rally - The Journey Begins

The Gumball 3000 was created by Maximillion Cooper, who is an "artist, fashion designer, film director, racing driver and skateboarder." It all started back in 1999 when Cooper challenged 55 of his wealthy friends to a 6 day, 3000 mile drive across Europe with the 'carrot' of a  party in a new city every night. When asked about the event, here is a blurb from its organizers: "Some say it's a modern-day version of the infamous 1970s Burt Reynolds' Cannonball Run movies, and we have to agree that it does share similarities, attracting the most eccentric group of thrill-seekers imaginable, from vintage to modern supercars, and from rock stars and sheiks to the simple car enthusiast."

The other day, we posted a brief background on the Gumball 3000 rally and included the above for those late to the game. Saturday, May 2nd, was the official launch of the main race, I mean, rally. Festivities began Saturday morning in the staging area at Lot 1550 next to the Santa Monica Pier with locals checking out the scene, vibing to some good music and wholesome partying. Dennis Rodman was there to wave the checkered flag and officially start the 11th Annual Gumball 3000 Rally 'Coast to Coast'. The next check points are Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sante Fe, Dallas and New Orleans with the final stop in Miami.

After about 20 cars rolled through the "gate" there was a half -hour delay while the Pacific Coast Highway was blocked off to make way for the over $50 million in tricked out vehicles, supercars, SUVs and some garage creations. It was strange to see cars from Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin reduced to mere commoners. The Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR and Bugatti Veyron was a little less abundant. And there were plenty of cool one-offs like a custom old school "donk,"  a bio-diesel Land Rover, Jaguar XJ220, SSC Ultimate Aero, 1960 Cadillac De Ville, Audi R8, a drop top Rolls-Royce Phantom (with United Arab Emirates plate #1, costing $5 to $6 million alone), Ford GT, Nissan GT-R, and a classic Pontiac Trans Am.

The Gumball 3000 is one of the sickest and most diverse automotive events out there and combines all types of amazing cars with some pretty cool and sometimes far out participants. Look for the likes of David Hasselhoff, Motorhead's Lemmy, the Fuel Girls, Dennis Rodman, Tony Hawk and Travis Barker to all participate in one way or another. We will provide a 2009 Gumball 3000 rally recap on May 8th.

*** 2009 Gumball 3000 Image Gallery ***

Source: Gumball 3000