Maximillion Cooper, Founder & CEO, Gumball 3000
It’s 21 years since Maximillion Cooper organised the first Gumball 3000. One epic drive over three continents remains the standout.
“The sheer contrast of one day driving through the Alps and 24 hours later we’re driving in the jungle; that to me was what made that rally really special.”
“Once we started using aeroplanes in the rally it enabled us to start in one continent and finish in another. So we've done some amazing drives that have allowed me to really see a contrast in cultures and scenery within just a very short period of time.
In 2006 we started in London, we drove via an amazing route through Belgium and Germany over the Alps and then Budapest to Belgrade.
Then we flew everyone – 120 cars and 300 people – on three Russian Antonov cargo planes and a passenger jet to Phuket in Thailand. We had two days driving in complete jungle and rainforest up to Bangkok.
The sheer contrast of one day driving through the Alps and 24 hours later we're driving in the jungle; that to me was what made that rally really special.
Then we got on the same planes to Salt Lake City in Utah and drove to Las Vegas and then to Los Angeles to cross the finish line on Rodeo Drive and party at the Playboy Mansion.
That was a complete contrast again, with essentially two full days of driving through the desert and salt flats. From Utah down to Las Vegas, it was amazing Canyon Country. And then from Vegas to LA was through Death Valley, which is the lowest point on earth. It’s like you're on the set of Star Wars.
When we reached the finish I thought ‘How did we do that?’ Just six days before we were setting off from Pall Mall in London and in that six days to have driven in the Alps, the jungle and the desert was incredible.
That's got to be my ultimate six days of Gumball driving.
That year we had an incredible collection of cars on the rally, from 13 McLaren SLRs, Ferrari F40s, F50s and Enzos, a 288GTO, Porsche 911RS, Maserati MC12, Ultima GTR, Spectre R42 and even a VW Camper with a Porsche engine. And taking them to places where locals would never have seen these cars was amazing.
Can you imagine living in a small village in Thailand and seeing these spaceships arrive? That’s probably something they will also remember forever.”
Photography John Russo / Gumball 3000
