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. sport : 15th Anniversary GUMBALL 3000 madness starts! - 19 May 2013 - 22:35
Strange vehicles, gaudy paint, wrecked supercars - the 2013 edition of `rich kids rally` is officially under way

GUMBALL3000. The 2013 Gumball rally began in Copenhagen, Denmark, today and will finish in Monte Carlo on May 24. It was a little typical northern weather as the sky was filled with grey clouds and these decided to wet the whole field at the moment they were going to start. Nobody was pretty much upset by the rainfall and the party just went on.

The Hoff was given the starting flag to get the Gumballers on their way and then jump in his own car to join them on the 3000 mile adventure across Europe.

The exclusive car entry grid is packed full of celebrities and the most incredible array of customized, concept, electric, luxurious, sports and hyper cars that you will ever see together. Baywatch icon David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff, will line up on the entry grid in the beautiful city of Copenhagen alongside hip hop superstar EVE, Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs, rapper Bun B, ‘Pimp My Ride’ host Xzibit, skateboard legend Tony Hawk, MTVs Finish pranksters ‘The Dudesons’, Olympic skiers Jon Olsson and Jens Byggmark, MMA fighter Rubert Burneika, along with Shiekhs, Princes, reality TV stars, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Driving everything from Bugattis, to Koenigseggs, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Morgans, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, McLarens, Twisted Land Rovers, Mercedes Benz, and more - if you like cars, you’ll love Gumball 3000!

A total of 115 cars started the journey, ranging from ultra-rare exclusives like the unfortunate Murcielago SV to classic Volkswagen Beetles and American muscle cars to one-off oddities such as the Batman-inspired Tumbler and the GT-R-based TG1 from Saudi Arabia’s Team Galag. Other fun entries this year include an Aston Martin DBS wrapped with a pink-and-chrome color scheme and a Local Motors Rally Fighter.

Team Galag's Batman Tumbler

Famous Swedish freeskier Jon Olsson also be taking his Rebellion R2k custom built lightweight racer, which he couldn't manage to prepare for the 2012 Gumball 3000 rally (In 2012 Gumball 3000 pass via Sofia). This year Olsson got his beautiful girlfriend Janni Delér for a co-driver. Jon’s Rebellion is a one of a kind. With the look of a spaceship, custom built by Leif Tufvesson and designed by Jon Olsson and Leif Tufvesson, this beast will dominate the streets of Europe.

Janni Delér with Jon Olsson's Rebellion R2k

Jon Olsson

Janni Delér

Another of this year's Team Betsafe Gumballers is the Swedish alpine ski World Cup racer Jens Byggmark with his Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L V6, 312 horsepower.

Chevrolet Camaro drived by Jens Byggmark

Raising the most money for charity was Team 14 which granted them first place on the entry grid in their one of a kind Incenarator.

Team 14′s Incenarator

With a 500bhp rear wheel drive Fiat 500 in second place, Team Galag took third and fourth in their specially built TG1 supercar and Batman inspired Tumbler.

Team Galag TG1

Team Galag's Batman inspired Tumbler

The entrance fee for this years’ Gumball 3000 topped $45,000. Assuming all 115 entrants paid separate fees, that comes out to around $5.23 million. That's a lot of money for what essentially is a week of excessive partying, dining and drinking.

Let's the Party begins!

Oficially GUMBALL 3000 launched its 15th anniversary road trip last night in epic style with a star-studded party at the Royal Copenhagen Opera House. The evening was hosted by Gumball 3000 founder Maximillion Cooper and featured a host of celebrity Gumballers including David Hasselhoff, Grammy Award winning rapper and actress Eve, The Cuban Brothers, MTV’s The Dudesons, Bun B and a host of Danish celebrities.

Tumbler in front of Royal Copenhagen Opera House

Guests were treated to a performance by The Cuban Brothers and an exclusive set from Grammy award winning artist Eve. A replica of Kimi Raikkonen’s F1 steering wheel was also auctioned off by prestigious auction house Christie’s. The steering wheel is the first of seven lots to be auctioned over the course of the road trip in aid of the Gumball 3000 Foundation; a non-profit organisation set up to benefit underprivileged youths by providing education and infrastructure. The organisers of the Gumball Rally expect to raise £1m from the charity auctions.

Already a car problems in the very first day

Unfortunate the famous rally also knew one major crash in the first day.

Nearly 30 minutes after the start in Copenhagen already the Dudesons had a mechanical problem with their “Blue Elephant“, luckily after a while they were able to fix the problem and by now we can say that the Elephant has made it all the way to Stockholm!

Dudesons' “Blue Elephant“

Team 72 had to quit the rest of the rally because during the first stage while it was pooring rain their Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV slide off the wet road right into a fence, not really good for your Lamborghini, those Bulls don`t really like being kept in fences but ok fact is that its a sad crash, the 670 Horsepower really seemed a but too much of the good on those wet Swedish roads.

Further on Team Galag with their wonderful Tumbler made it all the way to Stockholm without problems and while we are talking about Team Galag, this year they also took their own designed Supercar with them dubbed TG1.

Team Galag's TG1

The TG1 is based on the chassis of a Nissan GT-R but has underwent some major changes both in exterior as under the bonnet. No less than 750Hp come out of the tuned V6 3.8 liter Twin Turbo which was specifically tuned by Litchfield. The specs of their Supercar are; Power: 750 HP, V-max: 340km/h, Weight: 1630 kg. With these specs the 0-62mph time comes at 2.68 seconds and till 100mph takes only 5.58 seconds.

Gumball 3000 2013 route

The Gumball 3000 '15th Anniversary' route is one that we've never done before, spanning Scandinavia, Eastern and Western Europe! Starting in Copenhagen, Denmark, the 3000 mile route incorporates Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St.Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw (Poland) and Vienna (Austria), before crossing the finish line in Monte Carlo, in time to watch the Monaco F1 race!

Highlights for participants and a chance for fans to get up close to the ‘stars and cars’ include lunch at the Koenigsegg Automobile factory, Angelholm (Sweden) on Sunday 19th May (12:00); rally driving tuition at the Premier Park Race Circuit, Helsinki (Finland) on Monday 20th May (11:00) and an X-Games half-pipe ‘action sports’ demonstration in Pilsudski Square, Warsaw (Poland) on Wednesday 22nd May (20:00) with skateboard legend Tony Hawk and top skateboard and BMX pros. Upon arriving in Monte Carlo, participants will experience a VIP weekend of partying and hospitality at the Monaco F1 race.

Day 1
The cavalcade of autos will pass through 13 countries before reaching Monte Carlo. From Copenhagen, the cars will drive to Koenigsegg Automotive across the border in Angelholm, Sweden. Here, the Gumballers will receive a light lunch before heading back on to the highway. The second checkpoint of the day will be at The Royal Palace – Kungliga Slottet in Stockholm. Cars will be on display into the evening at Kings Palace in the centre of Stockholm thanks to Betsafe.

However, a ferry crossing is booked later in the day, so Gumballers must then make it to Vartahamnen Port, boarding a ferry to Turku in Finland. This marks the end of a busy first day.

Day 2
On Monday, following the previous night’s party and ferry crossing, Gumballers will stop by the Kamppi Shopping Centre at around 9AM. Those lucky enough to attend this section will be treated to a snowy stunt display hosted by Battery Engery Drinks. Next stop is Premier Park near Porvoo, Finland for a short session on the track. The next stop is St Isaac’s Square, Saint Petersburg. Gumballers will stay at the W Hotel and will get a police convoy once they reach the Russian boarder.

Day 3
On Tuesday, Gumballers depart Saint Petersburg for Town hall square, Tallinn, Estonia. The route will then take them to the Radisson Blu Elizabete hotel in Riga, Latvia. Expect exquisite food at the Biblioteka and then party hard at Coyote Fly.

Day 4
Departing Riga with a 9am start, Wednesday’s first checkpoint is Vilnius city centre in Lithuania. Cars will be on display in the Town Centre before heading off to the overnight stay in Pilsudski Square, Warsaw, Poland. Here, Tony Hawk will give a skate display along with special guests!

Day 5
Thursday will see another Polish checkpoint with Gumballers hitting the Engineering Museum of Krakow by early afternoon. Vienna, Austria will be the overnight stop with cars on display at the Austrian Parliament building. Thursday’s party will take place in the legendary Volksgarten club.

Day 6
Friday will be the final day of Gumball 3000 2013. Setting off from Vienna, the cars will travel to an Italian checkpoint at the Hotel Byblos in Verona. They should arrive by late afternoon. Setting off to Casino Square, Monaco for the chequered flag during the evening.

Day 7
Saturday will be a day of leisure, taking in the F1 practice sessions, qualifying and generally preparing for the afternoon party. This year, the awards ceremony will take place at the Amber Lounge club in Monaco.

Day 8
Gumballers will be able to nurse their hangovers on Sunday with the sound of Formula 1. Gumball 3000 2013 will officially draw to a close alongside the Monaco Grand Prix 2013. Gumballers will view the wolds most glamorous race from the Fairmount Hotel Roof Terrace.

Gumball 3000 2013 is on!

It´s gonna be a wicked week, so wherever you are, be sure to follow with us the videoes, updates, pictures and other fun stuff during the rally! Have an awesome Gumball 3000 week, everyone!

SKI.BG
19 May 2013
Sources: Gumball3000.com; Gumball3000.net; Gumball.BetSafe.com; GTSpirit.com

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