Eyewitness: Gumball 3000 rolls into Helsinki

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[Disclaimer: Write-up and photos courtesy of Lauri Ahtiainen, known spotter of quality Mercedes-Benzes and driver of a Miata]

During the last couple of days, three large car events have been held around Europe. As I write this, dirty and tired cars are still racing around the Nürburgring race track in Germany, with only two hours left of the legendary 24 hours endurance race. Only a few days ago, classic racing cars and various modern supercars were traveling around the beautiful regions of Northern and Central Italy on this year’s Mille Miglia.

And then there’s this, the Gumball 3000 playboy rally, currently on the jaunt across Finland to the Russian border.

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According to the stickers, the SLR Stirling Moss edition has previously taken part in the Mille Miglia. This year it was part of the 15th Gumball 3000 event, which takes around hundred cars from Copenhagen to Monaco.

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After traveling from Copenhagen to Stockholm the partying attenders took a boat to Turku, Finland. From there, most of the participants travelled to a checkpoint in Helsinki before continuing to Russia. I say most of the participants, as rumors say up to twenty cars were stopped by the Finnish police, which doesn’t take speeding lightly.

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Despite of wild rumors about excessive speeding, most of the cars didn’t use stealthy livery against radars and speed cameras. One of the wildest was this new Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

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I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the event myself. Some of the guys might be real car nuts, but somehow I’ve always had a feeling that the Gumball is just a good excuse for speeding and partying with rich friends, some of whom have become famous for questionable reasons.

Of course my opinion is only based on what I’ve read from the news. Maybe most of the gumballers really stick to the speed limits and have long conversations about the difference of the firing order on Ferrari and Lamborghini V12s?

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Whatever your opinion about the Gumball is, you can’t deny it’s a great way to see exotic cars. For example the SLS AMG Black Series is a very recent addition to Mercedes lineup.

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Quite the opposite is this E-­class Taxi from Turku. Maybe somebody lost his license and decided to continue this way?

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As the last cars left the checkpoint, my opinion about Gumball hadn’t changed. It might be a fun trip, but had I the choice I would much prefer racing around the Nürburgring or the Italian countryside.

[Images: Lauri Ahtiainen]

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11 responses to “Eyewitness: Gumball 3000 rolls into Helsinki”

  1. Alff Avatar

    Did you see Kim Schmitz?

    1. Manic_King Avatar
      Manic_King

      Isn't he under house arrest in NZ?

      1. Alff Avatar

        Good point. I don't think he's under house arrest, but he's fighting extradition to the the US of DMCA. Probably not the time to go globetrotting through Western Europe. Maybe he just did the Russian leg.

  2. JayP2112 Avatar
    JayP2112

    Way back in 2002, I was called into work on a Sunday morning. Heading up 35E I was passed by the Gumballers going 120+. Ferraris, old 911 turbos, Mercedes… all sorts of crazy.
    Like the rest of the dingdongs I tried to keep up. I would have followed them to Oklahoma but I needed to get to work. 🙁

  3. Jay_Ramey Avatar
    Jay_Ramey

    Davey Johnson did a Gumball back in the day (2005, 2006?) as a passenger, he said that it's just best to do it once in your life and never again.

    1. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      That's roughly my assessment of the somewhat douche-y rich guy rally scene after doing the Targa Trophy back in 09.
      You'll see things there you won't see anywhere else (diplomatic immunity after getting pulled over for triple digit speeding), but it's not a scene you want tot be part of if you want to stay financially solvent and felony free.

      1. Alff Avatar

        I've got an acquaintance who runs with that crowd. He's got great stories but it's a lifestyle I'm not sure my sanity would survive, especially if it meant spending a lot of time with the Russian crew. There's a difference between douchey trust fund kiddy and douchey homicidal maniac.

  4. muthalovin Avatar

    I prefer jawbreakers to gumballs.

  5. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Speaking of races, are we going to see a recap and pictures from the V8 Supercar race at COTA?

  6. Manic_King Avatar
    Manic_King

    Some participants didn't risk going to Russia at all and took ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. Oh, and David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff commented beforehand, even as he never been in this town (AFAIK), that K.I.T.T would not approve of shtty quality streets. What an nice nugget of knowledge right there.