Gumball 2007: Interview with Uno Gomes

We had the chance to have an interview with rally legend Uno Gomes. Doing the Gumball 3000 for the fourth time this year, he had plenty to say!

What do you expect from this Gumball?

This years gumball? Good question, on one hand I see the Asian side of Turkey and Greece which will be a great opportunity to race through those countries. And we have Eastern Europe which are the best countries to drive in anyhow :) I love corruption. So there is always a way to escape jail bonds and all the other possibilities cops have to keep you out of the next checkpoint.

Then, which is a problem for me, we have a big German part. I have a business in Germany which means that I used to drive on the German roads and the police already has some records on me from the last couple of years. The car is also on German plates which makes it likely that I will be the guy who pays for all the others in the end. I’m the only one with a German license plate so if they stop me, and they will, I’m afraid that they will impound it. Mostly because of the frustration about all the other cars with foreign plates which they can’t do much about.

I’ve driven a Porsche for 15 years but I never did any rallies with it. So I’m used to drive a Ferrari or SL 55 AMG in the rallies. For the rallies in 2008 I will have one a brand new Ferrari F430 Stradale but as it’s not on the market yet, this year is Porsche Turbo year. Let’s see how it performs!

What was your best and worst moment in last years Gumball?

Best moment of Gumball 2006? Last years best moment was in Serbia, racing with some other good driver through the city. I love the city drives… that is where you can show your skills. On a straight highway everybody can drive fast.

Worst moment of Gumball 2006? I was doing about 280 km/h when all of a sudden an old couple changed lanes from total left to total right in seconds without any acceptable reason. I braked as hard as possible and Stefan my co-pilot was pulling the handbrake almost to the sky. We made it by millimetres when the couple decided to change lanes again. They not even noticed that they had a very lucky moment. Thank God nothing happened!

And of course the 3 times I spend in jail in the USA. That was really my last drive in the USA. Fucked up country for fast cars…. USA … Fuck you.
I got a warrant in the USA and could not travel for 4 month. For a fucking speeding ticket 110 miles (174 km/h). That’s a joke man. 9 hours jail just for asking “are you guys making fun of me�. No more USA for me.

What was your best rally ever? Why?

There are a few but let’s put it like this: every year you keep a special memory. Thailand was mind blowing. I don’t even think about renting a car when I’m in Thailand. But driving there was the most amazing part for me in last year’s Gumball 3000.

Morocco was another keep in mind drive. The cities we past speeding, the best highways and 14 hours on a fucking trailer course we lost a tire. The guy said he will make it in 4 hours to the ferry. 14 hours later we arrived at the harbour. But we made it on time to Barcelona.

Also Italy till Monaco was great. I was invited to a boat for the grand prix. The boat was first in front of the chicane. We had a great time driving through Italy. There were a lot of good drivers, something I missed in the 2006 rally. And of course the funny day on the boat where all got in jail for the 15 prostitutes which where on the boat ï?Š.

My first one in the states was great too. The cops were not that sharp as they are now. We had a group of 8 cars and a really crazy time, and when I say crazy I mean it!

So to make it short: all of them were great. I didn’t want to miss any of them.

Why did you change from Ferrari to Porsche?

I already did 3 runs with the F430. So it was time to get rid of that peace of shit ;) Just kidding…. It is the most reliable car to do a Gumball rally in if you are a short guy with no luggage. But I got a good offer on that car so I sold it. After 3 runs I didn’t want to force him to the 4th. After long time I decided to drive the turbo. It’s my everyday car and the F430 was just for gumball. The Stradale is not there yet so let’s try the Porsche 997 Turbo this time. I am sure that the Porsche won’t have the same performance but we will see. Anyway the 2008 run is waiting for the Stradale!

What gadgets do you have on board, like radar detectors, GPS, etc…?

The whole range of detectors. Radar and laser detectors at the back and front. GPS of course. And one additional GPS for Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Never thought about doing an other rally next to Gumball and Playersrun?

I will definitely do the Carbon Black. But all others are copies in my eyes. Gumball is the king but I also heard good things about Carbon Black. If you drive 16 hours you don’t want to wait for 30 min till you got your room key for your 3 stars room in a shitty place. So it’s important to find the right people that plan those runs. Gumball 3000 and Carbon Black are the best right now I guess.
Playersrun is out for me. Driving in the USA sucks. If they plan any other routes, watch out for me :)

Last year you did a bet with the Gallardo. Did you get any troubles with it?

James tried to cheat on the last few meters. He ran to the check-in and got his room key. After that he said “Hey buddy where’s my money� the funny thing is that my co-pilot had our keys already. So we made the right turn and picked up the cheque :)

Did you really race it to win, or was it coincidence?

We raced the whole way. We both got stopped in Germany for speeding 240 at an 80 zone. They impounded our cars for 8 hours and drove us to the next hotel (in a police car) they said that they won’t let us take part in the rally anymore. They wish :)!! We grabbed our cars next morning and decided to skip the Austrian checkpoint because we lost 9 hours already. So we went directly to Budapest via Prague. So we drove a total different route than all the others. We beat the shit out of our cars and through the Czech Republic we where not under 260 km/h. James is a very good driver but I could beat him in the cities. Not always but enough times to win the bet.

Thank you Uno!

The opinions in this interview do not reflect the opinions of GTspirit.