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. I got a warrant in the USA and could not travel for 4 months. For a speeding ticket 110 miles (174 km/h). That’s a joke man. 9 hours in jail just for asking “are you guys making fun of me?”