Bullrun 2007 – Team Darkcyd Update 8

Finally we are able to share the write-up of the final day 7 of this year Bullrun from Team Darkcyd:

I am sorry it has taken a few days to write this. So much has transpired in the past few days alone that I feel I have been gone for a month. Some of it I am comfortable writing about and some I am not, as it affects other people and I feel discretion is in order. I will share what I can and that by itself is plenty, without affecting others negatively. The one thing that happens on these rally’s is significant bonding. It’s almost like Stockholm Syndrome where semi normal (nobody is really normal) people let loose and do things that otherwise they would never do. When the rally ends , people turn back into pumpkins and should not be judged for seemingly aberrant behavior over a week, but rather their behavior over an extended period of time. It is somewhat like having an alter ego for many where they can let go of their daily frustrations and just let loose. For example, most people who do not know me well do not have any clue I own the cars I do and I try to make an conscious effort to keep it that way. Most people could not understand the need for such excess, and I admit I have had to reexamine the excess myself periodically, when so many people had so little in comparison. I then go on the rally’s which I could not do without such vehicles, and it reinforces the fact that such events are not about cars or flaunting wealth, but rather are the common denominator for such a wide range of eclectic people. I personally can not see any other type of event putting together such a wide range of people in one place in one place. From Billionaires, Trust Fund Babies, stock promoters to eccentric Entrepreneurs, to models, actresses, con artists, porn producers, CEO’s of Nasdaq companies, poseurs who are all talk and no game, adrenaline junkies how can rattle off every statistic about every exotic car without even thinking, certified geniuses, these eccentric people in these events run the full gambit.

There is nothing like hiding in the bushes in the middle of a cemetery for two hours to avoid arrest as a bonding event between the CEO of one of the most significant exotic car tuners in the country with the editor of one of the top auto magazines in the world, with the wife of a fund manager to bond otherwise very different people, that probably would not ever get together normally under any circumstance, let alone break the law. Or maybe the scenario of a film actress running with us on a whim to South Beach for a couple days on a whim after very little interaction (would could have been raving lunatics), combined with a race car driver and track tester for Lotus, combined with the son of the CEO of Ralph Lauren, combined with a 17 year old aspiring professional photographer, who skipped a week of school (with his parents permission) so he can pursue his dream of working in the auto and photography industry . It’s a crazy dynamic, and one that is hard to explain and articulate. You need to be there to understand. I have in the past, and currently made life long friendships as a result of these events and if the price if admission is a quarter of a million dollar car, it is still a no brainer from my perspective. It takes a special type of person to do what it takes to even get to the starting line, and with few exceptions, they are all great people of substance in one way or the other.

On a separate note, I appreciate the feedback from all my friends and family who get these emails or read about it on the web-site. This all started with a very small email list back in 2004 when I did the Gumball 3000 in Europe and has grown to a significant point, where we have a full fledged web-site with a fan base, chase vehicles, back up cars, a race semi with full garage, professional editors for the video footage, professional photographers etc. Darkcyd Racing which started out as just Tara and I has grown now to a 7 car team, and there is tons of logistics associated with it. It honestly feels like running a small company and it is tons of work and sometimes frustrating, and overwhelming. I do it because I love it and for no other reason. Tara often says I am too hardcore about it, since I am so anal retentive about everyone on my team having a good time, and making sure every little problem is rectified somehow. Few people even if they have the financial means could possibly do such an event, and my payment for all the work is the feedback I get from people so they can live out such an experience vicariously through us. I know some people are waiting for that email to hit their box which before they start their day because they tell me so, and that is why with the exception of the last day I stayed up to 4:30 in the morning writing it up. I don’t think most people would do that if you paid them. That is also why, I want to reiterate I am aware of how bad the grammar and punctuation is. When all I can think of is sleep and have only a couple hours to sleep before the next stage, I have no time or desire to spell check or grammar check what I write. Each email usually takes at minimum of one hour to write, because I have to think about all the events that have transpired, and do my best to get them down on paper in a semi cohesive manner. It also gives the reader an idea of how tough the event can be, by seeing how tired I actually am at some points. So for those that cringe when reading the emails from a grammar perspective, I apologize but it will probably not change. My wife was en English teacher, so nobody cringes more than her, but as a person who does these rallies with me, she understands and it stunned I have any energy to write at all. If she can put up with it, so can the reader.

So we left off at the Ritz Carton in Miami, after a crazy nite at the Versace mansion where all kinds of fun filled events occurred. The next morning I was stunned to find out Patrick never returned to the room because sometime in the night he got decked and robbed while I was near the Darkcyd Race Semi, that had to be parked by the convention center because of its size. He was robbed of all his money but they left the wallet, and a nice mark on his nose. He woke up on the ground, when someone asked if he was ok about an hour before we launched. I quickly asked if he was ok to drive, and his response was all that really hurt was his bruised ego. So I gave him some cash and we headed out for the launch.

After such a fun nite it was determined that since this was a short stint I let Adrian my best friend from college go with Tara in the Darkcyd Murci since he had not driven in the car yet. Alex and Danyell had to leave the rally early and we said goodbye to them the night before. I was to do the Key west Leg with Gauthem, and his lovely wife Karen from Montreal would go with Tara so they two pretty girls could roll into the finish line in the Lambo in style. The first checkpoint was Clause Etensberger new Multi million dollar Tuning facility in coral Gables, coincidentally just blocks from my High School coral Gables Gables Senior high. Minutes before the launch I realized I myself did not have a ride since there was a camera man in the Darklcyd Navi. So running around to quickly find a ride, I grabbed a ride in the Newly indoctrinated and honorary Darkcyd M6 driven by Frakie’s boys Stevie and Mattie, with Lynn Frankie’s fiancée in the back seat, who was the same Lynn who jumped in the pool with our two Brits Sean and Paul whom are collectively referred to as SEAN PAUL. We launched and I think most people just cruised to the shop since this was not really a stage. While, we were checking out clause’s new place, cars were being positioned for what was truly the last leg of the race. I did a little recon and knew determined what the last hotel was but also learned that the final checkpoint was somewhere else. Knowing Miami like the back of my hand, I informed the rest of the Darkcyd team that few people would be aware of . When the entrance to Key West starts there is a parallel road right at the entrance called Card sound road. If you do not choose it right at the end of homestead you will miss it, and although it is about 10 miles longer, it is much faster due to few tourists knowing about it. I informed everyone that this was the key to a good place and the other strategic maneuver was considered controversial.. because of our location , I personally choose to take Old Cutler which was right where clausse’s shop was to 152nd, take 152nd direct to the Turnpike, and the turnpike to the entrance for Key Largo, where Gauthem and I running in the 612 Scaglietti, would save many miles although it was technically a slower. Road. The key to this, was pushing hard and if done properly was certainly faster based on traffic and police that were aware of the final stage. A corral gables police officer was also working on a Police escort to control the Mayhem that was about to be unleashed.

I did not care about the escort and preferred my route. So while we were getting ready to launch it was curies to notice Team Reike had their CL65 pointed in the wrong direction, and we would learn why in a about 2 hours. They intentionally told Bill Wu who is about as competitive as they come not to follow them , and he eventually learned why the hard way. I was also pleased to have an old high school buddy Dake Schwarte visit us before the launch to check out the cars and see the action. It’s great seeing people you don’t normally see for years, and even though he is the CEO of a newly formed company in the medical conference profession, he lied to his boss about going to the post office to see us. I get that just reinforces the point that everybody answers to somebody.

So the time comes and Dave starts throwing out route cards from the balcony. And racers bolt on foot almost a block to reach their cars why the cop tries to block traffic to prevent the Minimize the body count. The Darkcyd Navi was one of the first out of the gate, and Gauthem and I got a bad exit position and made our way to a old cutler road. The girls in the Darkcyd Lambo got a terrible exit position and although my phone was going nuts with Text Messages , including Patrick who left ahead of us to do a bear check., Clausse was curiously silent. Although we had a fiar amount of traffic, I was convinced , my route was a good one even though I was told by Dake “Your Fucked�. We made Card sound road in good time and that is when I realized Gauthem was not quite acclimated to rally mode. As this was his first rally, he was a little conservative and I kept saying “push push� until my new indian friend looked over at me quite sternly and in his best APU voice said “ I AM THE CEO OF A NASDAQ COMAPANY AND CANNOT PUSH ANY FURTHER�, he also said I must not realize the smooth ride of the Scag as this Ferrari is often referred to since we were doing 130 according to him. I simply responded that I would shut up now and did. It was also about this time I received a text from Claus wanting to know where we were at and since only I knew about our secret route, I responded “I’m not telling you silly German�. Little did I know he had a secret too. We still made ok time, and by the time we reached Key Largo the rally was decided. From Key Largo on there was literally 22 police cars between the first Key and our checkpoint in Marathon. There were no positions to pick up other then our own Darkcyd DTM and the Bullrun RV. We thought we were assured a strong top ten finish and learned the NAVI came in thrit. Within our arrival 5 minutes later our position was relegated to 20th. It was at this point we learned the interesting news. The Reicke Team charted a cargo plane and literally raced to Opalocka airport to lad the cars and fly them over. Bill wu who never listens, did follow them to the airport only to realize he was screwed and hearing a Chinese man shout obscenities over the Cb is a funny site. Claus who had his own secret charted a helicopter to the checkpoint and my Mexican friend Joachim was the actual driver of the Porsche Cayenne to the checkpoint. I noticed the helicopter along side us but simply assumed it was a film chopper only. So officially or unofficially depending how you view it , the Darkcyd Navigator claims victory on a stage once again. This being the most competitive stage of the 07 rally is quite an accomplishment, so Kudos to Geoff and Aaron.

We then all took boat rides while we waited for a police escort to Key West. I decided to run the last stage with the boys in the Navi since that car simply does not get the respect it deserves. When we arrived to Key west people ran out of there cars just like the ,movie to clock in first just like in the movie in Cannonball run, and me knowing this was really just for show, I ran for something different. I ran to the Haagen Dazs and demanded the girl serve me NOW as I was in a race and had no time to waste. She then started asking me al these questions like I was trying to option out a new car just to get ice cream. I simply yelled get me fucking chocolate with two scoops and you decide how to do it. Just get it done now! She quickly geared up in rally mode as I through a 100 on the counter and race out to catch the Navi. I gave Geoff his cone and started attacking mine in the back as I was driven just like in a limo to arrive at the final checkpoint in proper style. On the way a lady ran after me who realized we were in the rally, and said she knew I would need napkins and threw them in the window. Thanks to her the Leather will not have to be treated-lol

So the rally ended as we rolled to the checkpoint having the times of out lives. I smashed the balance of my cone in Adrians face and then proceeded to walk back to the Hagan Dazs to get more and add a milkshake. This time the boyfriend manager was there and was not so amused that I was back and made a point of kissing the girl in front of me as if I was trying to steal her away. I thought this funny and commented how unprofessional his conduct was and he soon left in frustration. I don’t think he need to worry since his girlfriend was about 16 and I m no pedo, and happily married to boot.

We then teams and fans rummaged about at the southern most point in the united States and recounted the many stories over the event. I saw Tanake and my favorite Japanese Camera man who worked for a magazine and trashed Gothem ‘s Porche and informed them of the GPS alert I learned about from Noah one of the owners and how he could not believe all the alerts he was getting. Tonaka face went from happy asian man to worried Jap man, and this may be the reason they never returned the car and simply abandoned it at the airport. I feel for both parties and the poor Japanse guys first had tire issues, then had the car impounded , then got arrested , then had a brake failure issue. I did get a great picture with Tonaka and Koshi giving the camera man the bird as he shouts Fuck AMERICA!. He was simply fed up.

The whole crew later drove the hotel for the great final party. It was a blow out and fun was had by everyone. We then went to the party on duval street which was just for us, and Gauthem showed us his famous dance moves which resemble the Elaine dance on Seinfeld. I love it and cannot get the image out of my mind , with him commenting the whole time that he knows what a good dancer he is. Tara whom did not want to go to bed since she was pumped on adrenaline, after all the pressure of the rally, could finally let loose. She insisted I stay with her while everbody chatted by the pool till 4 in the morning. I fell asleep on the pool chair, while Sean and Geoff decided the pool was too fun to be without and had everyone jump in again. I have much more to write about what happened after the party , as we decided to head back to South Beach for our own blow out party, but I will save that for tomorrow night.

Cheers,

Robb