Kimble responds to the events on Gumball 2007

Roadrally legend Kimble responded to an article in the NY times blog about the events on this years Gumball 3000. Kimble retired from the scene last year after 10 years of roadrallying and streetracing. Here is his responds to the recent events:

The Gumball was one of the best, mind blowing, adrenaline rushing, extreme and unforgettable experiences I ever had.

I finished the Gumball in first place 2001 and 2004. Max Cooper always knew that I am going full steam and he never had a problem with that. In the public he says “Its not a race, its a rally� but every participant knows that you can never do the 3000 miles in 6 days without speeding. My friends who did the rally in a Motorhome (and therefore couldn’t beat the speed limit) always arrived many hours late at the checkpoints / hotels (they missed ALL the parties) and sometimes only had 1 hour of sleep because everyone was already leaving again for the next leg.

I understand the motivation behind Max’s “legalization� attempts and it helped to keep Gumball alive & profitable for 9 years. It’s a rebellion. It’s illegal. And I loved it! Why? Because everyone can be good on a race track and its the same boring routine over and over again. But the true challenge in my opinion is to have to adjust to new situations permanently, involving traffic, unknown road conditions and finding the optimal route in real time, for 6 days, for 3000 miles. Its the ultimate adventure and thats why Gumball was so popular and participants were willing to pay US$ 50K for this experience. I grew up in Germany during a time without speed limits on our highways. I probably drove 500.000 kilometers, always at the maximum, and thats the kind of school required to win Gumball. But even with all of this experience I felt that I could hurt someone if I made a mistake. And after 10 years of extreme driving I decided to quit street racing. Most Gumball participants don’t know the limits of their cars and fail to avoid obvious dangers. The only right decision for Mr. Cooper and his friends is to forget about their current concept and try to find a Government in a country with acceptable road conditions to partner with them for a secure Gumball experience. People are willing to pay to participate, to watch the movies, play the games and to be entertained by an event like Gumball. So the funds are there to make it happen. Think about it.

All the best wishes to my fellow Gumballers.
Kimble (currently retired)

[Via Gumball144.com]