Carbon Black 2008 Round-Up

Our database problems came at one of the worst possible times this year. Carbon Black 2008 jetted off on the 3^rd October for a week of supercar and party excess. In true Carbon Black style the grid was packed with 30 of the world’s most expensive and exclusive supercars. Among the entries were a Ferrari F40, Lamborghini Murcielago, a number of McLaren SLR’s including a 722 edition and 911 turbo’s. Our friends from Tangospeed.com took part in a 911 Turbo, there was even live footage streamed from one of the staff cars.

Day 1. The rally kicked off in the UK with an extravagant party at Stapleford Park. Some of the most exotic machinery available was on display including a brand new Koenigsegg CCXR and a Zagato Bentley Continental GT. After signing in, Carbon Black kicked off in epic style with a DJ set from a celebrity DJ well into the early hours.

Day 2. After a night of partying the group climbed into luxury limos and where whisked away to their own private plane for the flight to be united with their cars at the runway of Vodochey airport, Czech Republic. The runway was then closed for top speed testing for all participants with the highest speed coming from a McLaren SLR 722 at 178mph. After collecting route cards the drivers were off on the first stage of their adventure. To make the stage as fun as possible all forms of sat-nav were banned and the drivers had to rely on their road maps for directions. The destination, the spectacular Ješt?d Tower in the town of Liberec, Czech Republic proved to be a worthwhile reward for the team’s troubles. A second checkpoint was also on the cards before the day ended in the Mandarin Oriental hotel Praha with a relaxing dinner and the chance to catch up or take in Prague’s night life. All together the first day was relatively short but the twists in the route added a huge element of fun. 183 miles in total with 2 cars needing minor assistance, all of which was dealt with by the Carbon Black staff.

Day 3. Today was when the driving really started. A 4-5 hour drive from Prague to Budapest, was the main feature of this day, participants took in the scenery on the way, covering 3 countries and finishing the day with a party in Hungary’s largest city. The drivers were all booked into the Gresham Four Season Hotel, Budapest and spent the night at one of the City’s newest fusion restaurants. Then it was on to a club for a ‘live mic night’.

Day 4. Today was one of the longest legs of the whole event, a 6-8 hour trek from Budapest to the brand new Hilton Hotel in Venice. It was taken casually by most after a late night in Budapest. When everyone eventually made it, cars were parked securely and a river taxi was booked to move everyone to the hotel. Exclusive use of the skyline bar on the rooftop was arranged where the guys could take pre-dinner drinks whilst watching the sun set. The evening meal was a relaxed affair with ‘great food, great wine and great company’ to round up what was an epic drive through three countries.

Day 5. Venice to Rome, was broken up by a checkpoint at a sixth century monastery before reaching Rome to a huge reception of fans. The evening bought another epic party at the opening of a new nightclub in Rome where Carbon Black participants were treated to full VIP.

Day 6. Rome to Monaco and the final party on board the Alysia. The drive was through some of the most picturesque mountain roads of the whole 5 days, with the guys even catching a glimpse of Corsica. The Carbon Black experience ended as always with an over-the-top wrap party and a DJ to take them into the early hours.

We’ll leave you with some top quality pictures…

Pictures:

Pete Fenton and Carbon Black