Gumball Embraces Technology

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Ok, so I lied, the technology part was nowhere near as funky as the cars themselves, the scantily clad models, amalgamation of celebs, paparazzi attention or having to tell Jodie Kidd to get her over eager hands away from me and wait her turn, but it was pretty cool. In fact, the best bit, for those who can’t afford the $70,000 dollar entry fee (ouch) or prerequisite supercar to go with it, is that the CoPilot Live software will allow eager Gumball groupies to track the race positions of all 120 competitors in real time from here.

It will be an incredible journey to follow too, with the first leg of the eight day trip taking racers from London through Brussels, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade. From Belgrade cars are airlifted in Russian Antanov planes to Phuket in Thailand and they charge 1,000 miles to Bangkok. The cars are then airlifted again to Salt Lake City, Utah where Gumballers tackle the final stretch to Los Angeles through the Salt Flats, finishing in Los Angeles on Rodeo Drive. After 3,000 miles all are invited to unwind in the nicest possible way at the Playboy Mansion.

My personal tip is the purple Lamborghini of Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn. The consequences of putting the founders of Jackass in a 200mph Italian supercar have got to be worth watching.

By the time the race started I had somehow managed to position myself within three feet of the start line. Security ignored me and I happily chatted with official Gumball staff and accepted the amorous glances of Jodie Kidd as she waved off each competitor with a Union Jack flag. By the end I was left pondering how I could afford the fee to enter next year.

• Be part of a successful .com?
• Hook up with a rich supermodel?

The answer eluded me, so I threw away the four copies of Jodie’s phone number that had mysteriously found their way into my coat pockets and settled down to write this instead ;)

Links:
ALK Technologies
CoPilot Live Gumball Coverage
Gumball 3000 Official Site

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