Friday 4th May 2007

Gumball 3000 halted

Rally is abandoned after fatal crash

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The Gumball 3000 rally was called off last night after a fatal crash involving one of the competing cars. The Porsche 997 Turbo of Nick Morley and Matthew McConville collided with a Volkswagen Golf in the Republic of Macedonia. The two men were arrested on the border with Albania in another vehicle after apparently leaving the scene of the accident. The male in the VW was killed and his wife was critically injured.

Maximillion Cooper, the organiser of the event, said that he felt the rally should be stopped as a mark of respect to the man who died. “We are very saddened by what has happened and I feel that it would be wrong to continue. On behalf of everyone at Gumball I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the man’s family. We are doing everything we can for them.”

A police spokesman said that “both Britons are testifying before an investigative magistrate in the town of Struga, where a decision will be made whether to hold them in custody or not.”

Although the circumstances of the crash are not yet clear, a spokesperson for the rally commented that “the Golf pulled out from a stop sign and Mr Morley and McConville tried to swerve around it but clipped the side of the car”.

http://www.gumball3000.com/

[thanuk]

Sadly this was only a matter of time.

[adamt]

This doesnt look like they just "clipped" the side, looks like a head on to me...



RIP

[hammerman]

Regardless of fault, you dont leave the scene of an accident, especially if someone has died!!

[s6otty]

Sadly yes a matter of time.

Begs the question - why leave the scene.

Very sad indeed, in more than one respect

[burtjp]

Ever since I saw the first footage on TV of the Gumball it only seemed a matter of time before something like this happened. In fact I am suprised something more serious hasn't happened before. I'm all up for mucking about in cars, but a lot of what of Gumball was about was just bloody stupid.

[skid]

A matter of time? Oh yes.

Stupid nobbers with big cheque books does not denote superhuman driving skills. These 2 mayhave been good drivers but judging by some of the entrants there is a severe lack of skill and understanding of consequence.

Even if the other driver was at fault they should have been more observant. If they were truley innocent why leave the scene?

Really sorry for those involved but if those guys really did leave the scene and try and flee the country then I hope they get the appropriate legal penalties.

[bobalog]

The Gumball used to be brilliant. But sadly as it has attracted more publicity it attracted a certain kind of person. It just got stupid.

As above, just a matter of time. Very sad.

[NDT]

skid said:

Stupid nobbers with big cheque books does not denote superhuman driving skills.

Whatever their driving skills, this was (as others have said) always going to happen.
"On the limit" driving is for the track not the road.

We should all be mighty pi**ed off with these tw*ts - they give all of us who like quick cars a bad name.

Edited by NDT on Friday 4th May 09:51

[TUS 373]

Agree with all of the above. The Gumball started out being a fun event, but overtime that has become substituted with a large degree of wrecklessness. Not saying that the contestants were responsible per se, but there has always been a high risk of something like this happening. Very sad for all concerned.

[-DeaDLocK-]

I'd love to jump on the bandwagon, but I think many of us need to take a step back here.

How many times have any of you lot been out for a hoon, and found yourself in "moments" where you weren't sure you were going to make it, or did something and thought to yourself "phew glad there was nobody else just round that bend". Or had to brake hard due to excessive speed and not enough application of defensive driving. Or actually crossed that line and smacked your car in some way? Are you all legal and perfectly careful angels behind the wheel?

I know I am most of the time. But not all the time.

This could have been any of us I think. Yes, their leaving the scene is reproachable. Yes, the way the Gumball encourages sleep deprivation and alcohol inebriation, and creates for all intents and purpose a cross-country car race, is also reproachable.

But I think a lot of the comments here spring from a moral high ground. I refrain, because I know it could have been me in my own back street.

[badgersport]

The inevitable consequence of people with more money than sense being encouraged to race on the public highway. Leaving the scene only reinforces that opinion.

[Redneck Rocket]

W**kers. They give the rest of us a bad name.

[badgersport]

I almost agree with you but there's a big difference between

-DeaDLocK- said:

the Gumball encourages sleep deprivation and alcohol inebriation, and creates for all intents and purpose a cross-country car race

and

-DeaDLocK- said:

me in my own back street.

[davee7]

I agree with most of the comments made about the nature of Gumball - however I am concerned by the offensive and narrow minded comments being made about the Porsche drivers.

Unless you know the full circumstances of the accident, you shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement - let alone call these guys "tw*ts". They now have to live with the fact that they were involved in an incident that resulted in a death - regardless of who was to blame....

[abarthchris]

before everyone jumps on the bandwagon of slating the gumball and the guys involved in this accident, maybe we should get more info.

It seems the golf pulled out in front of the porsche. How many times has that happened to people on here? i reckon hundreds... Yes there are pricks on the gumball who were well overdue a big crash in which someone died, but those saying that the gumball makes things worse for performance car drivers is just crap. How many times have you had someone say something to like your love of fast cars to the gumball? I bet zilch.

Back off and let the facts come out before you become judge and jury on these guys

[j-j]

I'm not surprised in the slightest. Its very sad for the victims. The drivers really should face up to what they did instead of hit and run. Leaving a man possibly still alive in his car, next to his critically injured wife... Big car, big ego, big cowards. It is quite a testament to the type of people who think that the capabilities of their cars are transferred to the driver. There is no technology or engineering that stops a t**t being a t**t. Unacceptable.

[matt172]

big thread about this here

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.

from what was posted on the guardian website, they waited with the accident until the ambulance arrived

[jatinder]

Didn't seemed to fussed when they left at the scene of the accident

[jon-]

Well that's the last gumball ever.

It wasn't just the death. It wasn't just the fact they tried to flee the scene it was the fact gumball tried to cover it up, didn't let the drivers / sponsors know. There's a sponsor / blog revolt going on at the moment because of this.

They were already banned from Germany and the Netherlands.

2 CGTs and a Ford GT that I know of have been written off.

It's not that fact it's they're on a rally, it's the fact it's people who have bought 600bhp supercars just to use on the rally. One guys blog said he'd owned his CGT for 1 week before shipping it to london for the start. And he worked for google. I mean, how much skill do you need to drive a CGT quickly? Lots. How much would he have had? Zero.

I'm a huge fan of the gumball, I even attended the start this year but I can't see another one running.

[Slurms]

If they were trying to flee the country to avoid being arrested then I hope the police throw the book at them..