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Some of the world's fastest and most exotic cars tore out of San Francisco on Thursday night for the start of a mad cross-country caper that's as much about hard driving as hedonistic partying.
But the West Coast debut of the Gumball Rally, a notorious European road race marked by eye-popping speeding tickets, five-digit bar bills and the champagne-soaked antics of the effortlessly wealthy, resulted almost immediately in a police crackdown.
Several drivers were arrested, others were cited, and many exotic vehicles were impounded after the California Highway Patrol received dozens of calls of reckless driving from San Francisco, Alameda, Marin and Solano counties.
The race began Wednesday with a party in the penthouse suite of the Fairmont Hotel. A disc jockey had been flown in from London.
By midday Thursday, bleary-eyed gumballers nursing Bloody Marys were polishing and revving their high-octane speed machines for the beginning of a five-day, 3,000-mile fete on wheels from San Francisco to Miami, with black- tie bashes along the way.
The race began just after 8 p.m. Before long, drivers on Bay Area highways began spotting the racers in Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs and other expensive fast cars. The race cars -- with large numbers painted on the doors -- swerved in and out of traffic, along shoulders and center dividers while exceeding speeds of 100 mph, according to the CHP.
And then, the 911 calls began pouring in.
CHP responded by sending out patrol units and aircraft to put a halt to the madness.
By 9:30 p.m., two racers had been arrested in Marin County, four racers were arrested in Solano County, and several others elsewhere were cited, the CHP said. Some racers also were detained in Yolo County, outside Sacramento.
"There is absolutely no place for this kind of activity on our public roadways," the CHP stated in a written news statement. "There were thirteen 911 calls alone from motorists on one small stretch of I-80 in Solano County."
Maximillion Cooper, a raffish 30-year-old Londoner, came up with the idea of a public road race five years ago. Fifty-five of his closest friends poured into fast cars and supple driving shoes and set out from London for the Adriatic Coast in Northern Italy. They camped out in castles and palaces along the way.
"It started as a private party for friends," Cooper said before the race began. "After the first rally, we ended up being mentioned in about 600 magazines around the world. All through word of mouth."
The event, inspired by the classic Burt Reynolds road flick "Cannonball Run, " is not for the faint of heart, shallow of pocket or early to bed. First-time gumballers pay about $12,000, which includes breakfast, dinner and lodging, but doesn't cover gas, speeding tickets, bail or beverages.
Driving the Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, Morgans, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Jaguars, a Koenigsegg (one of the world's fastest cars) and vintage muscle cars were a motley mix of British royalty, tipsy bon vivants, models, corporate chieftains and the simply motor-obsessed.
Those racers who did make it beyond the Bay Area were headed to Las Vegas, Tucson, San Antonio and New Orleans. The gumball express is scheduled to reach Miami on Tuesday. The official gumball policy, repeated several times by Cooper before the group left San Francisco, is safety and staying within the speed limit. But the words were met with more than a few knowing chuckles.
Last year's gumball adventure began in New York and ended at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. The year before, gumballers raced from London to Moscow and back.
Wild tales are as abundant as shiny chrome and plush leather.
Outside Las Vegas last year, one gumballer did doughnuts, hitting a Ferrari 360 Spyder, which hit a Porsche 911, which hit an Audi RS4. The drivers hired a helicopter to take them to the Playboy mansion. On another rally, a socialite was caught speeding, topless, on the French autoroute. Exceeding 150 mph is not uncommon; tickets are plastered on the windshield like badges of honor.
"We are trying to get across America without being arrested," said Ben Garratt, a 31-year-old model from London. "It's all about the fun."
The CHP, however, wasn't amused. Thursday night, the agency issued an alert to its other field offices and air operations as well as the Nevada Highway Patrol to be on the lookout for the racers.
Garratt was planning to make the journey in a Jaguar with his friend Abi, who goes by first name only. Abi, who describes himself as a retired soccer player in his early 30s, attended last year's rally from New York to Los Angeles. He and his buddy drove a Dodge Viper, which reached speeds of 165 mph, he said. A Ferrari F50 clocked 209 mph, he added.
"My co-driver got arrested going 158 mph in Tennessee," Abi said. "He was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail. I couldn't stop laughing."
They got 28 tickets in six days, he said.
The racers say their "good fun" has a good cause: Some of the proceeds will go to benefit cancer research. While there are female gumballers (including model Jodie Kidd, who drives a Maserati Spyder), most of the drivers are men.
Shane Slevin, who is from Dublin, Ireland, and lives in London, said he attended every rally since its inception. He owns several cars and chose a Mini Cooper for this year's rally.
Sitting on the hood of a Porsche parked in front of the Fairmont before the race, Slevin sipped a glass of wine. He was hoping to win the coveted "Spirit of the Gumball Award," bequeathed at the end of the race to the zaniest, kindest gumballer.
"It comes down to who is the craziest and who has the most fun," he said.
There's more pictures if you go to the article.
I drove a 240Z from Jacksonville, NC to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and crossed into NJ in 5 hours. Thats 502 miles averaging just about 100mph. I was so stupid as a kid I'm amazed I survived....