| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Hello and welcome;
We have compiled this page to give an insight into how 2 average people |
||
| In 2004 we drove in the Gumball 3000 Rally from Paris to Marrakech in Morocco and on to the finish at Cannes in the south of France. The event started on May 4th 2004 and lasted for 6 days, covering over 3000 miles. | ||
| We originally purchased a Mazda RX-8 for the event, but quickly realised after a few weeks that it was not going to be competitive due to its appalling fuel mileage (20mpg at best). We then decided that fuel mileage was the key to achieving a respectable 'position' without having to break the law too much. From this we opted to change the RX-8 for a BMW 330 Diesel Sport, which we took delivery of in April last year, 4 weeks before the start of the Rally, it was a brand new 2004 model with a 6 speed manual gearbox and the new 204bhp engine in individual Carbon Black Metallic: |
||
 |
 |
 |
| Right from the start, we knew that we could not beat the sheer out and out performance cars that the other 90% of the entrants had. So we made a few modifications to our car to help us on our way and ended up with our very own BMW d3 We have always liked BMW's and knew that our little 'd3' would end up surprising quite a few people. In its standard form this 204bhp version is 'the fastest production diesel car built' and yes, even in standard form, its faster than VW's Touareg 5.0L V10 and Audi's A8 4.0L diesels. | ||
| One of our strategies on the rally was to not waste any time. We studied the majority of scenarios and found numerous time saving ways that gave us our edge i.e. full European GPS, an inverter in the boot which gave us 240volts, a fridge on the back seat, 2 full replacement wheels/tyres and also that others could be queuing for petrol and we could roll up to the truck pump and refuel with that heavy oil stuff (diesel). Plus, our d3 with its M3 performance and 316i economy can cruise at 120mph+ all day long and cover 500+miles on a single tank. Here is a picture we took, showing what the d3 can do when cruising at between 100+120mph during the Barcelona to Cannes final stage: | ||
 |
||
| We knew that the car was quicker than the average, but nothing prepared us for how well it stood up to the challenge that was laid out in front. In the first hour of the Rally, we found that it could out accelerate a Mitsubishi Evo 8 and then we had our first high speed run in the form of Rob and Moz from Woodstock Motor Co and the awesome Porsche GT3 RS. | ||
| We went up to some silly speeds with Rob and generally stayed with them, but we have to question the amount of stress that he put on his car compared to us on the d3! Either way, our time saving efforts were rewarded twice, as we covered 25 miles pretty quickly and again when Rob missed a turn off and carried on! What a bonus GPS makes. We arrived at the race track 'Mas Do Closs' around 20th after totally misjudging our fuel and learning a very valuable lesson! | ||
| Our next encounter was with Jarrod and Jason in their 'JUMP' 996 Turbo Porsche about 1000 miles later as we dropped into Madrid at around 7am at 150mph with traffic. We were going well, bumper to bumper, then a few cars apart (lane to lane) as we weaved in and out making chicane after chicane out of the gaps as we went. We arrived at 'Real' Madrid at the same time as 3 others, the Jump Porsche, a Volvo V70! and the larger than life German, Kim Schmitz in his Mercedes CL3000! Although we tried to drive across the pavement to reach the finish 1st, we were ushered away by a Gumball 3000 official and had to queue through the traffic finally crossing the line a grumpy 4th. Doh! | ||
|
The next run to Marbella was very sedate, sitting cruising at an easy speed and making good MPG. We arrived at the Hotel Puente Romano in 2nd place again behind the 'Jump' Porsche. Where we finally drank some beer. In Morocco we found that a Gumball Id Badge actually meant 'Diplomatic Immunity', it was kind of cool! We can remember leaving the port, hustling to the front of the pack then following Kimble off into the unknown and onto our first Moroccan motorway slip road. We accelerated, joined the carriageway to be greeted by the most gorgeous site around the very next corner... |
||
 |
||
| Obviously we did what every other red blooded male Gumballer did, we spanked its arse! And found that the d3 would max out at an indicated 154MPH on the clock (limited?) or a more precise 246KMH on the GPS Speedo where it sat for the duration: | ||
 |
= More than happy Gumballer's! | |
This oil burner was proving more and more a contender every second. On the way to Casablanca we were passed by Kimble and a black Porsche 996 turbo, other than that, that was it! We then played with Kimble, Rimme in his blue 360 Modena and Team 19 in their Silver Porsche (with green stripes) and when they stopped for fuel it left us and Kim, horns locked battling for glory. We were P1 when Kimble went totally above and beyond the call of duty and showered us with 3rd party car parts after slamming into the side of a local! 10 minutes later we were pulled over at a toll booth and kept there talking to this cop as more and more locals pull up expressing their feelings for being passed by Gumballer's using their rightful 'Gumball Lane'! We move on with the spirit of the Gumball out the window and arrive at Casablanca in 15th. Continued on page 2 ->>> |
||
 |
 |
 |