More then 24 hours after the deadly accident on Macedonian roads, Gumball 3000 finally announced the cancellation of this years rally. After the fatal accident on Macedonian roads yesterday afternoon Gumball 3000 tried to keep it quiet as much as possible, they kept the families of Marga and Vladimir, locals, fans, drivers and sponsors completely in the dark, it took massive negative publicity in the worldwide media for them to realise the coverup failed and there was nothing else left then to cancel the rally.
This totally ignorant behavior caused a lot of disbelieve and anger among the same families, locals, fans, drivers and sponsors resulting in a big anti-Gumball campaign. Sponsors took their websites down and removed all affiliation with Gumball 3000, locals expressed their anger in our comments and mailbox, fans discussed the events on virtually every forum and message board out there and drivers announced their immediate withdrawl. They had 9 years to prepare a scenario in case something like this happened, and they were well aware of the fact that it could. However their latest two press releases show they didn’t prepare and show that to Gumball 3000 it’s more important to cover their own ass then to tell the truth. Today Gumball 3000 also spoiled it for other rally events that run with the best intentions. We like to stress that we still support the other events on this site and their organisers, it shows that a good organization that takes responsibility and does all it can to ensure safety of participants and bystanders is absolutely crucial to organize a succesful event.
Our Gumball 3000 coverage ends here…
We share our deepest sympaties with Margarita’s & Vladimir’s family.
Issued by Maximillion Cooper on behalf of The Gumball 3000 Rally – 22.30 CET / 03 May 2007
Following our earlier release reporting yesterday’s accident – As a sign of respect we have decided that this year’s Gumball 3000 Rally will not travel any further and will end in Bratislava this evening, May 3rd 2007.
As the organisers of the rally we feel that it should be stopped as a mark of respect to Vladimir Cepulyoski who died today after an accident involving one the participating drivers.
We are very saddened by what has happened and feel that it would be wrong to continue. On behalf of Gumball 3000, we once again extend our deepest sympathies to his family and we are doing everything we can for them.
This is the first time anything like this has happened in 9 years of travelling through over 40 countries with 1000’s of drivers and it is with deep regret that I make this announcement.
Maximillion Cooper
I hope there will be a 10th Gumball 3000, but this should be the least problem at this time. In deepest sympathies for the victims and their relatives, SwD, german gumball fan.
it’s sad to see that something like this happen… the route maybe help this accident to happen because montenegro is full of fucking montains and crap roads… gumball 2008? i dont think soo, this migth be the last year
sad to know… please keep us informed about the rest
Please don’t stop reporting. You are providing a valuble service to those of us who are deeply concerned!!!
This is very sad to hear if they did try to cover it up!
But as i commented earlier the rally had to have been cancelled. I was looking forward to greeting the guys back on saturday but to what sort of reception i dont know!
Very Very Sad Day In Gumball History! :( Condolences to the families.
Ajay16
bad bad news :( hope that gumball will not surrender and will back in 2008!
Yes, I understand you are upset with Gumball, but like “concerned” said, this is a way we can keep up with friends. Please dont stop reporting.
Please please please dont stop reporting people. its is a huge tragedy. it should have been stopped earlier….
Yes, I think that it is important to provide us with information, especially since the G3K headquarters have been cowardly shut down, therefore u are the only source I know with valuable sources and information…I used 2 b the biggest fan, I started lovin it back in 2003, but now they just pissed me off…its not for the love of racing, but it is more of a commercial race to make the biggest profit…like with the 3000 miles movie…not about driving, but just another Viva la bam episode…Nevertheless what has happened is very unfortunate, nevertheless they should have been prepared to handle the situation…
I think that it is bye bye to the gumball, I doubt any sponsors will want to be affiliated with the rally next year, the CB and the PR look more and more tempting…
My condolences go out to the families of the deceased and injured (hope she recovers)
and i was one step to see Gumball in my life :(
Guys you can still catch the latest gossip in our forum:
http://forum.gtspirit.com
But please behave! ;-)
when people realize its not how fast u take the turn or how fast u can accelerate on straight away but rather how good your average speed is .. whici is mostly determined by not getting lost, taking the quickest route you can win without speeding or death.
the accident was unnecessary and “brave” driving bad roads. fear sometimes keeps you alive longer
very sad! but you accualy could have acspected that something was going to happen soon.. it i a risk you take whe you join the rally. and i think for the once who want to keep on going with this event they should keep on with the gumball only through countries with better roads like the middle east where all ready a lot of super cars are.. and just road and dessert!
How fast these guys were driving u dont have an idea.
Yesterday i was driving back to Bitola – Macedonia and man u cant belive how fast these cars were driving and to tell u the truth i didnt know what was happening and where these cars are going But seeeing these cars in “action” was unbelievable and its bad that some of those cars end up with a crash and now i see in the news that a man has died in that car crash !!!
Those cars when they entered Albanian they were followed by Police as it has to be normally but here in Macedonia they were free and as i could see in the roads were clear and they were headet to the border of Albania.
One thing i can say – That Bugati and Mclaren how they passed was crazy it was a blink of an eye
I hope this would be te last race in this conditions, it’s now more than time they should make a little bit more rules for the gumbal(amateur)racers. Everybody loves the cars but when people got killed, deamn…
I hope t’is the last race of the gumball with this organisation…
This isn’t a tragedy, it’s a travesty. Tragedy would imply that it was preventable.
These people can offer nothing to the families-no explanation and there’s nothing they can do. You can’t bring people back from the dead.
I love cars, but when you choose something so material over a human life, it’s revolting. If people want to risk their lives, do it on a closed course. If you go out there on public highways you put other people at risk- people who didn’t sign a waiver or pay a hefty entrance fee. I guess the rich and wealthy think that their money is worth more than the lives and well-being of other human beings. That is totally against the spirit of everything that car enthusiasts stand for. It’s just sad that these two people had to pay the ultimate price for someone else’s stupidity and recklessness.
Guess max coopers out of a job.
Maybe it’s time to realise that a supercar is not a toy.
The spirit of Gumball is fading away, the last couple of editions was more about partying and fast and furious driving.
Extravaganza is nice if it’s brought in a stylish manner.
Everybody can drive fast, but driving fast in control in whatever circumstances is what seperates the good from the ignorant.
The rally should have continued, Paris-Dakar claimed many lives and still continues.
Anyway my deepest sympathy to the family.