Interview with Maximillion Cooper about the 2006 rally
So how’d it go? Give us the Maximillion overview.
Maximillion Cooper: The police estimated half a million people attended the start in London, and over a million people attended the check-point in Belgrade, which was the biggest that we’d ever had. That’s ten times more people than attend to the Super Bowl!
So how did the rally go? No major accidents?
Maximillion Cooper: Two cars had accidents, but nobody got hurt and they all carried on in the rally, so that was great. The first one was an accident in Serbia with the Rolls Royce. It hit a barrier and slid a few hundred meters, but they didn’t even spill their cup of coffee. Of course, when you consider it’s a half-million dollar car, it’s a bit sad, but we’re very happy no one got hurt. The other crash involved a Lamborghini Gallardo roadster in Thailand. They were on these windy roads through the rainforest, and they took off on one of the humpback bridges and ended up driving off the road and chopping down a little tree. But again, they were very lucky and walked away with no injuries.
Any mechanicals?
Maximillion Cooper: We didn’t have too many mechanical breakdowns, really. Everything managed to get fixed on the route. I know that Bam’s clutch went out on the Lamborghini Gallardo, but they managed to fix it.
What was the oldest car in the event?
Maximillion Cooper: The 1963 VW Camper was the oldest to make it. We had a 1933 Bentley join for the European leg.
What was your favorite car this year?
Maximillion Cooper: I was very impressed with the Ultima GTR. You don’t see too many of those on the road, and this was a bright orange one. It also didn’t have any mechanical breakdowns, so that was impressive.
We heard someone got married. Was this a first at Gumball?
Maximillion Cooper: Actually, no. We’ve had several over the years. There have even been a few Gumball babies that have been born over the years. It’s a bit of a dating agency. But no one ended up with any of the Playmates.
Tell us about your crew
Maximillion Cooper: We had seventy-five people working for us. Half of those are full-time employees all year round, and the others are volunteers. About thirty-five did the whole trip. They actually flew in the cargo plane instead of on the passenger plane. Having flown on one of those cargo planes myself, I know it’s quite a thrill to be on a plane with no windows, camping out with a gas stove!
What was the highlight of the European stage?
Maximillion Cooper: I think Europe will be remembered as being the most amazing stage in the sense we went through thirteen different language speaking countries. Different cultures, different currencies, different languages, different police forces, and different terrain–through the Alps and then through some really flat country side and beautiful roads through the night. And I think Europe will also be remembered for the incredible crowds. Driving out of central London was four or five miles of nothing but crowds. And then the European stage finished in Serbia, which was just crazy.
How about the Asia stage?
Maximillion Cooper: The Asia stage was really a drive in to the unknown. People didn’t know what to expect. They didn’t know if the roads were going to be good, they didn’t know what the people were going to be like. But the Thailand tourist office and governments sponsored the rally, so everything was really smooth. And the roads that I picked for the race were amazing. They were beautiful windy roads through the rainforests. The perfect roads you shoot car commercials on. And I think half the drivers were expecting these dirt tracks but the highways were absolutely perfect.
And the final stage? What did you take away from that?
Maximillion Cooper: Most people have been to Vegas before, most people have been to LA before so, it was great putting them on these desert roads, with the amazing route from Salt Lake and the great check point to the Miller Motorsports Park. At Vegas we had the incredible Snoop Dog concert. Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman did this big half pipe demo. I think Snoop was quite hyped on the whole Gumball. And the last day in Death Valley, that was quite a lot of fun. We had lunch right in Death Valley so it was about midday, and that was where Star Wars was filmed, so it really felt like you were on a different planet. And of course the Playboy mansion was a wild party.
So what was the best moment for you?
Maximillion Cooper: Driving into Serbia. That was quite unexpected. I thought maybe one-thousand people would turn out, but we were wildly wrong. The Serbian government was sponsoring the event, hoping to promote their country around the world, with the knowledge that the event would be live on CNN every four hours. I think people are still a bit scared to go there, but in reality it is the most beautiful, stunning countryside, with incredible cities, and obviously the war was over nine years ago. It was great that Gumball could show that side of the place, and the government really got out and promoted it, and it really showed-the crowds were amazing!
Any scary moments?
Maximillion Cooper: Well, behind the scenes, the scariest moment was when we only made the flight from Bangkok to the US by two minutes. Literally two minutes. If we had missed that flight, then we would have had to stay in Bangkok another ten hours, which might have forced us to cancel the whole US stage. So that was a little panic behind scenes. Apart from that, nothing really major went on that was too scary or serious.
Who were the biggest winners this year?
Maximillion Cooper: Well, the main prize, the spirit of the Gumball, we gave to the guys who started the rally in the camouflaged Rolls Royce Phantom that skidded off the road in Serbia. But those guys managed to take a taxi to the next stage and then they had another new Rolls Royce waiting for them at the Salt Lake City hotel so they could continue the rally in style. Travis Barker, the drummer from Blink 182, got the Meguiar’s award for the dirtiest car, which was impressive. Travis has already entered for next year’s, whatever the route. I think we also gave an award to a couple of Americans who rallied in the Noble. Their clutch went out as they were leaving London, and they managed to get trailered to the Noble factory to have the car worked on for twelve hours overnight. And then they set off from London twelve hours behind everyone and played catch-up through Budapest and managed to continue. It was just amazing that everybody finished the rally, even if their cars broke down, they managed to hitch rides or rented new cars, bought new cars, and they all managed to persevere and continue. A couple people missed the passenger planes and managed to get rides on the cargo planes. All that kind of stuff went on and made it very exciting.
So how do you keep it new and exciting?
Maximillion Cooper: I think really the key for me every year is to keep it going through new routes and exploring bits of the world that people haven’t seen before. I mean, a lot of people in the rally are very affluent and lead very exciting, interesting lives, and I have a week where I can put them into an experience they wouldn’t have even contemplated. I don’t think it’s every day you’re going to be out in your own car through Thailand, through the rainforest, in the middle of the jungle, with monkeys running around and stuff. So that was quite a surreal thing, and especially to do this all in eight days! I’m getting thank you letters and phone calls from people saying it was the most unbelievable experience, and again, this is coming from the people who lead really incredible lives already. It was quite an emotional trip for people, especially when you consider the hours, sleep deprivation, how they often don’t get a chance to eat properly, and how they often partied too much. People get to see cultures and countries and places they’ve never been to before. We put their cars onto cargo planes, which is something that looks impossible to do, and then you just sort of stand back when you’re in Los Angeles and think “my God, was I really in the rain forest two days ago?”
Can you give us a sneak peak at next year?
Maximillion Cooper: Next year is probably not going to incorporate planes. We are going to put on something slightly less logistical. We are contemplating going from London to Dubai, because I think the Middle East is an interesting region–certainly from an American perspective! All my American friends are scared of it. Countries like the Arab Emirates and Bahrain, cities like Dubai are absolutely stunning, with these incredible futuristic cities. If we did that route through Europe then we’d end up going from London to Athens and that would be through about fourteen different language speaking countries. Then on to Egypt and do a checkpoint at the Pyramids and then head down the Nile. Then across Saudi Arabia that way, so we’d be thousands of miles from any of the troubles of Iraq. I think doing a desert stage would be quite cool. So anyway, it’s not confirmed yet, we’re working with the government right now. If we get the go-ahead from the Saudi governments and the royal families and the Emirates then we’ll certainly go for that one.
Any last thoughts?
Maximillion Cooper: I’m just relieved it all went according to plan. The last few months in the office were quite adrenaline-filled, people working twenty-four hours to pull this off. I think it’s the first time anyone’s done a rally that’s gone around the world using planes and in this kind of timeframe. It was quite groundbreaking, so it was quite a risk to put on as well. Thankfully it all went to plan.
Thanks to CarDomain for providing this interview.