Alert the media, alert the authorities – David Hasselhoff will be driving this year’s “Coast to Coast” Gumball 3000
Accompanied by his daughters, Taylor-Ann and Hayley, the Hoff will be joining over 100 supercars in the seven day drive from Los Angeles to Miami, which departs from Santa Monica Pier on Saturday 2nd May.
The actor, whose hit show ‘Baywatch’ remains the most watched television show in the world with over 1.1 billion viewers, waved the starting flag in San Francisco for the 2008 Gumball.
Gumball blogger, Georg Fecthter, convinced the star to join him on last year’s rally. As the Hoff’s godson, Georg was given one of the original Knight Rider KITT cars as a gift on his birth and, after spending $40,000 on restoring the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am to its original condition, entered the world famous car in the 2008 rally.
Unfortunately, KITT came a cropper with a broken fuel pump in Los Angeles just one day into the rally. Luckily though, the Hoff had already swapped vehicles to a more up to date and reliable Audi R8.
The star is still to confirm what he will be driving on this year’s rally. But you can rest assured it will be one of the most photographed cars on the route.
—Official Press Release—
Vivid Racing is a huge part of this years Gumball 3000 rally from LA to Miami on May 1 going to May 8. Not only have we prepared 4 cars that we have been blogging about here on the VR Blog, we are also going to be doing LIVE Video Coverage with Ustream.tv on our site. You can see where the Gumball will be stopping each day on our official schedule here - http://www.vividracing.com/forums/events-meets-shows/22961-2009-gumball-3000-schedule-la-miami.html. So Stay tuned for more info or go to www.vividracing.com/gumball3000. Now read the PR!
Ladies, Gentlemen, prepare to start your engines …as the 11th annual Gumball 3000 Rally from Los Angeles to Miami is about to begin!
Attracting ‘rock stars’ to ‘royalty’, the entry grid of over 100 amazing cars and participants in this year’s Gumball is nothing short of spectacular! From David ‘The Hoff’ Hasselhoff to Jackass’s Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn in a custom BMW; next to action sports legends Tony Hawk, Danny Kass, and Dave Mirra in tricked out Jeeps, Chevy Trucks and Porsches; alongside Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs, British indie stars The Enemy, MTV’s Dirty Sanchez, the hilarious Cuban Brothers and the fire-breathing Fuel Girls together with vintage rocker Lemmy from Motörhead and Avenged Sevenfold – Gumball has it all – showcasing Bugatti Veyrons, Lamborghini’s to Low Riders and classic American muscle cars. With event sponsors including lifestyle sportswear brand Puma providing ‘Gumball 3000 Edition’ driving shoes, Nixon creating unique timepieces, and Monster Energy supplying the drinks – this eight-day ‘road trip’ is certain to live up to all expectations of being a stylish, adrenaline fuelled adventure. Think of Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett and Captain Chaos in the 70s Cannonball Run movies and you start to get the picture. Playmates, supermodels and an international cast of eccentrics come standard issue!
On Friday May 1st Gumball 3000 is hosting a ‘free’ music concert on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade – With live performances from LA hipsters U-N-I, Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs and the Cuban Brothers – followed by a ‘VIP’ party at the Viceroy Hotel with guest DJs including DJ Spider, DJ Fashen and Beef Warehouse.
The amazing super, muscle, import and luxury cars will all be displayed next to Santa Monica Pier on parking Lot 1550 from midday on Friday May 1st - ready for the flag to drop at 1pm on Saturday 2nd May! From Santa Monica the 3000 mile route includes a spectacular sight-seeing tour of the good ‘ole USA, peppered with overnight stops, parties and checkpoints in Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Dallas, New Orleans and Orlando - before crossing the finish line on Miami’s Ocean Drive on Friday 8th May.
In addition to experiencing a classic road trip adventure, racetrack stop-offs at the Lonestar Motorsports Park in Sealy, Texas, and at the Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida will allow drivers the chance to put pedal to the metal and test their supercars to their limits. One participant that will undoubtedly use these stops to show the other drivers “how to drive” is legendary champion ex-Ferrari Formula 1 racing driver Mika Salo, winner of last years ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’- taking his Ferrari F430 Risi Competizione Scuderia GT2 on the rally!
Gumball 3000 Rally are officially working with the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organisation benefiting and raising awareness for the needs of severely injured United States Service men and women. Wounded Warrior representatives will be present throughout the event as well as partnering with Gumball 3000 at forthcoming events and fundraisers.
For daily updates go to www.gumball3000.com, and catch highlights of the action on YouTube, Pumamotorsport.com, Monsterenergy.com and on MTV - but if you live on route – then stop whatever you’re doing, get out of the house - and come along to see your favorite stars and cars roll into a town near you!
2009 Gumball 3000 Schedule LA to Miami
Come out and see the madness of Gumball 3000. Here are the scheduled main stops where you can view the cars, celebrities, and more! Look for the BMW 750IL wrapped in Gold for the Vivid Racing crew?
Still want to enter, last minute entries being excepted, go to www.vividracing.com/gumball3000
UPDATE - The dates are where we will be staying that night! The day is driving and stops.
1st of May
Los Angeles CA, Viceroy Hotel
2nd of May
Las Vegas NV, Hard Rock Hotel
3rd of May
Sedona AZ, Enchantment Resort
4th of May
Santa Fee NM, Eldorado Hotel
5th of May
Dallas TX, W – Hotel
6th of May
New Orleans LA, Royal Sonesta Hotel
7th of May
Orlando FL, Ritz Carlton Hotel
8th of May
Miami Beach FL, Gansevoort Hotel
Gumball 3000 2008
“Hey guys, Just landed in Miami for the next round of AGT auditions. Miami airport was chaos after the peaceful flight, though I explained to my friend traveling with me that the mob was just a 3 on the Hoff Fan Scale!!I hope to see everyone at AGT. Come along the details are on the NBC website as to the locations. It’s free to get in and I will have a ton of autographs and stuff to give away…I am very excited because I think Tammi the Harmonica Lady might be auditioning for me. As a regular on HoffSpace, I will definitely put her through (only joking - no favoritism!!!!) Love and Respect DH”