Saturday 14th May 2005

The seventh Gumball 3000 rally began at Trafalgar Square and progressed 3000 miles from London to Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and onto to Dubrovnik in Croatia. The cars then were transported by ferry to Bari, Italy, followed by a transit to the Targa Florio circuit in Sicily, before heading north to Rome and Florence. The finish line was in Monaco’s Casino Square prior to the Formula One Grand Prix. Participants included Daryl Hannah, rock stars and supermodels driving vehicles ranging from the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee to Ferrari Enzos and Mercedes SLRs. Known to be heading towards London, five drivers were arrested on May 9, 2005 by the Catalonian traffic police when caught speeding between Sagunto and Tarragona. The Spirit Trophy was awarded to Sue Bellarby and Kathy Huddart, whose Caterham 7 broke down just shy of the finish line. The two were transported to the finish line by Gumball legend Alex Roy in his “Guardia Civil” Team Polizei BMW M5 who finished 2nd dressed as a Spanish cop. The year’s unofficial winners were Greg and “Kalbas” in a Mercedes 2004 CLK-DTM, who edged out a week-old Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren because a tyre was destroyed just short of the finish line.