Well it’s that time again, the Gumball Rally was in London today for another action packed, edge of your seat race.
This year was busier and more professional than last year. Unfortunately, we arrived after they started to move the cars to their positions so all of the famous people had gone by the time we got there. Last year there were more than a few headaches for the police – the company that was dealing with the event didn’t know what the word ‘crowd control’ is. This year however they did a bit better, still people on the road, but they’re improving.
We spent a few hours walking up and down the line-up taking photos and endlessly swapping lenses, I took about 300, before they started, and readied my other card in case more space was needed (which in the end it wasn’t). Along the way we saw all sorts of things, engines not starting….guys on the phone to Ferrari asking how to get the thing working, while the rest of the team were frantically trying to fix it and other random goings on.
Memorable quote of the day had to have been the guy from one of the teams, who saw me taking photos as he was returning to his car and said “There’s some serious camera work going on here”. I was just one of many though with some kit. To be honest the promotion girls were the only reason I went, but the cars were a nice extra.
The highlight of the day was the host, Maximillion Cooper AKA Captain Gumball posing for a photo for me….Qudos goes out to him. I also managed to get a few of the teams working on the cars.
We found a spot just up from the start and waited for the games to begin, there was a good crowd, one crazy guy hitched a ride beside one of the cars to pull him and his roller-skates down the road and Lloyd also got waved at by Jay Kay from Jamiroquai while he was driving past, oh and also we saw Caprice 🙂
At the end, as the cars drove away, it become very busy very quickly. All of the crowd lined the start and cars were trying to make their way down the road in between people standing in the middle taking photos. Some drove carefully, and others tool the opportunity to make some noise and put on a show.
It was good to see the event in person for once, it’s always good to get close to the cars, and it’s always good to get close to some of the really well-crafted details, from the classics all the way through to the ultra-modern, super-fast sports cars.
Hopefully there will be another one next year with as much excitement and fun. You may get more photos next year.
Posted in: Photography