> From Rome to Monaco.

From Rome to Monaco.

Luckily the start from Rome was a late one: 11am. This was to allow
people
like me who had been sticking cocktail sticks in their heads at 3am to
get
some sleep and try and unstuck bits of pizza from their clothes.
Luckily
Mussy always drives in the mornings, and I had abused this fact to
crawl in
at 4am.

The Politzei M5 led the way and we were behind Michael Ross's Bentley.
Someone had lied to Alex though and told him that Gumball wanted him to
lead
all the Gumballers past the Coliseum. After 20 minutes of fighting the
Rome
traffic he realised that he had been duped and we started to fight our
way
out of the city and to get on the Autostrade de Sol to Firenze
(Florence).

Mussy was driving like a man possessed to catch up with the Bentley,
using
>all 4 lanes of the motorway (3 lanes plus the Gumball lane thoughtfully
provided on the right hand side). All was well until we went past a
police
car. As we edged past they turned on their flashing lights and
indicated
that we should follow them. Bugger! For the stuff that we were doing we
deserved to be jailed!

At the next service station we were pulled over along with a Porsche.
There
we met Alex and John and team GT3000. Mussy and I got out of the car,
wondering how the hell we were going to finish the rally from a jail.
Then a policeman who was stood next to the car as we got out asked
Mussy who had been driving. Mussy asked me "were you driving
BalkanExpress?" "Of course" says I. "Driving licence and papers"
demands the cop. Diplomatic ID and driving licence were then produced.
A look of consternation crossed the face of the policeman. After a
minute looking at our insurance documents he released us. Even better
he released the other cars including a beautiful white vintage Porsche
that had nothing to do with Gumball and hadn't even broken the law. I
drove away and we decided to take things easy: we had pushed our luck
as far as we could.

Approaching Florence we again relied on the Co-Pilot GPS. A good system
let down by an old map database. Mussy was complaining about it being
too slow, but we reached the conclusion that it is very good at legal
speeds! At the checkpoint we met up with our support car (sadly minus
the coffin) and had a great few minutes talking to Nick Plotnic and his
son Josh. Luckily we had not needed their services (they carried spare
wheels for us and clothes). Then it was time to catch up with the pack.
We were running in the centre of the pack due to the police and a poor
exit from Rome. Leaving a decent burnout smoking on the tarmac we set
off, only a few hundred kilometres from the finish line.

We were on our own until we approached the mountains that separate Italy
and France. The motorway runs through these mountains by a countless
series of tunnels. Who should we meet but the Testarossa! Though we
couldn't safely overtake the car, I could push it to see how big his
balls were. In Czech we had beaten him because he couldn't drive in the
wet and now the roads were bone dry. We covered the next 150km in about
45minutes. The scream of our two engines in the tunnels was amazing, as
were the flames that came from the 4 exhausts of the Ferrari. This was
some of the best driving of the Gumball, going as fast as safety and
the tyres could allow around the sweeping corners of the mountain
motorway. Traffic started to increase in density, forcing us to slow
down. As we exited a tunnel we came across the black and orange SLR
Merc. It had blown a tyre and when they used tyre-weld to repair it,
the tyre-weld had exploded in their faces, covering them and their car
with goo. :) The Testarossa driver didn't seem to concerned by this; he
was too busy having a cigarette to calm his shredded nerves!

We agreed to take it easy from there on to the border, and we were lucky
to have done so: as we exited the next tunnel there were several police
cars set up in an ambush and they had already caught a few Gumballers.
We cruised pass and sighed with relief. Then through the next tunnel
and another police car waiting for us. This time it pulled away and
started following us with the blue lights flashing. We slowed down but
it didn't overtake us, so we continued. Then a piece of luck: just as
it looked as though we would be pulled we made a navigational error and
took the wrong exit for France. The look on the policeman's face as he
saw us was sweet: he had left it too late to take the exit safely. We
had lost our friend the Testarossa, but we soon met up with a blue
F355. We then played with that until the border with Monaco and we
turned of the motorway to find that the French police had a little
surprise for us: every single Gumball car was being stopped, searched
and all documents checked.

We produced our documents and had to struggle to find the engine number
to satisfy the Gendarme. Then he inspected our licenses and insurance.
All seemed well. Then he found our laser jammers at the front of the
car. Merde! "What are zeese?" "Parking sensors" lied Mussy with such
smoothness even I believed him! The police then spent 5 minutes
inspecting the car and talking to each other in French. They didn't
know that Mussy speaks perfect French! They were saying that they were
jammers, and that they couldn't be parking sensors as there were none
on the rear of the car. We claimed that they were on the car when we
had brought it and they had never worked. This outrageous lie (and
diplomatic id) convinced them to let us go. They knew that we knew that
they knew what the "sensors" really were. A Porsche that came in 2
minutes after us had a detector on the dash: it was immediately removed
(taken away and destroyed) and a small fine of 750 Euros demanded on
the spot (they confiscate your car if you cannot pay).

We entered Monte Carlo and tried to find the finish point. We found the
Casino and found it packed with people, but only one Gumball staff. No
finish line, no flags, in fact nothing indicating that Gumball was
over. We were given a photocopy map of the city and told where to park
the car and where to get on the boat. We were allowed one lap of the
small square before eaving. That was it. It must have been the biggest
anti-climax of my entire life! With help from a friendly police car we
found the car park.

It was a really weird mixed feeling I had. It felt like we had been
doing Gumball for ages and yet it seemed over too soon. How the hell
were we going to adapt to normal driving and normal life? There was
also pride in Loretta (our car) for having performed so well and relief
that we were through
> safely, and that everyone had finished without serious injury. We got our junk together and headed off for the boat, stopping only for a glass of wine that was offered. Where was our "Super Luxury Gumball Yacht"? A battered tender took us out of the harbour and past boats worth over 200million USD.
Which one of these palaces was ours? The answer? The old ferry hiding
behind all the nice boats!

We clambered aboard, got our cabin (better than I had expected given the
look of boat) and went to the bar. Within a few hours the boat had run
out of beer!!! An hour later they had run out of Vodka!!!!
Unbelievable. There were almost fights and rebellion. It was then
announced at 1am that the awards would be given out the following
night. I went to bed after the wine ran out, hoping that the next day
would be better (it was, but Mussy will tell you all about it later).

Balkan Express
Winner Gumball 3000 Enthusiast 2005
Car 72 Lotus Esprit S4
www.3ezer."
if your not fast your last!"

Taormina to Rome

We wake up to find out that the check point in Sicily is cancelled due
to safety reasons. We get our route card and get ready to be out of
Toarmina faster than a Turkey escaping the farm at Christmas. NO LUCK
we get stuck in some kind of parade tour of Taormina, that was a mess
due to the small winding streets.

We arrive at the port by no means near the front and get the ferry
accross to Italy. Mussy always does the morning driving as Balkan
Express snoozes away in the passenger seat. No question the Southern
Italian highways are the worstwe have ever encountered. We hit a bump
that was to become famous amongst Gumballers. As we entered our car's
front suspension went down to its max, the rear then lifted up about 10
cm in the air and down hard.Our spolier is kissing the tarmac for what
seems forever, and we keep going in a straight line. Allthis at 260
kph!! How we made it I will never know. Later we learned that the
Ferrari 355 crashed at this point. That evening every timewemet a
Gumballer within 2 minutes the question would be.. 'do you remember
that bump'.

So we get to Rome, at our normal cruising speed and party, untill the
wee hours.

Mussy
Car 72 Lotus Esprit S4
www.3ezer.com

Bari to Taormina

After a gentle crossing to Italy, we lucked out by being the first off
the boat. The problem was that we were too fast for the Gumball staff
and had to drive back to the boat to get a route card. All said this
wasn't the biggest problem as we had to wait for Alex Roy (M5 Polizei),
and Michael Ross (Bently GT. Once through passport and customs we
waited for them. As we were waiting I chatted to an Italian motorbike
police cop and he let us put a Gumball sticker on his bike, thereafter
he let Balkan Express and myself sit on it taking pictures Coool!! But
here is the best bit, he then offers a police escort to the highway!!
So of we are sirens blazing, Alex , Michael and ourselves thru Bari
town! He then stops and suggests that somebody sits on the back of his
bike and films the 3 cars from there!!! John, (Alex's co-pilot obliges
and now there is some mega footage).

Once we are off and we crusie at around 260 kph over to Sicily. As we
knew it was a short day we stopped and did a 1 hour engine managemnet
system check (with the help by phone of Pete from PNM engineering)and
was happy that all was in order.

Arriving in Taormina was cool and Balkan Express and myself went to our
favourite barbers and had a haircut and shave. That night we mixed and
mingled with the other Gumballers, with the usual consumption of
alcohol.

Mussy
Car 72 Lotus Esprit S4
www.3ezer.com--
Mussy
Winner Gumball 3000 Enthusiast 2005
Car 72 Lotus Esprit S4
www.3ezer.com

Budapest to Dubrovnik

A good seven hours of sleep is always welcome, and is a rare thing on a
Gumball, so I was very lucky to have had such a rejuvenating experience in
Budapest. Fresh for the fight we set off again with the Politzei M5 clearing
the path towards Balaton, our speed as we raced past the Budaors Tesco
(world�s largest for the trivia fans out there) our speed was about 245kmph
and it didn�t drop from that until Lake Balaton. There we slowed
considerably due to all the small villages (down to about 200).

Before you can say �that will be 40,000 forints please�, we were out of the
clutches of the Hungarian police and screaming down the Croatian motorways.
We made a tactical decision to take things easy today. The car had a new
clutch and was not a new car. Loretta also only has a 2.2litre engine
(albeit with twin turbos and 300+ HP) and we were fighting against the big
Mercs and Lambos etc, none of which has an engine less than 4litres. We
reduced our speed to 220kmph and decided that we would make up a lot of time
in the mountain roads of Croatia. We may not be the fastest car on Gumball,
but no other car comes close for handling ability, and few have our balls in
the wet!

Past Zagreb the weather turned ugly for a few hundred kilometres: more than
enough for us to catch all but the fastest 10 drivers. By the time we hit
the coastal road from Split to Dubrovnik the sun was out, and so were the
local police! Our first brush with the law came near to the Bosnian border.
A long straight road with some people cheering us on the left side, but
hiding on the shadows on the right was a copper with a laser gun. We were
only doing about 150kmph when our jammer alerted us, but we were pulled over
because I had pulled across the road to avoid an old minibus. �No
overtaking� was repeated several times with glee by the local copper, but
his mood soon changed when he asked to see my ID papers. I produced my
United Nations passport and driving licence. He studied them, looked at me
and told me to go away. Happy days.

At the other side of the Bosnian/Croatian border (Bosnia has a little bit of
coastline north of Dubrovnik) we met up with a Porsche 360 driver known as
�Mr. Muscles�. He disappeared off and as we rounded the corner we wondered
where he had got to: the next 2km was a continuous blind right hand corner
on top of a bridge. Only a lunatic would attempt to overtake on that spot.
Surely enough only a minute down the road we saw him chatting to a policeman
by the side of the road. The copper then pulled us over (we were innocent!
Honest) and claimed that we had overtaken the truck. Mr. Muscles had told
the police that it was us and not him that had done the deed (after all, how
many policemen can spot the difference between a 360, a 430, a Gellardo, a
Murcialago or an Esprit when they are all doing over 200kmph?). I produced
the UN ID card and was again sent on my way with the Muscleman being fined
and kept waiting for 30 minutes.

At 6.30pm we arrived at the ancient city of Dubrovnik and parked our cars in
the centre of the old castle. The crowds were again overwhelming and
autographs were demanded of us as well as interviews with local TV. At
9.30pm we went to the harbour and boarded the ferry to Bari and were due to
arrive early the next morning. I spent the evening smoking very pleasant
Cohiba cigars with Caprice and Daryl Hannah (sadly there were other people
around them talking to them as well). The two ladies are surprisingly open
and friendly. I don�t know if I would be in their position: being mobbed by
crowds and being stared at seems like fun for 2 minutes, then it becomes a
real pain in the arse!

Balkan Express

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Day 2 Prague to Budapest

Leaving Prague after a few hours kip was insane. We had been breathalysed by
the police as we left the car park, and then we followed a lunatic called
Alex Roy in a Politzei BMW M5 at insane speeds through the crowded streets
of Prague, sirens and lights flashing. Soon we were on the open motorway and
cruising at 260kmph. We passed several police controls but they didn�t seem
to be expecting us most of the time, and when they were the jammers did
their job and we got away scot-free.

Before we knew it we were leaving Czech and entering Austria. Suddenly we
were driving very slowly indeed, always on or just below the speed limit.
Why? Because around every bush, building and brow of hill seemed to be a
police speed trap. Getting fined in Austria is not a cheap affair!

Our tactic of driving slowly was working: those who sped got caught and
delayed for ages by the police while we cruised by. Entering Vienna we were
in second place and the crowd went wild. We were very happy: not only was
the new clutch performing superbly, but we had a real chance of being first
into our home town of Budapest. Grabbing only a coke we led off, being
followed by the M5 and a Bentley GT. Out of Vienna our speed increased until
the safety of the Hungarian border was upon us. A large group of supporters
at the border greeted us warmly into Hungary, and then we raced for the
Hungaroring. Our knowledge of the streets of Budapest (and the odd way they
close some roads on holidays) saved us at least 20 minutes over our
competitors and we were first into the race track. Once again we were mobbed
by the crowd of some 5,000 people and were signing t-shirts, tickets and
even a car! It is a really strange feeling. Mussy loves the attention (he
always wanted to be a rock star) but I felt like a specimen under a
microscope.

Driving around (badly but with style) the Hungaroring we decided to skip
the party and head into town. We were still in first place. Rock star
glamour? First thing I did was go home and get some clean underpants and
catch up on some much needed sleep! The new and empty motorways of Croatia
were our target tomorrow with over 1,100km of clean tarmac screaming for
abuse.

BalkanExpress.

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Saturday night and Sunday morning

Where were we? Ah yes, arriving in Germany. Mussy decided to announce our
arrival by covering the EU Deutschland sign with Gumball stickers. Hello
Germany, good riddance Belgian police! We were doing well and in the top
50%. As dawn approached the rain got worse which was better for us. Last
week we had new tyres fitted to our baby and we had chosen a compromise
between performance and handling in the wet. Our choice proved correct as we
passed Ferraris and Lambos galore. We were possibly in about10th position.

Near the Czech border we came across our first casualty: a Bentley GT had
hit some road works at just under 320kmph and shredded a tyre. We pulled
over to help to find that when jacking up his car to remove the damaged
wheel the jack had collapsed, causing the car to fall onto its front brake
disk and bending it. Our jack then did the job, but while we were working
the French Porsche of Greg arrived and told us that something had fallen off
our car and hit his! We looked at his car: the front bumper was trashed with
a large hole next to the fog lamps. Whoops! Concern then switched to our
car: what vital piece of our baby had fallen off? We were relieved that it
was simply part of the exhaust system (nothing serious then).

At the Czech border we were photographed by the customs and the police and
the vehicle details copied down. That gave the impression that they were
waiting for us, so there was only one thing to do: hit them before they knew
we were coming. Sure enough, 10km into the country and coming round a steep
right hand corner at just under 200kmph we passed a police control. The poor
policewoman had a stunned look on her face as we went passed: she didn�t
even have time to raise her baton or laser gun. The rain had stopped but the
roads were still slippery and soon we caught up with the leaders of the
pack.

A long straight beckoned, and half way down was a pack of Gumballers being
led by a Testarossa. We took them on the inside at full speed and a race
ensued to see who would be the first into Prague. A bit of undertaking, a
bit of gravel soon saw us leading the Ferrari into the city, but we had a
problem: every time we accelerated hard from 180kmph to 250kmph the clutch
slipped. We needed a new clutch. Luckily enough Mussy stays at the Gumball
hotel (the Boscolo) every week so we didn�t get lost in Prague�s manic
traffic system.

Upon arrival I went to the bar and Mussy started organising the flying out
of a mechanic (he had to find a lotus engineer willing to come to Prague on
a Sunday) and the sourcing of a new clutch. This he did in a few hours and
we relaxed until 7pm.

When John from PNM Engineering arrived from Liverpool we went to a rented
garage and started work. It took 4 hours to be able to remove the clutch, 10
seconds to change it and 3 hours to put the car back together. It was now
4am and we had to snatch a couple of hours� shut-eye before the journey to
Budapest. And we knew that the Austrian police were waiting�.

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Saturday 14 May

The day has arrived! Striding past Farrari F40s and Enzos, Aston Martins and
Porches we approach our lady. Parked up amongst all the supercars she looks
the equal of any car there, and better and more interesting than most
(though even I drool over the Carrera GTs and the 'Zondas).

Intentions of catching up sleep and getting some counselling to get over the
sight of the naked lady fall by the wayside (I have an ugly body and keep it
covered; I expect fellow uglies to do the same!). Instead we work on
Loretta, getting her in pristine condition for the start. Time drags by and
the butterflies start flying in our stomachs. Everyone is on edge and even
the coolest of the cool are showing signs of being nervous. At last we have
our briefings from Gumball and a little chat from the rozzers (police). The
message is be safe, enjoy it and be cool. We must get to Prague via a
checkpoint in Belgium. Over 1200km through the night.

The start is anything but safe, but it is definately cool! Over 5,000 people
cram the start route and mob us as though we are winning the Tour de France!
Our engine is the loudest on the rally, so with a wiggle of her sweet rear,
a 5 metre patch of rubber laid on the road and the scream of a Formula 1
engine we are away. Amazingly the nav system work and within a few minutes
we have our first test; coming round a corner our laser detector screams
into life! Mussy slams on the anchors and we see the foe: 300metres in an
alcove by the roadside is a police motorbike and we are in his sights. Our
jammers come into play and as soon as Mussy has got us near legal speed we
turn off jammer; the rozzer gets a reading, we pass and wave at him. He
grins and waves back. Thanks to Martin Collins for sponsoring the jammer!

It takes ages to get out of London. We drive carefully and often on the
correct side of the road! Speed cameras are everywhere but at last we reach
the open road to Dover. Taking it easy (never above 200kmph) we pass several
Ferraris that have been caught and are discussing the benefits of walking to
work for the next 90 days with the police. We are surprised to see that
almost every bridge over the motorway is crammed with spectators. We arrive
in Dover with the leaders of the pack and get on the train. Behind me is my
favourite car in the world: a Lamborghini Countach. Quickly we get of the
train in France and start through the small crowed of supporters. The first
police speed check is passed with just a friendly wave. it is now dark and
we press on to Belgium, where we have been told that the Begian police are
waiting to arrest us and seize our vehicles.

1.30 am we arrive at Chateau Acoz (after being messed around by the police
and sent 20km out of our way). The crowds are insane, with people jumping in
front of the car to take photos. We are not happy: this is putting
tremendous stress on the engine and clutch. We arrive and depart as soon as
possible fighting our way through the crowd. We dont blame the crowd but the
non-existant controls. We drive on at legal speeds to Germany.

Arriving in Germany we swap drivers and I drive for the first time.

This blog will be updated again soon... driving through police speed checks
at 220kmph, accidents and broken parts.

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Friday 13 May

So much for promises: Mussy and I (I am Balkan Express) had promised daily
updates. A slight problem stopped this as you will discover if you read on
to Sunday's update....

The registration day started with a couple of aspirin and lots of people
wandering aroung the hotel with dark glasses nursing hangovers that
evidenced serious bar-tabs. After a bit of last minute shopping around
London we registered. The formal part took all of 30 seconds; do we have
insurance (yes), do we have car documentation (yes), are we insane (yes).
All the right ticks in the boxes!

Then came 10 minutes of being given loads of goodies: designer rucksacks,
sunglasses, driving shoes and gloves, T-shirts galore and a very sexy mobile
phone that is also a GPS tracker, routeplanner and navigator. Sweet! Luckily
we had our friend Nick Plotnik coming from Birmingham with a support vehicle
for us to put all this in: Esprits do no thave room for more than a few
underpants and socks.

Registration done we then relaxed with Mussy's Mum who had flown in to see
the evening's entertainment; the Premier of the film of last year's Gumball
"6 days in May" (strangely already available on DVD!). Film was good and was
followed by a massive party; over 5,000 people in an old warehouse complex.
Couple of Page 3 girls were in attendance and the music was courtesy of
Jamiroquai. Then the unbeliveable happened: the place ran out of beer! Time
to return to the hotel and carry on the action. We thought we had better
take it easy so went to bed at 3.30am.

Mussy decided he was hungry. I then decided that I was hungry. The only
problem was that the hotel room service didnt belive us and wanted to fob us
off with a sandwich rather than the chicken curry that seemed so vital to
our wellbeing after 3 bottles of Champagne! A "polite discussion" ensued
with the hotel agreeing to send up a couple of burgers. 10 minutes later a
noise was made outside and I opened the door expecting a pretty lady and a
couple of buns. Instead I found a "generously" apportioned lady sat against
my door. Nothing unusual in this except the lady was completely naked and
very drunk! Summoning up my chivalry I left it to Mussy to fetch security
while we gave her some clothes. Seems the poor dear had a domestic with her
fella and he had turfed her into the corridor and gone back to bed. It was
past 4am when the burgers arrived, and Gumball start was less than 14hours
away!

Balkan Express

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Thursday 12 May

Thursday 12 May 2005

We arrive to Luton airport on the early morning flight from Budapest and
meet Gianni and Billy from Unique automotive.

We go to the car, pull off her dust cover and there she is....
Shining like a mirror, smiling like a supermodel knowing her own
beauty.....Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we head off to see Pete from PNM Engineering who has fitted the
uprated Hi-Spec/Brembo brakes and custom made extra large slotted brake
discs. Pete wanted to give a quick check after they had a few hundred
miles usage. All ok, so off to the Gumball hotel.

As we arrive to Trafalgar Square we look into our mirror and see the
boys from GT3000, Nils and Nicky ( check out their beautiful porsche
GT3 www.gt3000.com ) It was really good to arrive at the hotel already
as 2 Gumball cars, still can't imagine what it's going to be like with
120!!!

Rooms were not ready, but no real issue because then we had a reason to
go to the bar!!!! Lots of beers and gin and tonics later one of the
most famous Gumballers Alex Roy turns up! ( www.team144.com ). Alex
has decided this year to go as the Spanish Police and has decked out
his car accordingly.

Off to dinner with Alex and his crew, ended up around 20 of us, great
food, cool people. Mussy went off to bed early (how unusual ;o), Balkan
Express drank with his usual stamina.

On Friday we have registration and in the evening the new Gumball film
Premiere of 6 days in May and a party with Jamiroquai.

Please do send us your thoughts,ideas or wishes to mussy@3ezer.com

Mussy and Balkan Express
Team 3ezer
Car#72
Gumball 3000 2005
www.3ezer.com

Team 3ezer update #3

Well, here we are,

I want to try and express what this feeling is like to be just before participation in the Gumball 3000, but I can't......

except for....

take a pure injection of adrenaline, mix total panic, pride with a twist of concern,not forgetting to add chopped excitement and maybe.... just maybe........ your close .........we have been counting down the days since last September

and now its time, no turning back.....

Tomorrow Balkan Express and Mussy fly to the UK to pick up Lorreta the Lotus S4.

Check out the other cars she's with at the end of this mail

At this moment I need to say a massive thank you our Luton crew....Gianni and Billy from Unique Automotive, these guys in last weeks have been taking care of Lorreta, making sure she is not lonely and giving her the last finishing touches.

She filled with all the necessary giszmo's for both comfort right thru to safety, from the incar tv/dvd system right thru to her Hispec/brembo uprated brakes with custom made extra large slotted brake discs.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THROUGHOUT THE RALLY WE WILL BE HAVING REGULAR UPDATES ON OUR WEB PAGE.

WWW.3EZER.COM

JUST CLICK ON THE ' UPDATE' AND YOU'LL GET THE LATEST NEWS!!

Then we go down to London where we will be among Jackass and Dukes of Hazard film star Johnny Knoxville, Jamiroquai's Jay Kay, Supermodels Caprice and Jodie Kidd, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill's legendary director Quentin Tarantino with film star Daryl Hannah, Bez from 'The Happy Mondays' and DC Shoes skateboard legend Rob Dyrdek all driving everything from Ferrari Enzo's, Pagani Zonda's, Lamborghini's, Porsche GT's, to old Aston Martin's, Rolls Royce's, Bio-Diesel Hybrid's and even the General Lee!

You can see the cars here..

Friday 13th
19:00 - 21:00 - The Gumball 3000 Film Premiere of '6 Days in May' - come along to see the stars arrive on the red carpet and see some amazing cars on display! Location: Bloomsbury Square, London WC1

Saturday 14th
11:00 - 18:00 - Cars will be on display all day on Waterloo Place (between Picadilly Circus and Pall Mall) and on Trafalgar Square!
18:00 - Jenson Button will waive the start flag at 6PM!!!!!!!! (Waterloo Place)
23:00 - 02:00 - Cars arrive to a checkpoint in Belgium at the Chateau D'Acoz, located near Acoz not far from Brussels

Sunday 15th
09:00 - All day - Cars will be arriving at the Hotel Carlo IV in the Centre of Prague

Monday 16th
10:00 - 13:00 - Cars arrive into Vienna (Austria) - Checkpoint - Location: Hofburg Imperial Palace, Josefplatz
14:00 - 18:00 - Cars arrive at the Hungaroring F1 Circuit Checkpoint, Budapest (Hungary) - come and see everyone racing around the F1 circuit!
18:00 - 20:00 - Cars will arrive at the Kempinski Corvinus Hotel in the centre of Budapest!

Tuesday 17th
14:00 - 16:00 - Cars arrive at a Checkpoint at the National Park KRKA (near Sibenik), Croatia
17:00 - 21:00 - Cars will arrive into Dubrovnik's Old Town centre (Croatia)

Wednesday 18th
13:00 - All Day - Cars arrive into Taormina (Sicily) - Cars go on display all day in the Town Centre!

Thurdsay 19th
18:00 - 22:00 - Cars arrive into Rome (Italy) - and park at the Hotel Boscolo Exedra in Piazza Della Republica

Friday 20th
14:00 - 17:00 - Cars arrive at a Checkpoint in Firenze (Italy) - Piazza Michelangelo, La Loggia
18:00 - 22:00 - Cars will cross the finish line in Monaco's Casino Square!

Grid

Aston Martin
30) 1963 Aston Martin DB4 - Caldwell / Gibb
113) Aston Martin DB9 - Tloupas / Healey
60) 2004 Aston Martin DB9 - Capper / Mac

Bentley
16) 2004 Bentley Continental GT - Angell / Graham
09) 2003 Bentley Continental GT - Ross / ???
06) 2004 Bentley Arnage - Blackburn / Chapman Williams
58) 1951 Bentley Mark 6 - Ewart / Sleigh

Caterham
107) 2004 Caterham 7 - Buckler / Spicer

BMW
55) 2001 BMW M3 - Crompton / Edwards
44) 2000 BMW M5 - Rojas / ???
34) 2005 BMW 645Ci Conv - Tariq / Dilawar
97) 2004 BMW 330d Sport - Howarth / Fenton
07) BMW X5 - Mantovani / Mantovani Rodriguez

Bristol
45) 1976 Bristol 411 Series 5 - Fox / Fox / Glifberg

Buick
39) 1970 Buick Riviera GS - Patterson / ???
10) 1991 Chevrolet Van - Bez / Bez's Bird
46) 1996 Dodge Viper RT10 - Russell / Brown
11) 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 - Warren Rosseau / ???
101) Dodge Coronet Hemi - Briggs / Griffiths

Ferrari
23) 2004 Ferrari Enzo - Stanford / Jonasdottir
37) 2004 Ferrari Enzo - Aucott / Hunt
22) 1997 Ferrari F40 - Johannesson / Paimadottir
86) Ferrari F40 - Bloom / Bloom
53) Ferrari 355 - Brangstrup / McLeod
109) Ferrari 355 - Loutit / ???
71) 1997 Ferrari 355 - Cloots / Henderikz
92) 1996 Ferrari 355 Spider - Klunder / Yaghi
78) 1995 Ferrari F1 355 - Arth0Jensen / Trouillet
85) 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB - Simpson / Simpson
89) 1985 Ferrari Testarossa - MacDonald / Stephens
17) 1999 Ferrari 360 - Kaplan / Hackford
63) 2000 Ferrari 360 - Thompson / Holroyd
35) 2002 Ferrari 360 - Bourne / ???
56) 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena - Benash / Singer
26) 2003 Ferrari 360Spider F1 - Philip / Naden
32) 2004 Ferrari 360 Stradale - Linfoot / Bronthrone
62) 2005 Ferrari F430 - Jobe / ???
57) 2005 Ferrari F430 - Krabbedal / Pamer
36) 2005 Ferrari F430 - Touhami / Gianni
69) 2005 Ferrari F430 - White / Cox
64) 2005 Ferrari F430 - Cerqueira / Spiliopoulos
83) 2005 Ferrari 575 - Bowen-West / Fabris
87) 2005 Ferrari 575 - Lowe / Cuff
50) 2003 Ferrari 575M - Holmgreen / Holmgreen
98) 2003 Ferrari Maranello 575M - Arraut / Fabregat

Ford
38) 1966 Ford Mustang GT - Patterson / ???
91) 2005 Ford Mustang GT - Goldstein / Cobeljic
103) 2004 Ford F150 SVT Lightning - Gardner / ???

Hummer
102) 2003 Hummer H2 - Karneman / Wahlstram
12) 2003 Hummer H2 - Spilliebeen / DJ Ghost
05) 2005 Stratched Hummer - Dunn / Nastazio / Mazelle / Slevin

Jaguar
25) 1973 Jaguar E-Type - Martell / Martell

Lamborghini
105) 1992 Lamborghini LM002 - Bryan / Qasim
79) 2003 Lamborghini Countach - Gillett / Herbert
65) 1992 Lamborghini Diablo - Musoll / Musoll
90) 1994 Lamborghini Diablo - Hutton / Cory
111) Lamborghini Gallardo - Aucott / Hunt
96) 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo - Ketchell / ???
04) 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago - Kidd / Aidan Butler
28) 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago - Singleton / Williams
31) 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago - Hancox / Patel
40) 2005 Lamborghini Mercielago - Williams / Ball

Lexus
33) 2005 Lexus SC430 - Ikuzawa / Martens

Lola
77) 1963 Lola T70 Mk3 - Harvey / ???

Lotus
72) 1991 Lotus Esprit - Muss / Conlan

Mercedes
48) 2005 McLaren Mercedes SLR - Sospereda / Sanahuja Junyent
52) 2005 McLaren Mercedes SLR - Morley / Hewtson
93) 2005 McLaren Mercedes SLR - Kelshaw / McGowan
24) 2005 Mercedes CLK DTM - Tunon / Gelas
67) Mercedes S55 - Bondo / DeBo

Morgan
15) 1981 Morgan Plus 8 - Boitard / ???

Landrover
49) 2004 Landrover/BMW Dakar - Round / Coulson

Noble
75) 2004 Noble M12 GTO 3R - Baker / Schilling
106) 2003 Noble M12 GTO 3R - Woodman / Fenton

Nissan
112) Nissan Skyline - ??? / ???

Pagani
47) 2004 Pagani Zonda - Al-Hassani / ???
73) 200 Pagani Zonda - Taknov / Nikolsky

Porsche
74) 2004 Porsche Carrera GT - Meshkova / Abramov
51) 2004 Porsche Carrera GT - Riti / Kenworthy
14) 2005 Porsche GT3 RS - Kadhim / Samuels
59) 2004 Porsche GT3 - Traxel / Weber
27) 2001 Porsche 996 Turbo - Sterjernlof / Bjorklund
29) Porsche 911 Turbo - Wosskov / Hinchcliffe
110) Porsche 996 Twin Turbo - Rius / Staib
08) 2004 Porsche 996 C4S - Jones / Hayes
02) 2005 Porsche 996 Turbo - Bourret / Denton
94) 1997 Prosche 911 - Hagen / Grimaldi
76) 2004 Porsche 911 Turbo - Cornia / ???
95) 1999 Porsche 911 996 C2 - Wright / Ross
66) 2005 Porsche 996 Turbo - Cox / Bradley
18) 2001 Porsche 996 Turbo - Sforzini / Fredley
19) 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 - Armitage / Armitage
68) 2001 Techart Porsche GT2 - Casale / Gely
81) 1987 Porsche 928 S4 - Andrews / Andrews
82) 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo 4 - Woods / ???
88) 1970 Porsche 911 2.4T - Sutton / Hewitt

Range Rover
03) 2005 Range Rover Bio-Diesle - Hannah / Tarrantino / Basich
21) 1996 Range Rover Overflinch - Shaw / Shaw / Andrew

Rolls Royce
100) 2005 Rolls Royce Phantom - Maddock / Narayam
61) Rolls Royce - Devlin / Lutke / ??? / Cheech

Spectre
70) 1996 Spectre R42 - Winstone / Ward

Subaru
104) Subaru Impreza - Goormans / Kint
41) 2005 Subaru Impreza - Dyrdek / Big Black
42) 2005 Subaru Impreza - Way / Way
43) 2005 Subaru Impreza - Block / Jones

TVR
20) 2001 TVR Tuscan - Gligic / Chambers

Volks Wagen
80) 1960 VW Van - Melhuish / Wright / Carrington / Bryden
13) 2005 VW Golf Gti - Eley Kishimoto / Maclean

Others
01) The General Lee - Cooper / Knoxville
54) Aerial Atom - ??? / ???
99) ??? - James / ???
84) ??? - Arbib / Arbib
108) ??? - Brown / ???

THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT FROM ALL OF YOU.

Mark "Mussy" Muss
Seamus "Balkan Express" Conlan
Car#72 Gumball3000 Rally 2005
www.3ezer.com

Watch this space

Welcome to the live 3ezer.com web blog.

This online diary will be updated throught this year's Gumball Rally across Europe.

Follow the spills, thrills and belly aches of the 3ezer.com team as and when it happens.

News updates will be online from May 14th.