Gumball 3000
3 May 2010
The Gumball 3000 participants visit Tivoli, Copenhagen!
We're in Copenhagen in the afternoon. Ready, for when the first car arrives from Bernstorffsgade and turns onto Vesterbrogade, to drive in through the main entrance to Tivoli.
The first cars were supposed to arrive around 5-6 pm. More and more people keep arriving.
Outside Tivoli, "El Tempo Gigante" is giving people rides, starting from Axeltorv. A wonderful vehicle from the Bjergkøbing Grandprix film.
Should we go into Tivoli or stay outside for when the cars arrive? We choose to go into Tivoli.
The clock nears the arrival time, still no cars. I ask a Tivoli guard if he knows anything. I'm told that the Gumball 3000 participants are not allowed to drive through Germany, so the cars have to go on a transporter, which will cause a bit of a delay.
They drove from Amsterdam this morning and were later stopped in Germany. I wonder if any of the teams slipped past by choosing a different route?
Around 8 pm we can hear cars being revved up outside Tivoli to great cheers. Maybe some of the ones who found an alternative route?
Finally, something happens. Through Tivoli's gate come the first Gumball cars. With the main entrance in the background, a BMW and a Ferrari sneak in towards the heart of Tivoli, along a path lined with people shouting and camera flashes. In response, the drivers rev the engines, which lifts the mood even more. Now things are happening!
But, but, but, the cars do not come in a steady stream. There are solid pauses between the arrivals of the supercars. Time starts running out. Looking at the clock, there's not long until Tivoli closes. How many will make it in before then? It's announced that Tivoli will stay open a little extra for the public.
We leave Tivoli a bit past midnight to head home. Not all the Gumball 3000 cars have arrived yet. It could be most of the night before they show up.
The car is thirsty on the way home, and we stop at a petrol station. At the petrol station is a Gumball 3000 participant's chrome-look Ferrari 458 and a Maybach. A lovely way to end the day/evening.