The surviving crews taking part in the Gumball 3000 Rally are today completing the event's second leg a 1,000 mile dash from the resort of Phuket to Thailand's capital Bangkok, which has seen some major dramas as they raced through the rainforests. The event started in earnest last Sunday afternoon as the cars were flagged away down Pall Mall in Central London before the 120 crews embarked on a hectic 1,000 mile dash across Europe, an overnight route took them though to Budapest, Hungary, before Tuesday morning saw them completing the European leg with a drive to Belgrade. From there a fleet of giant Antonov transport planes airlifted the remaining cars, depleted by crashes and police confiscations, to the popular Asia holiday resort of Phuket where another 1,000 mile leg awaited the crews.

The 120-strong Gumball 3000 field includes many famous Italian supercars, with the Ferrari and Maserati brands both being very well represented. Exotics to catch the eye include the Ferrari F430, F40, F50, 612 Scaglietti and Enzo; Lamborghini Murciélago, Roadster, Diablo and Gallardo; and the Maserati MC12. As well as the almost 50 Italian sportscars taking part other prestige brand names represented this year include Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Range Rover and Porsche, while the smattering of oddities include a VW 'Camper' van and a stretched limousine.

Just hours out from the Phuket International Airport (PIA), the first major accident on the Thailand leg of the Gumball Rally occurred on a straight stretch of the Phang-Nga highway, reported the Phuket Post earlier today. Flash, the wild purple Lamborghini, took flight after hitting a series of three “unexpected” dips in the road at 130mph. Resembling a mauve missile, the souped-up Roadster careened through the air for 40 feet, sliced through a tree and came to rest with a very serious bump on the grass verge. Flash team-mates Paul Naden and Dean Philp, from the UK, were shaken but otherwise uninjured, and will be jetting their way to tonight’s party in Bangkok at the Oriental hotel.
 

They will then fly on to Salt Lake City in the United States, where Lamborghini is waiting with another roadster for them to use to complete the Rally, which ends at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion in LA. Though this was the first major accident on this leg of the rally, several of the classic speedsters did not even make it off the island, after a bumpy ride aboard a Russian Antonov transporter plane from Belgrade.

The Porsche 911 turbo of Brits Gary Spicer and Bill Buckler almost managed to make it to Sarasin Bridge before a broken fan belt brought their participation in this leg to an end. Though Porsche dealers in Bangkok despatched technicians and spares to Phuket to aid the team get back on the road, it will only be as far as PIA, where car and team will continue the journey to the Bangkok bash by air - concluded the Phuket Post.

Tomorrow the cars and competitors will fly to the US, where in the evening the Gumballers will attend the red carpet Premiere of Mission Impossible 3 at the Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Saturday after collecting their cars from SLC Airport, all the vehicles will ‘parade’ to downtown SLC to the Utah Jazz home at the Delta Centre between 10-11.00am. Then they will drive to a new race track outside SLC called ‘Miller Motorsports Park’ where they will be putting on a ‘drift racing’ display. Then its to Las Vegas to the Hard Rock Hotel that evening where the cars will arrive between 5-8PM. Hip hop legend ‘Snoop Dogg’ will be doing an “exclusive” Gumball performance at ‘The Joint’ inside the Hard Rock.

The 2006-edition of the Gumball Rally will conclude on Sunday, exactly a week after it first got underway in London. After checking out Death Valley, the Gumballers will cross the finish line on the famous ‘Rodeo Drive’ in Beverly Hills at approximately 4.00pm. Rodeo Drive will be closed for the finish, where cars will then be parked on display until 7.00pm before parading to the Beverly Hilton Hotel. That night Gumballers will party with playmates at the famous Playboy Mansion where DJ AM, Blink 182’s Travis Barker and porn star Ron Jeremy will mix the tunes for the nights party.