Gumball 3000 - Dublin to Bucharest Supercars and superstars raise money for charity!

The 18th annual Gumball 3000 Rally came to a spectacular finale in Bucharest, Romania, as the rally crossed the finish line in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators.Over 100 supercars set off on the 3000 mile journey through 12 countries six days earlier from Dublin (Ireland), incorporating checkpoints and overnight stops in Belfast (Northern Ireland), Edinburgh (Scotland), Manchester (England), London (England), Europa Park (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic), and Budapest (Hungary), raising funds for the Gumball 3000 Foundation throughout the route. Baywatch and Knight Rider legend David Hasselhoff performed at the opening party at Lillie’s Bordello, Dublin and waved the start flag as the incredible array of vehicles set off from Dublin's Merrion Square. The Hoff (who proposed to his long term girlfriend Hayley Roberts during the rally) drove an Audi R8 promoting his latest Hoff the Record series, alongside several other famous personalities including F1 drivers David Coulthard and Jean Alesi, Grammy winning rapper EVE, DJ megastar Afrojack, and other stars from the world of entertainment including Major Lazer, rapper Bun B (Big Pimpin'), pop star Marlon Roudette, music producer Dallas Austin, film star Sullivan Stapleton (300: Rise of an Empire / HBO's Strike Back), reality star Calum Best, famous YouTubers Calfreezy and Shmee150, together with royalty and numerous heads of industry (including over 50 people in the global Forbes 500). Vehicles included everything from one-off prototypes and hypercars entered by AMG Mercedes, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Bugatti, Brabus, RUF, Porsche, Dodge, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Nissan, Jaguar, Lotus, Gemballa, BAC, to vintage classics and even a fully operational Batmobile TGX entered by Team Galag inspired by the Arkham Knight vehicle from the recent movie (winner of the Best Car Award). Gumball 3000 founder and host of the event, British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper drove a stunning Aston Martin All-Carbon Vanquish, together with his rapper/actress wife EVE (currently starring alongside Ice Cube and Nicki Minaj in the movie Barbershop The Next Cut), representing the classic British sports car manufacturer on the grid. "The public response to this years rally was truly overwhelming as hundreds of thousands of people of all ages cheered us along the entire route, often waiting hours for us to arrive into every checkpoint and city through sun, snow, wind and rain. It's so rewarding to see so many happy faces when the Gumball show comes to town, and to be able to bring something fun for everyone to enjoy. This ever increasing fanbase has allowed us to utilise our voice amongst the car community and celebrity culture to raise money for some very worthy charitable youth based projects around the world." Maximillion Cooper, Gumball 3000 Founder Action packed and incident free, fans lined the streets throughout the entire 3000 mile route, as Gumball 3000 took over each city with its unique combination of cars and entertainment, hosting incredible car displays, music concerts, parades and parties. London's Regent Street hosted the rally's arrival into the capital, where over 1 million people attended to cheer the cars across the Shell sponsored finish line. “Leading up to our first Gumball 3000, Shell had a sense that the event be a proof point about our shared passion for life’s journeys but we had no idea how similar the brands were until we lived the Gumball! The Gumball 3000 is exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time and once you’ve experienced it, you have a renewed passion for appreciating the ride rather than rushing to the destination. Gumball 3000 and Shell, a sharing a love of life’s journeys!” Jennifer Duhon, Shell, Head of Brand Strategy Music headliners Afrojack, EVE, Bun B, DJ Charlesy (Tinie Tempah's official DJ) and Martin2Smoove (Capital FM), kept the crowds entertained, giving rise to Team Afrojack taking home the coveted Spirit of the Gumball Trophy. “It’s great to be part of this Gumball family!” Afrojack During the week, the event raised over €500,000 for charity through online donations on CrowdRise and Givergy platforms, together with Christie's annual charity auction held during the finale dinner inside the spectacular Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. Funds raised by The Gumball 3000 Foundation, support multiple youth based education and recreational projects in low income communities around the world through its charity partners Laureus Sport for Good, The Tony Hawk Foundation, The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, The Sir Simon Milton Foundation and When You Wish Upon A Star amongst others. #Gumball3000 trended on all major social media platforms throughout the week, highlighting the increasing mass appeal of the rally and the Gumball 3000 brands growing global audience. A 6-part Gumball 3000 television series will air globally on Amazon Fire and Netflix; and other coverage will feature on CNBC, Mercedes Benz channel, Eurosport and Channel 4 later this summer. Next years route has already been announced that will take place from July 1-8 starting from Riga (Latvia) and finishing on the beautiful Greek island of Mykonos, incorporating 11 countries throughout the tour. Official event partners include: Shell, Betsafe, Marshall Headphones, Incase, Christie's, JetSmarter, Belvedere and Amazon Fire The Laureus Drive for Good project at this years Gumball 3000 was a great success. Former Formula One stars David Coulthard, Jean Alesi and singer Marlon Roudette at the wheel of the Mercedes AMG C63 Black Series drew a lot of attention with the eye catching Laureus and Gumball 3000 livery! I have to thank the Gumball 3000 Foundation for helping to raise €100,000 for Laureus Sport for Good. This is a significant contribution to the support of many projects to help underprivileged children towards a better life." Wolfgang Schattling, Laureus Sport For Good Foundation.