wickedlnl on 5/5/2007 at 10:48
Gumball cancelled after death
Organisers of the Gumball 3000 Rally closed the race down following a fatal traffic accident involving two British drivers.
The pair reportedly left a man dead and his wife fighting for her life in an alleged hit-and-run accident during a controversial high-speed rally.
Nick Morley and Matthew McConville's ultrahigh performance Porsche 911 was said to have veered on to the wrong side of the road and struck Vladimir and Margarita Chepulyoski's VW Golf.
The Britons were said to have leapt into another car taking part in the Macedonian leg of the Gumball 3000 rally and headed for the border.
Rally organisers announced that the event had been called off in Bratislava a day early following the accident.
Maximillion Cooper, the founder of the rally, said in a statement: "As a sign of respect we have decided that this year's Gumball 3000 Rally will not travel any further and will end in Bratislava.
"As the organisers of the rally we feel that it should be stopped as a mark of respect to Vladimir Cepulyoski who died today after an accident involving one of the participating drivers.
"We are very saddened by what has happened and feel that it would be wrong to continue. On behalf of Gumball 3000, we once again extend our deepest sympathies to his family and we are doing everything we can for them.
"This is the first time anything like this has happened in nine years of travelling through over 40 countries with thousands of drivers and it is with deep regret that I make this announcement."
The pair were stopped by guards as they tried to cross into Albania, police said.
The crash happened as five of the high-performance Gumball cars travelled in convoy near the town of Struga.
The twin turbo-charged Porsche was going at high speed, according to police.
Mr Chepulyoski, 67, died of a heart attack on his way to hospital, while his wife was in a critical condition in intensive care in hospital.
Morley, who was driving the Porsche at the time of the crash, was remanded in custody for 30 days.
He faces charges which may lead to a one-year jail term, while Mr McConville was released.
Rally organisers insisted their car was not speeding and the pair left the scene for 20 minutes because they were in shock.
Founder Maximillion Cooper said: 'Both drivers are extremely traumatised.'
This year's Gumball 3000 sees 120 supercars travelling 4,800km (3,000 miles) through 16 countries over eight days.
But the celebrity rally has sparked safety fears in the past with some countries warning the drivers they would not be welcome.
Inline Image:
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2007/05/Crash_450x293.jpg(
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=47760&in_page_id=34)
Jeshibu on 5/5/2007 at 10:49
aw man, just after it was announced in the other thread :(
wickedlnl on 5/5/2007 at 10:58
UPDATE:
Margarita, passenger of the Golf and wife of Vladimir, died in the hospital today, 10 minutes before her husbands funeral. We are very sad that she passed away from the severe injuries she suffered from the crash two days ago.
Inline Image:
http://www.webscene.nl/Content/Pictures/729634d7-8897-4b36-a85e-cb5fb5cd036a.JPGThis Ford GT crashed in Montenegro this morning and later today the last Porsche Carrera GT in the rally was also wrecked.
SD on 5/5/2007 at 13:55
Hopefully now this race will finally be banned.
Louis Cypher on 5/5/2007 at 19:39
...Ummm...
Last I checked when you immediately run to a border after committing what is arguably something that could get you landed in jail, you're trying to escape punishment. I have problems believing mere 'shock' would lead to attempting to exit the damn country.
DaBeast on 6/5/2007 at 02:57
Shock? no
Fear of being locked away from all of their money and being manhandled by hairy eastern block types in jail would suffice.
(I stand by my own belief that cars shouldn't be allowed to leave the factory with the ability to go higher than the nations highest speed limit (autobahn doesn't count) Theres a place for racing, it's called a race track.
aguywhoplaysthief on 6/5/2007 at 06:00
I'm with you.
It's behavior like this that really disgusts me. No regard at all for putting other people at risk.
If you're going to have races on the road, then you block off roads, like they do for the Tour de France, or like we do at the San Jose Gran Prix.
It's clear to me that the sentences for vehicle offenses aren't nearly severe enough.
SubJeff on 6/5/2007 at 14:06
It's clear to everyone, but the majority of drivers are asshats. In the UK people complain about speedcameras like it's a violation of civil rights to have them. Not that they might get caught speeding and endangering lives like the fuckwits they are, oh no.
Aerothorn on 6/5/2007 at 17:11
In Seattle, they finally installed a few cameras that take pictures when people run red lights - but they have big signs warning you that the cameras are there, which is so stupid.
Kind of like how they're making texting while driving illegal, but they're not allowed to pull you over for it.
Swiss Mercenary on 7/5/2007 at 00:34
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
It's clear to everyone, but the majority of drivers are asshats. In the UK people complain about speedcameras like it's a violation of civil rights to have them. Not that they might get caught speeding and endangering lives like the fuckwits they are, oh no.
Only CRIMINALS would oppose surveillance, right guys?
