When it comes to the most epic road adventures of all time, the Gumball 3000 Rally definitely tops the list.
Aside from fast and luxurious vehicles, the world’s most lavish rally features live music concerts, action sports, spectacular car shows and a 3,000- mile drive across various cities around the globe. This year’s edition will see the drivers race from July 1-8, stopping in Riga, Warsaw, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Tirana, Athens and Mykonos.
Representing the UAE are five close friends – Sheikh Mohamed Al Thani, Mohammed Al Othman, Masoud Mohammed, Raed Zidan and Omar Zidan, who will be driving their slick cars under the team banner of ‘Habibeez’. Sheikh Mohamed, chairman and co-founder of Musafir.com, spoke to Sport360 on competing in Gumball 3000, the message he wants to send and the design of the team’s three cars.
The Gumball 3000 has become a global phenomenon since it was first launched in 1999. What made you enter?
I saw a film called The Cannonball Run, which was made in the 1980s and it was from then that I began to become familiar with the concept. I also love cars and have done so for many years. It wasn’t until I met the Gumball owner, Maximillion Cooper, in 2008 in Dubai, where he invited me to do the next rally. It was something I always wanted to do so I joined the following year.
This year will be the fourth time I’ll be competing. I competed in 2009, 2010 and 2012, but since then I haven’t been part of it since I was climbing mountains. I really enjoyed those three years, firstly, because it’s fun, plus this is the last time that I’ll be driving the cars (Rolls Royce Phantom, Mercedes SLR and Mercedes G63). The same cars have been driven in all the Gumballs and the reason we do this is to spread our culture We will be wearing traditional Emirati attire that will differentiate ourselves from the rest.
What are you looking forward to this year?
We are all very excited to be part of Gumball Rally 3000 again and we will be very loud and I think for sure we will be one of the largest teams in Gumball. I can’t wait to meet all my friends and people who I’ve shared the road before and making new friends. Although I haven’t done it for five years, I hope there isn’t too much changes from the other Gumballs. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is crossing the finish line because that will be when we finish 5,000km.
How did you enjoy the experience the first time?
Of course, it was something which I enjoyed. It was an amazing experience driving all around the world by doing cross countries in Gumball 3000. You get the opportunity to meet people from different places and everyone shares the same passion which is cars. It’s basically an environment where you would find people from all different backgrounds, driving from city to city.
What has been your favourite city in the Gumball Rally 3000?
I can’t really remember because there were so many different cities that I’ve visited during the Gumball Rally 3000. Some cities that stand out are Miami, London, New York, but it’s a difficult question to answer. The best thing is they close down some parts of the city where we park our cars in the centre of the road and then thousands of people see the cars lined up and enjoy the entertainment. It’s a huge event and we feel it’s a fantastic chance to spread our culture.
The cars have been designed by award winning Tunisian artist El-Seed with all having a unique design of calligraphy. Can you tell us more about this?
This year, we have an amazing design where there is a famous verse written on it: “He who does not like to climb mountains, lives his whole life between the cracks.” It’s something that me and my team-mates all believe in very highly. With the cars that we have and the strong and solid colours, we know they will stand out from the rest and it will be completely different from the other cars in the rally.
The name of the team is called ‘Habibeez’. What’s the reason behind the name?
Some of them are my close high school friends or people I’ve met along the way in my rallying. The name Habibeez is the most famous Arabic word and it can mean my friend or my love or many other things. It’s usually said to anyone who is a good friend and it’s the most common Arabic word. This is the reason why we are called the Habibeez because we are friends.
