Furious residents have described chaotic scenes at a supercar rally in London last night, with rowdy petrolheads doing doughnuts, pulling wheelies and breaking into building sites to get a better view.
Thousands of motorsport fans gathered near Battersea Power Station on Sunday to await the arrival of wealthy drivers taking part in Gumball 3000 – an annual 3,000-mile car rally across Europe.
But rather than waiting on the pavement, restless attendees jumped into their own vehicles and started doing high-speed circuits along the road, horrifying neighbours in flats that cost upwards of £1million.
Locals said they phoned the Metropolitan Police ‘many times’ but were told they ‘didn’t have the resources’ to attend. The event was meant to end at 9pm but neighbours said crowds were still on the road at 11pm.
Megan Thompson said people began to gather from 6pm along Nine Elms Lane – which leads to Battersea Power Station and is overlooked by her apartment. She told MailOnline: ‘There was constant revving and banging – it sounded like their engines were about to explode.
Locals in Battersea, south-west London, complained of chaotic scenes during the lead-up to supercar rally Gumball 3000
‘Some people started driving circuits which got a good reception from the crowd so more and more started doing it.
‘They were overtaking on a single lane while others jumped in front of cars pretending they were race marshals. I couldn’t believe no one got hurt.’
The 36-year-old, who works in marketing, said the situation began to worsen as the evening went on.
‘By 8pm there were cars illegally blocking the emergency access route so we told people to move but they were very rude and abusive,’ she said.
‘You could see people breaking into building sites and doing doughnuts, while others climbed on the scaffolding to get a better view.
‘They were just smashing stuff up, with broken glass everywhere and some people lighting fires.It was scary.
‘At 10.30pm I rang the police but they said they couldn’t send more officers down there.’
The organisers of Gumball 3000 published a post thanking attendees and apologising that some people were unable to see the supercars after the convoy arrived late.
‘They didn’t acknowledge any of the chaos they incited. It’s absolutely disgraceful,’ Ms Thompson added.
Nathan Mooney, 48 who lives in a block of flats adjoining Battersea Power Station: ‘It was total chaos and a complete shambles. The crowd was completely out of control and at times, it felt as if their cars were too.
Rather than waiting on the pavement, restless attendees jumped into their own vehicles and started doing circuits along the road, horrifying neighbours in nearby flats
A man climbed the scaffolding on a building site so he could get a better look at the cars
A map showing the route of the Gumball 3000 convoy yesterday
‘We could see what was going on from our flats and were too scared to go out.
‘The cars were causing such a noise that you could barely think, and we couldn’t even hear each other speak. It was like having a Formula 1 grid in the middle of your home.’
Mr Mooney, who works in the technology sector and has twin girls aged six, added: ‘We couldn’t get the kids to sleep because the noise went on until midnight, even though the event was supposed to finish at 9pm.
‘There were thousands of people everywhere and a lot of them were behaving appallingly.’ Another local, Liz, slammed the event organisers for allowing ‘absolute carnage’ to unfold.
‘I saw one person stealing a window from a building site, while others were trying to get into our apartment block to use the toilets, as if it was a hotel,’ she said.
‘Some of us phoned the council and they said they couldn’t do anything about it.
‘Others phoned the police multiple times and first said it was a job for a council then said they didn’t have the resources.
‘You couldn’t see any marshals or security guards on the main road.’
Gumball Rally 3000 has become one of the world’s premier gathering of supercars. On Sunday, 120 took part, starting in Edinburgh with the first leg of the rally culminating on Sunday evening at Battersea Power Station.
An announcement by organisers when the cars arrived claimed that 35,000 people had gathered to watch the supercars descend on the iconic London landmark.
Among the supercars that took part was a Ferrari 812 GTS, which costs close to £300,000; a Rolls Royce Wraith, with a price of around £350,000 and a £200,000 Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
The rally is aimed at wealthy individuals and costs around £50,000 to enter.
Resident Megan Thompson said: ‘There was constant revving and banging – it sounded like their engines were about to explode’
The organisers of Gumball 3000 published a post thanking attendees and apologising that some people were unable to see the cars after the convoy arrived late
It is set to continue over the coming week and head across Europe, culminating in Montenegro.
The event was founded in 1999 by British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper, who took his inspiration from the 1976 movie The Gumball Rally.
Among those reported to be taking part in this year’s event is Mr Maximillion and his Grammy-winning wife, US rapper Eve; US rap legend Bun B and UK grime artist Dizzee Rascal.
MailOnline has contacted the organisers of Gumball 3000 for comment.
A Met spokesman said: ‘We were called to reports of cars racing up and down the road and associated crowds and noise. Officers attended.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12184883/Carnage-Gumball-3-000-arrives-Battersea-Power-Station-London.html
