Article Printed in Times of Malta (Dodgeball Rally)

Dodgeball Rally

By Nikolai Attard

The Dodgeball rally is a new addition to the household names such as Gumball 3000 and Cannonball. For all of you who haven’t heard of any of these three rallies, (shame on you) the best way to describe them is a mix of billionaires, and eccentrics racing multi-million pound supercars across Europe.

Speaking to Jonny Dodge, the man behind the rally, he gave me a few reasons behind the name ‘Dodgeball Rally’. Originally the rally was unbranded and kept very low key, however one of the entrants to the rally came up with the name and it has stuck ever since. Taking the name from the iconic ‘CannonBall Run’ from die-hard adventurer Erwin G. “Cannonball” Baker who set 143 American distance records, including a 53½ hour coast to coast solo drive averaging over 50 mph in 1933. Then adding his name to it to form the Dodgeball Rally.

The rally takes place twice a year, a summer and winter rally, which starts on the 1st of March and takes drivers from Mayfair, London through to Paris for dinner and some fun on a closed runway, then onto Magny Cours racetrack for lunch with a world premiering exclusive unveiling of the Furtive eGT, one of the world’s most powerful electric cars. Ending the fun packed day with a night stop in a Chateaux in Burgundy. The following morning takes the drivers on a private tour around the very small workshops of Loiseau, the makers of the world’s most expensive watch being hand made by their team at a cost of 3.5 million Swiss francs. The final leg of the rally is a straight shot to an ice table in Verbier, the mountains of Switzerland.

This wonderful adventure is only available to 30 lucky and rich entrants limited to 15 cars. Why the limit you may ask? Apparently, it will allow all the participants to meet each other and also allowing everyone to be in the midst of the 7 star services they swear by. Not any old car can enter, as Jonny says, “ its all about the WOW factor.” A Maltese national has never entered the rally, but he assured me that he is always looking for new entrants from around the world to join in on the fun. When asking him about the most exotic cars on the rally, a Gold plated Bugatti Veyron driven by Sheiks and Chrome Mercedes McLaren SLRs all the way to a one off Lamborghini Performante driven by Spencer Matthews from hit British TV show ‘Made in Chelsea’.

Luckiest spectator ever

I have always wondered how many people get run over during rally stages…. The spectators are just crazy!! running with bulls is mad but standing in the path of a speeding rally car in treacherous conditions just to get a good shot in plain silly.

I found a perfect example on autoblog of what i am talking about.

This camera man stands right in the path of a 4×4 when it attempts to tackle a tricky incline followed by a sharp decline. One guy gets knocked over by the 4×4, then carries on to plough into a second camera man. Maybe the driver thought he can get his own back on all the camera man standing in the middle or maybe he just got confused.

Luckily this camera man just rolls out from underneath the vehicle and gets up and walks away still with video camera in hand. can you say determined?? From the commentary of the video, sounds like it is from Russia or somewhere in Eastern Europe.

take a look at the vid below.

Fight Night: Champion

I have finally got my hands on ‘Fight night: Champion’ on Xbox 360. Initial thoughts are good.

Just in case you don’t know, this edition of fight night is the 5th edition. As soon as you start the game you are thrown into a prison boxing ring where you have to knock out your opponent. It is a good way of getting the player hooked to the story mode straight away but the task is a little daunting till you get the hang of it, which you will.

A tip I learnt is don’t go in throwing punches like a mad man, because if you try this in real life you will get tired and your reactions will slow down. this game makes you think and you need to act as if it is you in the ring. Play it as if you are playing chess. Ok maybe not so much but think before you attack!

The graphics and physics engine work really wel with the gameplay allowing you to see every cut and bruise you inflict on your opponent.

for the trailer click below: