Alex Roy

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Alexander Roy (November 23, 1971) is an American rally race driver who has won the Spirit of Gumball trophy and in 2006 set a transcontinental driving record across the United States in 31 hours, 4 minutes.


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[edit] Driving career

Alex Roy at 4ngiefest 2008
Alex Roy at 4ngiefest 2008

Roy distinguished himself on the Gumball 3000 and Bullrun rallies with a modified BMW M5, and later a Bentley Continental GT comically decorated as a German, Spanish, Swedish, Italian and Bahamanian police cars (complete with lights, sirens, and an inflatable sex doll) for Team Polizei 144.[1] He won the Gumball's 2003 Spirit trophy for his car, eccentric costumes, and mock French or German interview replies.[1] In 2004, he and his co-driver wore costumes based on the Disney science-fiction film Tron, winning the Style trophy.[1]

Roy meticulously prepares for rallies with the goal of avoiding police stops[1], using maps, GPS navigation, and spreadsheets. During the 2004 rally, he would use the police-car disguise to startle other drivers into pulling over, where he would then videotape their reactions.[1]

[edit] Transcontinental record

A prior record for crossing the U.S. from New York City to Los Angeles of 32 hours, 7 minutes was set in 1983 by David Diem and Doug Turner during the US Express, an unofficial successor to the Cannonball Run. The record was unofficial and never documented or confirmed.[2] When documentary filmmaker Cory Welles called it to Roy's attention, he decided he should be the one to break it.[3]

Roy and co-driver Jonathan Goodrich completed a practice run in December of 2005, finishing with a time of 34 hours and 46 minutes. A subsequent attempt in April of 2006 added a spotter plane, but the failure of his M5's fuel pump ended the run in Oklahoma. On October 7th of 2006 Roy and replacement co-driver David Maher, a New York investment banker, embarked on another run. On this, the successful 31:04 run Roy claims 2,794 mapped miles and 2800 road miles - which he covered at an average speed of 90.1 mph.[3] The run took place over Columbus Day weekend so as to meet minimal traffic, in part for safety; they also avoided any type of reckless driving such as tailgating, although they reached top speeds of 160 mph.[4] Roy's route, which hit only four toll booths, three or four red lights, and only one close call with the highway patrol in Oklahoma, ended at the Santa Monica Pier.[4]

The record was witnessed in part by Davey Johnson and Mike Spinelli, contributor and managing editor of the automobile blog Jalopnik.[3][1] The time was recorded by a time clock which was punched as they left New York and flown to California before they arrived.[4]

Another rally driver team, Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins, claim they beat the record in May 2007 at 31:59 on a 2,811 mile route; they also claim that Roy did not "stick to the route" of the original Cannonball Run. Alex Roy, on the other hand, claims that almost every years route was different, and that the only rule was total time point-to-point.[5] The 31:04 record was set with sufficient margin to break the record even with the same route as the longest ever cross-country race.[5] The originator of the Cannonball Run, Brock Yates, does not acknowledge any records or sanction races due to his concern that "somebody was going to get killed".[3] Roy expresses similar concern with regard to anyone attempting to break his claimed record.[4]

In October 2007, Roy published a book on his racing career, The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World (Harper Collins, ISBN 9780061227936). Information on the record-setting run was withheld until publication.[3]

[edit] Business career

Roy is the president of Europe by Car[3], a rental agency based in New York City that his father Henry Roy started in the post-war era by negotiating deals with European rental and leasing car companies.

[edit] Personal life

Roy is a regular at youth charity balls, chairs the board of New York City's live storytelling series The Moth, and in 2004 won a British reality television series, The Ultimate Playboy.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f George Gurley. "Road Trip! Fueled by testosterone, alcohol, and God knows what else, the 200-odd drivers in the sixth annual Gumball 3000 raced their Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, and other assorted vehicles out of Paris on May 5, 2004, headed for Cannes via Madrid, Marbella, and Casablanca.", Vanity Fair, June 2005. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  2. ^ Charles Graeber. "The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory", Wired Magazine, October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f David Shaftel. "Tale of Outlaw Racing, With the U.S. as a Course", The New York Times, October 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  4. ^ a b c d Rick Leventhal. "Transcontinental Driving Record Claimed to be Broken", FOX News.com, October 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-21. 
  5. ^ a b "One on one with Alex Roy". Attack of the show. 2007-10-18.

[edit] External links

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