Team Ecario Interview

Today we had an interivew Jerome Fohet. His Team number is still to be disclosed but as Team Ecario he’s ready to hit the roads from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. Read the interview below:

Who’s you co-driver?

My co-driver is Anne Claire Bouzin (my fiance)

What car are you driving in this year Gumball? (Make, model, year, specs)

I will be driving a 2006 Ecario 350Z. An Ecario 350Z is Nissan 350Z that has been modified just for the Gumball rally. With modification I’m talking about the exhaust, the headers, the air filter, the ECU. I didn’t want to touch the stock engine. With those modification we will have a lot of fun.

Do you have any special gadgets in your car?

Coming from the Silicon Valley you will be able to find many cool gadgets in my car like: radar detector, laser jammer, GPS, SatNav, CB, Scanner, Radio amateur handheld, laptop with a 3G card to have a permanent link to the internet.

What preparations did you take for Gumball?

No special preparations. Just some fitness and some jogging. And of course many preparation runs against many exotics cars just to test Ecario 350Z performances.

Do you have any special outfits?

In terms of outfits one of our sponsor Ed Hardy (www.donedhardy.com) will take care of providing all the gears. I really love this brand !!!

Did you participate in Gumball before?

No first one

How did you find out about the Gumball?

After reading a newspaper in 1999 saying many cars were involved in an illegal rally . I have been a fan since then

Why did you decide to join the craziest rally on earth?

It was the first time I was really able to join. I think it is a very good opportunity to meet with some very interesting, crazy people. I just want to be part of the Gumball 3000 story.

What’s more important to you the driving or the partying and why?

Both are equal (for my point of view). The Gumball 3000 credo is not driving fast and party hard ?

Are you aiming for a special Gumball award?

We’ll see. But I know it will be very cool to get an award just after my first gumball

Are you competing for the win?

No I hear to finish the rally. But remember I didn’t spend many hours modifying the Ecario 350Z for nothing…

Who’s your favorite Gumballer and why?

My favorite Gumballer will be Alex and his M5. He is a very cool guy and I like what he did with his car. He has many great story about the Gumball 3000.

What’s your favorite Gumball car?

Good question, it’s my Ecario 350Z. After spending so much time preparing the car for the race (sorry the rally) I felt in love with it…

What was your first car?

My first car was a very old FIAT UNO I got the day after I received my driving license.

What car would you like to have next?

As of today I’m not thinking about an other car. The Ecario 350Z is a great car with a lot of potential. I’m very happy with the car I have today.

What’s the biggest fine you ever had?

The biggest fine I had to pay was in 1999 when I was studying in a University in California. I got caught one night driving at 60Mph on a 25Mph zone. I didn’t stop at 6 stop lines. The fine I had to pay was $1,640. For the little story I went to court to contest the ticket and the cop didn’t show up…

Do you have a drivers license?

Yes I have a drivers license (US, International, and French)

Do you think you still have one after the Gumball?

Yes I think I should still get one after the rally, well I hope…

Have you participated in any other rallies like Gumball? Which ones and which is best?

No I didn’t participate to any others Gumball like Rally. But I raced on tracks before many times.

What would you like to say to your fellow Gumballers?

I’m very happy to join the Gumball 3000 family.

Any other comments?

See you in Salt Lake City !!!

Copyright 2006 Gumball-3000.com