Alex Roy
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Alexander Roy is an American rally race driver who has won the Gumball 3000 and in 2006 set a transcontinental driving record across the United States of 31 hours, 4 minutes.
Driving career
Roy distinguished himself on the Gumball and rally circuit with a modified BMW M5 comically decorated as an East German police car (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 backup driver wore costumes based on the Disney science-fiction film Tron, winning the Style trophy.[1]
Unlike other drivers, Roy meticulously prepares for races 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]
In October 2006 [1] he set a new transcontinental racing record by driving from New York City to Los Angeles in 31 hours, 4 minutes, breaking the previous record of 32 hours, 7 minutes set in 1983 in the US Express, the unofficial successor to the Cannonball Run. [2]
Business career
Roy is the president of Europe by Car, 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.
Personal life
Roy is a regular at youth charity balls, chairs a Manhattan book club called "the Moth", and in 2004 won a British reality television series, The Ultimate Playboy.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f George Gurley (June 2005). "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. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ^ Charles Graeber (October 2007). "The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
External links
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