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Text and Photos by Dubspeed Driven Contributor and Reader, J.F. Musial

In March of 2005, I attended the New York International Auto Show press days as a photographer representing DubSpeedRacing.com. While there, I not only got to feast my eyes on some of the most exotic and beautiful cars in the world, but I also met a lot of leaders in the automotive industry. I had a nice discussion about the upcoming Porsche Cayman with the VP of Porsche Cars North America, as well as shared my words of praise towards Carol Shelby after he had proudly unveiled the new Ford GT500. It was a blast to be at the show, to see the cars, and to meet the people. Though, as the last press day was coming to an end, I ran into a driver who I never expected to meet.

I was making my way over to check out the new Jaguars when I noticed a man who looked quite familiar. It wasn’t until I got close that I realized it was Alex Roy; one of the many Gumball Rally veteran drivers. I kindly introduced myself and had a simple chat with him before we parted ways. I’d chatted with Alex a few times prior to this occasion on such websites as the M5Boards, but I never thought I’d actually meet him. Mr. Roy, or should I call him Alex, is a New Yorker, born and raised. Being that I live right across the Hudson River in lovely Hoboken New Jersey, he invited me over to his place located in downtown Manhattan, blocks from the World Trade Center. Obviously, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass.

I left my perch atop Castle Point and made my way to the PATH. On the way I was somewhat confused as to what to exactly classify Alex Roy or any other Gumballer. Are they drivers? Show-offs? or just completely insane individuals who have no idea what to do with their spare time? Would he still have the gumball spirit in the off season? Will I allow him to take me for a ride? These are just some of the questions I hoped to answer in the afternoon to come.

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When I got to Alex’s apartment, he welcomed me as just another car enthusiast. I walked in and was blown away by the beautiful computer setup as well as his collection of Gumball memorabilia; don’t even let me get into the nice bar and home entertainment system. We chatted, but then we got down to business. Many professional road rally drivers have a full library of videos from their adventures; Alex Roy is no different. For a good 3 to 4 hours, Alex and I sat and watched some of the most amazing car videos I have ever seen. There was an assortment of videos from the Autobahn as well as from the newly constructed highways in Eastern Europe. One particular video truly shocked and amazed me: Traveling on an unrestricted road at speeds close to 140mph, Alex was passing a few cars in the passing lane in true German spirit, left blinker and all. Out of no where, a fully loaded Gasoline tanker swerved into the fast lane for an unknown reason and cut the famous Polizei M5 off with only a few hundred yards to spare. Traveling at a high rate of speed, Roy had no choice but to slam on the Brembos. It was absolutely amazing how fast the modified M5 stopped from 140 down to probably around 60mph. The most shocking part was the reaction of both Roy and his co-pilot: Silence. There was no shock and awe, just true professionalism; or maybe they just couldn’t get air into their lungs from the hard stop?

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If you have been lucky enough to see the Gumball Movies and Extreme Channel Episodes, your opinion may be different then what I’m about to say. I’ve seen all the videos, movies, and episodes, but NOTHING can compare to the raw unedited footage taken from inside the cars. Yes, Alex Roy and other drivers have their share of fun, but the true drivers of the rally are nothing like what you’d expect. Do you really think an hour long movie can truly capture six days of driving? All of the raw footage which I viewed showed dedicated individuals who love what they do. Yes they bend the rules, yes they break some laws, but its not true craziness and recklessness as one would expect. (The movies and TV Shows really give a biased opinion towards the events)

Throughout all the in-car footage, Alex Roy and his co-pilots were well aware of the road conditions ahead and behind them. There were several situations which reminded me much like how a flight crew would act. The co-driver evaluated road conditions while physically pointing out obstacles which may be out of sight for the driver. There was always constant communication between driver and co-driver related to the situation at hand. Much of this you probably have never seen or will ever see in any of the movies or TV specials. So back to some of my original questions: are these guys crazy? Absolutely not, well at least aside from behind the wheel.

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Finally, the time came when I got to see Car 144 in person. Alex and I walked to an undisclosed parking lot and there it was, in the flesh, still in Gumball attire: The beautiful sounding Polizei BMW M5. Alex told me that the parking attendants love the car and even mess with the police equipment themselves. I jumped in the co-driver position and we were off for a short two block drive. When we got to our destination to take some photos, one thing came apparent very fast. Here we are, lower Manhattan, and Alex Roy is completely aware of the entire situation around us. Somehow, someway, Alex spotted a police car in traffic two blocks behind us. Even though we were traveling a speed of 0mph, doing nothing illegal, I was shocked at how aware he was of his surroundings. So we got out, and I began taking some photos. Before long, there was a small crowd of people who were interested in the beast. I was shocked to find out that there were young students in the area who knew exactly what the Gumball was, little did they know that one of the true veterans lives a stone throw away.

After a few shots, Alex took me for a ride down a few blocks before we returned to the garage. Honestly, I don’t know what to say. Obviously we were in New York traffic and god knows no one can speed even if they wanted to (right?), but the sound of this M5 was unbelievable. I could tell that this beast of a sedan had plenty of go. (The modification list would probably be a good 5 pages long, and I’m sure I’d leave some stuff out) At each stop light, the car just gained the attention of everyone on the sidewalk… I guess the Spanish police don’t come to New York too often? The M5 was brought back to the garage and on the short walk back to Roy’s place, I began to ask some interesting questions.

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I learned that even though Alex drives in different countries each year, when he’s at home, he barely drives at all. The M5 itself only has 30,000 miles on it. Not only that, I learned that Alex is afraid to speed; I don’t blame him especially in the greater New York area. He has done track events, he’s done driving schools, but whenever he is forced to drive, he never speeds; other then the Gumball of course. Before the Gumball, he used to drive all the time, much like all of us. He told me stories about him just going for long drives for absolutely no reason. Times have changed for him though; I almost got the sense that he’s lost some of that thrill. Currently his car collection consists of an older Porsche 911, a WRX, and the not so daily driver M5. Though, this may come to a surprise to some of you, Alex used to be a huge Audi fan, in fact, an Audi owner. Prior to the M5, he owned both a B5 A4 and a B5 S4. Anyone want to guess what happened to the S4? That’s right, good ole’ jersey stole it.

If you are reading this and have gotten this far in this article, I suspect you are a true car enthusiast. Well, guess what, so is Alex. Alex was at once a member on AudiWorld, but now just lurks between boards. So what does the man do in his free time? Well, I guess the most proper question to ask is what does he NOT do? Alex is a part of many different organizations and enjoys many different hobbies, one of which is writing. That’s right, Alex Roy writes. Currently he is working on a book about all his rally/driving experiences in the past years. No idea when the book should be out, but it will definitely be worth the read. (We all wish to be able to sit down and listen to his stories, but I guess the book is the best we can do).

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The day finally came to a close and we parted ways. As I headed back to the PATH, I began to think about many things. Alex Roy is just like any other person in this world who is passionate about a hobby. He’s no playboy, he’s no show-off, he’s just a guy who loves to drive and loves to live life to its fullest. So what else is in the future for Roy? Well, where do I begin? The M5 is about to be completely revamped with roll cage and 5 point seatbelts: Does this mean that Alex will be in the 2006 Gumball? Guess we all will just have to wait and find out. I honestly don’t even think Alex knows. Until then, I’ll see you guys later. Oh, on a final note: Alex has not had a speeding ticket outside the rallies in years he claims. That basically means most of our records are worse then his.