We talk to the pair about the recent overland escapade from Saigon to Singapore with the Gumball Rally 3000, in a hardcore McLaren 765LT Spider and 765LT Coupe no less.
Beyond the flashy aesthetics, fast facts and furious performance, there’s an elemental depth to sportscars that transcends the empirical. The camaraderie forged between the owners is an intangible aspect among those bound together in a common quest for speed and performance.
Like attracts like in the journey towards the superlative and this is a vibe that hits different. It certainly cuts across the petty inter-brand rivalries, not least because the players in this rarefied segment tend to own multiple sportscars from the most prominent manufacturers.
Due to their uncompromising nature, lightweight, hardcore sportscars like the McLaren 765LT (LT for Longtail) are more commonly associated with the race-track.
So, the fact that Amanda and Eu Gene took their Singapore-registered 765LTs on an epic, overland expedition from Saigon to Singapore during this year’s Gumball 3000 road-rally is a monumental feat.
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As the Gumball Rally celebrates its 25th-year anniversary in 2024, the one thing it has demonstrated is founder Maximillion Cooper’s supernatural ability to bring like-minded petrolheads together in a deliciously decadent road-rally that blazes a trail through borders, barriers and banality.
The mix of cars (and the celebrities, influencers and collector/owners) that participate in the Gumball Rally is eclectic, indubitably exotic and suitably boisterous, because this mega festival on wheels incorporates music, motorsports and modern pop culture.
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“I was invited by a fellow-(McLaren) Saber-owning friend from the USA,” said Amanda Toh-Steckler. “He told me that the Gumball 3000 would be heading to my hometown during the Singapore F1 weekend. I couldn’t say no to such a once-in-a-lifetime experience and then I thought Eu Gene would also be interested. We’d already done a few McLaren drives (both brand-led, as well as with the McLaren Owners Club of Singapore) together and we both love to drive.”
Both Amanda and Eu Gene are die-hard McLaren enthusiasts, with the latter a firm fan of the brand since the time of the 650S right up to his current 765LT Coupe.
“I'd already heard of the Gumball Rally and when Amanda asked me to participate in the rally for the Gumball 3000’s “Saigon to Singapore” campaign, I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed, especially since the route would take us through Vietnam and Cambodia, regions I’d never driven through,” Eu Gene, who signed up for the rally with his son, tells us.
As for Amanda (who is currently President of the McLaren Owners Club Singapore and founder of the Supercars Ladies Club), apart from the 765LT Spider she keeps in Singapore (and shipped to Saigon for Gumball 3000), she has an enviable garage overseas that includes an impressive collection of exotica.
Just talking about McLarens alone, she has the Saber, Senna, Elva, Speedtail and track-only Solus GT in her collection, with also a confirmed allocation for the recently announced W1 (the P1’s successor) when it starts production.
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In case you’re wondering, entry into the Gumball Rally is by-invitation-only, subject to an “interview” and this is all pre-supposing you’re prepared to stump-up the high-five-figure entrance-fee (in Euros) for what is arguably an experience of a lifetime.
The Gumball crew is legendary, as it plays hard, parties hard and drives hard, of course not all at the same time.
According to Amanda and Eu Gene, the pomp, pageantry and waiting hordes of petrolheads as the convoy reached each end point was nothing short of epic, with fans of the fast and exotic enthusiasts thronging the cars. “The reception is just crazy, with a sea of fans that practically blocks the passage of the cars!” Eu Gene enthused in fond memory.
Given a large part of the 3,000km route would see the pair of 765LTs traverse rural roads, we have to ask if there was any concern over the McLarens’ performance, especially since most people think such exotics are fragile and need to be babied.
“I really trusted the 765LT Spider, but I also sent it to McLaren Singapore for a pre-drive check to make sure the car was in tip-top condition,” said Amanda. However, it was a lot more than just praying the cars would stand-up to the rigours of the gruelling overland drive.
Eurokars Supersports, the Singapore distributor of McLaren and Pagani sportscars, provided invaluable support by constantly keeping tabs on them throughout the drive, as well as put the two participants in touch with the relevant McLaren contacts in each country they passed through. Thankfully, no assistance was needed because the pair of 765LTs acquitted themselves perfectly and delivered problem-free performance over the entire rally.
Eu Gene adds, “The Eurokars Supersports team connected us to the technical teams in the different countries, so they knew we were doing the drive and were on ‘standby’ in case something came up. This knowledge really gave us a boost in confidence to tackle the rally.”
Amanda nods in agreement, “I’m a big McLaren fan and collector and the after-sales support I’ve enjoyed from Eurokars Supersports is always good. They will never turn you down - once you have a problem, they see to it right away.”
Ms. Dawn Loo, General Manager of Eurokars Supersports continues, "We make it a point to support our McLaren owners on their drives and track-days, regardless of the group they are driving with. It could be a McLaren Owners Club Singapore or SFSG track-day at Sepang, or a weekend drive in Singapore, as long as there's a McLaren, we’re always there to support."
So, what did they learn about the Gumball Rally?
“Phew, it may seem like fun and games, but this is a real rally. We are more used to a leisurely pace with everything organised for you on our local drives, but this isn’t the case for the Gumball Rally, because you need to figure things out on your own. This first rally was a good opportunity to have a look at how things are run and to see if we clicked well with the other participants. Now that we’ve formed our own clique, we’re already looking forward to next year’s Gumball Rally!” says Eu Gene.
