The Gumball 3000 costs £28,000 to enter and involves more than 100 cars driving 3,000 miles from London to Athens and back on public roads. The rally has been a draw for thrill-seekers for almost a decade, however, this year the rally was ending early in Bratislava as a mark of respect following the deaths.
A spokesman for Adidas released a statement outlining the reasons for the immediate withdrawl of support: "It is with great shock and regret that adidas learned about the tragic incident that occurred during a stage of this year's Gumball 3000 rally. Our thoughts at this moment are with the victim and with his family and friends to whom we extend our sincere condolences. As a result of this terrible occurrence, adidas has decided to completely withdraw its involvement and endorsement of the rally with immediate effect."
Maximillion Cooper, founder of Gumball rally, said: "Adidas were obviously aware of the potential risks of aligning themselves with the Gumball brand as there is always the chance that there could be an incident as in this year. This would be the same as any motor sponsorship undertaken by any brand worldwide."
We are working with Adidas to understand why they have had what we feel to be quite an extreme reaction, under the circumstances, in terms of halting their sponsorship and we will be requesting a debrief to investigate whether there may be a way to move forward together strategically in the future."
Gumball 3000's other sponsors such as Meguir's, Top Trumps and Co-Pilot, will be meeting and de-briefing on events in the upcoming future but have not taken the decision to terminate their sponsorship agreements and it would seem at this time that they are standing by the brand.
Celebrities such as actor Billy Zane, model Jodie Kidd and Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay have all taken part in the road race in previous years. This year rapper Xzibit and Jay Kay were driving Adidas sponsored cars, a Lamborghini Gallardo and Maserati Quattroporte respectively.