David Hasselhoff revs up for Gumball 3000 Rally

Baywatch star David Hasselhoff jumped behind the wheel of a top sports car on Friday (25May12) and revved up his engine as the Gumball 3000 Rally kicked off in New York's Times Square.

The actor, rapper Eve and Welsh prankster Matthew Pritchard, star of British TV series Dirty Sanchez, are among a number of famous faces taking part in the 3,000-mile (4,828-kilometre) race from New York to Los Angeles, which will see 120 drivers speed across America by 31 May (12).

Hasselhoff posed with his black Maserati in the Big Apple tourist spot as competitors lined up for the flag drop and he showed off a photo of himself and his car to fans on his Twitter.com blog.

In the accompanying caption, he wrote, "Gumball is on! Look out for car number 2! Team hoffballer gumball300 (sic)".

Hasselhoff and Eve are no strangers to the big race - they both took part in the Gumball 3000 Rally in Europe last year (11).