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2
`JUST A
VERY SIMPLE
IDEA’

It was 2004 and there was no YouTube. Facebook was only just beginning. It wasn’t until August 2004 that Google was launched publicly, turning into a US$23 billion internet giant.

Megaupload was the solution to a problem of the time.

The difficulty experienced by the masses when trying to transfer data was shared by a frustrated Dotcom, who was mentally entertaining the concept of an Ultimate Rally. At one stage, he called it “the Gumball on steroids” and envisioned a bootleg race hosted in North Korea or somewhere similar which would feature big names competing for big prize money. In his plans, Formula One champions would compete for big purses, with their endeavours broadcast to a worldwide audience of race fans.

The idea had a natural fit with the Gumball Rally experience. He intended to use footage of that event online to seed a buzz around the Ultimate Rally. “In the street racing community, I was someone. People knew who I was, they wanted to see my videos. There were a lot of legends, a lot of stories. After the Gumball, people who participated would go on forums and write about this ‘crazy German . . . You wouldn’t believe how he drove . . . This guy is unbelievable,’ and this created quite a hype.”

Dotcom put his exploits online and offered cash prizes for the best street-racing videos. Competitors uploaded files to be downloaded and

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