Gumball rally Britons released on bail

Property developer Nicholas Morley, 30, from Bowden, Cheshire and co-driver Matthew McConville, 36, from Prestwich, Greater Manchester, were released without charge, pending investigation, the spokesman said.

The Britons were taking part in the Gumball 3000 Rally in Macedonia when their Porsche Carrera hit another car on Thursday.

Vladimir Cepulyoski, 67, from Macedonia, died in hospital from a heart attack after the crash.

Ivo Kotevski, a Macedonian police spokesman, said on Thursday that the British pair left the scene after the accident and border guards found them shortly afterwards in another vehicle trying to cross the border into Albania.

It is believed the two men waited at the scene until ambulance crews arrived to help the driver of the second car, before rejoining the race towards the Albanian border.

Organisers scrapped this year's event as a mark of respect.

The Britons' release means that they will now be able to leave the country and return home.

The Gumball 3000 Rally was defended after the crash by a past winner. Entrepreneur Michael Ross, who won last year's rally and was leading this one before the abandonment, denied the race was a "posh boys' jolly" and said safety was a top priority.

London-based Mr Ross said, "It is not a 'put your foot to the floor, go as fast as you can' event.

"You are going through countries where roads and signage are unbelievably difficult to follow. It is challenging.

"Some people choose to drive fast, some choose to enjoy the scenery. Organisers of Gumball have tried to exclude people they feel are irresponsible which is the proper way of dealing with it. They have taken that seriously over the years.

"We are always very, very focused on safety. It is down to how the organisers select and control the participants, and the routes and what happens on a day to day basis."

Each competitor pays £28,000 each to enter their super-cars into the rally, which involves driving 3,000 miles from London to Athens and back, across Europe on roads used by the public.

The rally regularly attracts celebrities and playboy millionaires, who each day drive around 500 miles before throwing extravagant parties at night.

Stars including Jay Kay and Caprice were taking part this year, although they were not involved in the crash.

The rally began in London last Sunday and was cancelled on Thursday, a day after after the accident.

Maximillion Cooper, the founder of the rally, said in a statement: "As a sign of respect we have decided that this year's Gumball 3000 Rally will not travel any further and will end in Bratislava.

"As the organisers of the rally we feel that it should be stopped as a mark of respect to Vladimir Cepulyoski who died after an accident involving one of the participating drivers.

"This is the first time anything like this has happened in nine years of travelling through over 40 countries with thousands of drivers."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that two Britons have been involved in a road traffic accident. We have been in contact and are providing appropriate assistance."