Also in my mailbox last week was a note from Ed Thompson. Ed and a couple of friends have entered this summer's Mongol Rally under the team name
Don't Panic; I sense from their team name that the enormity of the adventure is beginning to dawn on them. Imagine driving (perhaps pushing) an old (1 litre) Fiat from London to Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. They are desperately looking for sponsors of any type - equipment, car parts, finance or even good advice, so if you can offer any of the above, helping them to raise shed loads of money for charity, contact them through the link above.
The organizers don't believe in telling teams what to do or where to go, figuring that this is supposed to be an adventure not a cosy guided driving tour. However, last year the rally attracted 251 entrants, of which an incredible 198 made it to the finish line. Some teams starting from Madrid and Milan. This year's London start is from Hyde Park on 18th July 2009.
Labels: 2009, car, Dont Panic, Mongol Rally, rally
The
Mongol Rally 2008 embarks again on July 19th 2008 . Now in its fifth year, there are starting points at London in the UK, Spain and Italy.
So what is the Mongol Rally? It seems to be a grand adventure, whereby the organisers have persuaded a bunch of self-certified muppits to travel a third of the way around the world to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar via routes of their own choosing, through a host of countries that most people will not have heard of, in any performance-challanged car that has an engine size less than 1000 cc. Rumours abound that some entrants in the first Mongol Rally are still on route to the finish line.
But the Mongol Rally isn't only about adventure and mayhem, competitors do raise huge sacks of cash for some great charities. So if you should see a beat up old car heading for Mongolia, stop and give them a push, and perhaps a little cash for their chosen charity.
Labels: 2008, Mongol Rally, Mongolia
