Now that the soccer world cup has finally been put to rest, hopefully, and the ear shattering noise of the Vuvuzelas have finally died down, hopefully, we can focus our full attention on the race of the year, the event that really matters. I am of course referring to ‘The Mongol Rally 2010’!
My best friend in the whole wide world is heading out for the adventure of a lifetime with two of his buddies. They are partaking in an annual charity race called ‘The Mongol Rally’ where they will be driving a tiny car (a 1.2 litre Fiat Punto) from Gothenburg in Sweden down London where the race officially starts and then from London and all the way to Mongolia only to give the car and all their money away! Sound crazy? It is.
The rules are simple:
- The vehicle must be a car with a maximum of a 2.1 litre engine with exception for emergency vehicles (police car or ambulance)
- Each team must donate at least £1000 to a charity in Mongolia and the car must be donated on arrival in Mongolia
- Since the primary goal is not to arrive first in Mongolia, each team can choose their own route.
- GPS is (obviously) not allowed.
The guys have named their team ‘He-Man Hunters’ and hence named their car ‘Battle cat’ (you know, He-Man’s cat?). Battle cat has been prepared and kitted out for the past few months and they are just about to embark from Gothenburg in the next few days and the official start from Goodwood Circuit outside London is on Saturday. There will be a few checkpoints along the way; the first one is in Prague on Monday where a huge ‘Jules Verne’ themed party is organized in a castle. From what I have heard, the team has decided not to shave for the duration of the adventure and how to have nice thick beards, maybe not for the first checkpoint, but at least upon arrival in Mongolia.
I will definitely follow their adventures through Europe and Asia on the road, off the road and searching for the road and of course keep my all fingers crossed for the next few weeks as they are heading off to somewhat unknown territory.
After watching ‘The Long Way Round’ DVD with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman where they drive from London to Mongolia and then around the rest of the globe on motorcycles, there is definitely cause for concern as some of the countries they drove through, and the team will drive through, are very rural to say the least. We are talking no roads, live off the earth, sharing a shed with a donkey and a cow, no amenities or public services…and then there is the mud. Lots of mud!
On their website, the team will be blogging whenever they can find access to the internet and it will also be possible to follow their progress through Google Maps under ‘Route’ on the site.
Check out He-Man Hunters’ website:
http://www.hemanhunters.com/
Check out the Mongol Rally website:
http://mongolrally.theadventurists.com/
Good luck guys, I am sure you will have an absolute blast!
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