This afternoon will see two friends take part in one of their most ambitious challenges yet and boy is it ambitious.
The pair will be driving two thousand miles across Europe and Africa as they go from Dover to Morocco in just five days.
Michael Flue, 29, from Ashford, and Guy Pettit, 30, from Rochester, are taking on the Boom Banger Rally Marrakech Express in a bid to raise money for local charities.
The challenge, which the pair will be hoping to complete in a 1989 Ford Escort, will take teams from all over the UK through France and over the Pyrenees mountain ranges into Spain. From there, competitors will aim to make it down the East coast to Gibraltar and over the water into Africa.
Speaking about the challenge, Guy said: “The idea all came about one evening over dinner last year. It seemed like a fantastic alternative to a traditional holiday and an ideal opportunity to raise money for local charity Demelza Hospice Care for Children.”
Michael is an experienced mechanic, having worked for top car manufacturers in his career, and Guy runs Kent-based motor racing team XLR Motorsport.
He added: “I am hoping between us we can get the car all the way to Marrakech. Michael has been invaluable whilst preparing the car. We bought it from a garage in South London and it soon became apparent, as I was driving it home on the South Circular on a Friday evening rush hour, that it didn’t have a lot of clutch left. Thankfully, Michael was on the case immediately and got it fixed, along with the oil leak and a few other small issues.”
The duo has spent the last few weekends decorating the car, in keeping with the spirit of the rally. But it wasn’t easy coming up with a theme initially.
Flue said: “We hadn’t given the ‘theme’ a lot of thought, our partners had already come up with their own idea of dressing ourselves and the car up in Where’s Wally outfits. It seemed only right that we poke fun at ourselves and name our team There’s Wally if it was in aid of good causes.”
Although the rally organisers support many charities, which receive a large proportion of the £350 entry fee, Michael and Guy took the opportunity to raise funds for a more local charity. Demelza Hospice Care for Children will receive all the money raised by the pair.
“Demelza Hospice Care for Children does an awful lot for children and their families in Kent, South East London and East Sussex. We thought it would be even better if we could do this event to help raise awareness of the charity and all the hard work it does in the local area.”
Follow Michael and Guy’s adventure on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/TheresWallyBoomBanger between Saturday 28th March and Thursday 2nd April, when they will hopefully arrive in Marrakech.
You can donate online by visiting JustGiving.com/Michael-Flude.