Friends to take part in Europe Bust Rally
A GROUP of friends are taking part in a 1,000 mile race across seven European countries - in a car worth less than £500.
Peter Corderoy and brothers Ashley and Mark Blackwell will take part in this year’s Top Gear-style Monte Carlo or Bust Rally.
The annual event will see around 75 old bangers travel from the UK to Monte Carlo, in Monaco, via Belgium, Luxemborg, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in just three days.
Competitors, who are usually dressed up in bizarre outfits, must make it to checkpoints and outwit their rival teams, not in speed but in daily challenges which are kept secret until the race starts. But previous tasks have included tracking down a flag of Luxembourg and convincing a stranger to pose in your rust bucket with a bunch of flowers.
Team captain Peter, 50, from Lutterworth, said he “cannot wait” to take part in the race with his former school friends.
He said: “Our partners think we’re a bunch of nutters going through some sort of mid-life we’re very excited.
“We haven’t started looking for a car yet, but we know a few salesmen who can hopefully find us the best deal.
“I’m sure we can find a banger for a few hundred quid which will last the journey.
“The organisers provide breakdown cover from stage to stage and I have no doubt that we’ll need a few repairs and a helping hand on the way.
“The pictures from the previous year look amazing and we cannot wait to get involved.”
At the end of the trip, competitors are given a list of scrapyards at which to deposit their car to save crisis, but them the trouble of driving it back.
Peter, Ashley, from Markfield, and Mark, from Broughton Astley, are hoping to raise more than £1,000 for LOROS Hospice through sponsorships in memory of their mums who died of cancer.
Previous participants have raised more than £300,000 for UK charities over the years.
Rally spokesman Cuthbert WareArmitage said: “I am delighted that a team from Lutterworth are joining us on Europe’s ultimate banger rally adventure. This is a brilliant opportunity to have an amazing driving experience in one of the worst cars from Lutterworth.”
For more information on the Bust Rally visit their website.