Lad and dad revved up for charity drive with a bang
AFATHER and son team with a combined age of more than 130 hope to drive a 22-year-old car from Macclesfield and over the Alps to Venice.
Mark and Michael Beresford, 53 and 79, will take part in the Motorscape Rally -a charity event where competitors race old banger cars.
They spent £1,000 on a 1997 Audi convertible, which they will drive down to Saint Omer, in North France, for the start of the rally on Saturday, September 7.
Covering between 300 to 350 miles a day they hope to reach the Italian city by the following Wednesday and raise £1,000 for charity Space4Autism in the process.
While they are away Michael, who will share the driving, celebrates his 80th birthday.
Mark, of Congleton Road, said: “It is a long
distance in a car that has done 145,000 miles, leaks oil - although less than it did - and is 22-years-old.
“We go over the Stelvio Pass, in Austria, which has 60 hairpin bends and is known as a car killer. But I’ll have a role of duct tape and some WD40.
“It will be a great experience and I’m looking forward to spending some time with my dad.
“It will be our first holiday together since I was 15.”
To get the duo - who will ride under the name the Beresford Boys and dress up like the Blues Brothers - to Venice and back the Audi will have to cover around 2,500 miles.
Rules state that cars taking part must be either 20 years old or cost less than £500.
Michael, of South West Avenue, Bollington, is retired but Mark has had to take time off from his job as a caretaker at Park Royal Community School.
A prize is given to the winning team although the event is more about the money raised for charity.
The Beresford Boys chose Space4Autism as Mark’s son Joel, 13, has received support from the Macclesfield-based organisation.
The dad-of-two said: “We have received a tremendous amount of support as a family, Space4Autism has been invaluable and this is a way of giving back.”
Mark and Michael aim to raise £1,000, anyone wishing to sponsor them can visit the JustGiving website and search Macclesfield-Venice Banger Rally 2019.