Pair driving 700 miles in ‘Knight Rider’ banger
THEY ARE TAKING PART IN SCOTLAND RALLY FOR THE BRITISH LEGION
A PAIR of friends from Overseal are set to race across Scotland in a modified budget car to raise money for the Royal British Legion.
Harry Casswell, 29, and Jack Davies, 32, will drive around Scotland as part of the Two Ball Rally NC700, a 700-mile car rally across the Scottish Highlands.
The pair have done a similar event in 2017 when they raised more than £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Research by driving across the Lake District. However, this is a longer and more difficult challenge.
They will be joined by 46 other cars taking on the journey over four days, with daily tasks and challenges to complete along the way.
Harry said he is taking part in the rally to raise money for the Royal British Legion, which he was inspired to do after spending time in Iraq.
Harry, a maintenance electrician, said: “I’ve known Jack for many years. I was the best man at his wedding and he was the best man at mine.
“Jack had done a hike in the Lake District and fell in love with the place and we had heard about this challenge somewhere and we knew we had to give it a go. We did it and we raised around £1,000 for MacMillan.
“This time around we are raising money for the Royal British Legion, as they provide vital support to current and ex-service members. I served in Iraq as a contractor for three years so I know about the work our armed forces do from that personal perspective. It was a unanimous decision from both of us.
“This time around, we are doing the route around the north coast of Scotland as well as through the
Highlands. Someone was selling a 2002 Citroen Xsara, with two owners from new for well under the budget at £400.
“We have worked with Nik Hardy from Hardy’s Signs and we are very excited to get going.”
The pair, however, had originally decided to do up the car in the style of camouflage yet decided to change their mind and do it in the style of 80s TV series Knight Rider.
He added: “The car with the whackiest decoration gets an award so how you do up the car is quite important. We had initially planned to do it up as camo as we’re raising money for the Royal British Legion.
“However, this requires three different types of paint and the costs kept going up. So we decided to go for something similar and Knight Rider came to our mind.
“We’ve joked that because it’s the budget Knight Rider, it’s more like Sh**eRider. We’ll be doing around 1,500 miles from Burton to Perth where the rally starts, through Achmelvich and Durness before coming back round and finishing in Pitlochry.
Then we drive back to Burton. Hopefully.
“Jack and I are really excited, the whole thing is a good fun weekend away and it is a good last lease of life for this vehicle. And if we can raise a bit of money that would make it all the better. We really want to thank Nik Hardy at Hardy Signs and the team AB Vehicles who have really helped us out.”
To donate to their fund-raising appeal, go to www.justgiving.com and search for “Harry and Jack’s Two Ball Rally”.