The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Team will be livin’ on a spare on massive rally
Teenagers will drive 10,000 miles across mountain trails and deserts in a banger
A trio of teenagers will be living on a prayer - and on spares - as they take on the adventure of a lifetime travelling thousands of miles in an old banger.
Oliver Frisby from Oundle, James Keane, from Werrington and Josh Allen from Warwickshire will all be taking on the Mongol Rally this summer, just a year after leaving school.
The rally - for teams in old 1-litre bangers with no technical back-up - will see the lads travel 10,000 miles from Prague in the Czech Republic to Ulan Ude in Siberia, Russia, and the route will take the team across deserts, over mountains and other rough terrain - all in an ancient Renault Clio.
The team - called ‘Livin’ on a Spare’ - will be raising money for Sue Ryder’s Thorpe Hall Hospice after Oliver’s grandfather was cared for by staff. He said: “My grandfather, David Browning, developed bladder cancer and went into Thorpe Hall in March 2017 - he died there on 13 April 2017 after spending three weeks with them.
“They were amazing and enabled us to say our goodbyes properly.”
All three team members finished their A-Levels at Oundle School last year, and they bought a 17-year-old Clio with 125,000 miles on the clock to compete.
Oliver said: “We have no experience of doing anything like this before and have no mechanical knowledge really at all.
“We will hopefully spend some time with a mechanic before we go to show us the basics and make sure we have some knowledge.
“We think the biggest challenges will be whether the car can keep up with the change in terrain as we will be driving over every type of landscape apart from snow. The roads in Mongolia are apparently nonexistent.
“Another big question we have to ask ourselves is whether we will break first, or the car will, as it will be quite challenging on our friendships.”
However, despite the challenges they are likely to face, there is still plenty to look forward to. Oliver said: “We are really looking forward to seeing a variety of different cultures, and specifically I can’t wait to see Mongolia as apparently it has a rich culture and amazing sights.
“We are also spending a week going through Iran with a guide as we are not allowed to drive through on our own.”
Half of the money raised by the team will go to Sue Ryder, while the other half will be going to Cool Earth, which is working against the destruction of the rainforest.
The team are looking for as much support as possible to help them get across the finish line, either through sponsorship of the vehicle, or through donations of equipment they will need such as jerry cans, a tool kit, medical supplies.
Anyone who can help is asked to visit www.facebook. com/LivinOnASpare/
‘We have no mechanical knowledge at all’ Oliver Frisby