The team, their car and the reason
Three Leamington Spa-based car enthusiasts have won the first Street Safari Calais2Casablanca rally in an old Mercedes.
Travelling 2000 miles through France, Andorra, Spain and Morocco, the trio consisting of Nathan Gore-Brown (29), Joe Williams (26) and Kim Palmer (26) contested the challenge in their 17 year old Mercedes 190E against 70 other teams - all travelling in cars worth less than £100. Notable entrants included an old Ambulance, a Ford Granada hearse and the ubiquitous Austin Allegro.
Old Merc needed a fettle beforehand
With ambient temperatures in the non-air-conditioned Mercedes reaching upwards of 35 degrees, Nathan commented: “As we crossed into Africa, the heat was intense, and we were watching the water temperature gauge with concern at times. Overall the car performed very well considering the condition of the Moroccan road surfaces.”
Team mate, Joe added: “There were some pretty hairy moments in the African inner cities, Tanger and Casablanca. Road regulations don't really carry any meaning there, and we found navigating through the traffic very intense and quite a drain.”
“Camaraderie between teams was excellent.” commented Kim, “On an occasion where we had to stop in the Spanish mountains outside Andorra to check a wheel bearing, no less than six teams pulled over to check that we were OK.”
The rally involved daily tasks, ranging from how many different items teams could purchase for 1euro to 'number-plate scrabble' where teams had to achieve as many points as possible on a scrabble board by using letters from 30 photographed number-plates. Team Rough Runnings achieved maximum points in two of the four tasks, and completing the rally in first position winning £1,000.
The RR Merc 'on the limit'...
Kim continued: “We have been raising money for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and we always said that if we won, we would donate the prize money to the cause. We have now raised over £2000 for a life-saving charity that solely operates on donations and serves a population of 1.1 million.”
Joe Payne from the Air Ambulance based at Coventry Airport, said: “We are all really pleased with the team's achievement, they have worked hard in preparing a wreck of a car for three months to embark on this unusual adventure and in doing so have given back to the community. We are very grateful.”
Cutting edge technology made all the difference
Congratulations lads on a superb result.
Donations to the Rough Runnings Air Ambulance fund can be made through the team’s website:
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