Plymouth-Banjul Challenge

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The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge or unofficial Ultimate Banger Challenge and formerly known as Plymouth-Dakar Challenge , is an annual charity car event. This is not a race or competition as stated by its website. It was first run in 2003 to Dakar and from 2005 to Banjul. It's very rough following the more famous Dakar Rally route, visiting many of the same countries.

Participants who start in Europe usually have to go to Tarifa in Southern Spain. Then this course runs through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and eventually to the Gambia. The newcomers should drive a car worth around Ãƒ, Ã‚ Â£ 100.

Participants in the challenge are themselves, which means that no assistance is given to the rider in case of damage to the car or even if they are stranded.

Mechanical reliability is a major obstacle to completing the course because the vehicle is a regular road car and mostly at the end of its useful life. Many cars survive so well that they have to go through the desert and then almost all suffer greatly from the high temperature and dust. Once the cars get to Banjul in the Gambia, they are auctioned, or donated to, charity.

Video Plymouth-Banjul Challenge

Historical and prominent visitors

The 2006 rally included the 1983 BMW 732i who seemed unable to get out of England but in fact completed the course; Fiat Uno that look amazing and even push the previously mentioned BMW to the top of the mountain; some Renault 19s and VW Beetle. In addition, a number of 4x4 vehicles regularly enter from fairly reasonable vehicles that 'bend' the rules of entry into vehicles over the age of 40 that are rebuilt from accidents only for challenges.

The 2004 event has one team, The Idiots Abroad, pulling trailers with two motorbikes over it through the desert - a challenge has now been set for another team to get the trailer through the desert and in 2006 two ambulances managed to cross.

In the 2004/2005 event, the Swiss Team (Tim Pintpullers) drove a Mercedes Van and a 125cc motorcycle from Switzerland to Bangul. The bike was ridden all the time and reached Banjul where he was donated to the local police.

There are even people who can not drive part with half of Fiat Uno's team learning to drive in the desert where he managed to crash into the Welsh Ambulance and two Canadians who bought a manual car in France and spent the next few weeks studying to ride it.

Since 2007, the rally also has a group of cars that continue into Bamako, Mali. The 2009/2010 Banjul challenge was canceled by its organizers, Julian Nowill, due to security concerns of Mauritania (the murder of French tourists and the kidnapping of Spanish aid workers), but two teams from group 1 and 3 teams from group 3 continued to attack.

The midlifecrises team (Paul James Gadsdon and Steph Copson) and miss team (Chris Freestone) from group 1 made it to Banjul in the Gambia. Only 5 teams from three groups (39 teams), who made it that year.

Many teams have completed challenges more than once, including "Artful Sinners", Roger Bruton and Richard Freeman, who entered in January 2006 as official participants in the "Plymouth-Banjul Challenge" and again in January 2007 as independent, the official team. Manage vehicle sources well for less than Ãƒ, Ã‚ Â£ 100 and convert by team from RHD to LHD. No vehicles broke down at all and both donated to charity in the Gambia.