Cima Racing is Rallying an old banger around Europe to raise money for BEN Donate Now!
We're going from Home to Rome in 2010
27 January 2010
Just two months after the end of the Bangers4BEN adventure, we've started preparations for the next rally event, and this time we're heading back in to Europe.
We're tackling Home2Rome in 2010, more than doubling the mileage of the last event, and swapping the dubious delights of Berwick-upon-Tweed in winter for the splendour of Monaco and Rome in summer.
We'll be facing 4,000 miles of road, a couple of rally stages around Monte-Carlo, a stay at the top of Stelvio, and the natural banger environment of Rome city centre amongst many other challenges, so we need something sturdy and reliable to tackle that, although staying within a strict £150 purchase price limit.
Something like a SAAB 900…
Taking the budget right to the limit, our ton and a half has bought us a reasonably sturdy model, with only some minor issues to resolve. A power steering failure is the number one priority to fix, as the co-driver apparently can't cope with roundabouts with the steering as it is now!
Aside from that, there's a 'sporty' exhaust note that probably won't pass an MOT, a useless mirror and some artistic remodelling of various body panels.
Just about right for Italy then!
Labels: Home2Rome 2010
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Bangers4BEN 2009: Game Over
04 January 2010
It's been a very long time coming, thank to some auction 'issues' (not with our car, I hasten to add!) and some tardy timekeeping (which is my fault), but the final scores on the Bangers4BEN rally have finally come out.
First of all, my huge thanks to each and every one of our partners for their support...
- Ben Collins
- Huntingdon Audi, part of the Vindis Group (www.huntingdon.audi.co.uk)
- Invent Partners (www.inventpartners.com)
- Millbrook Proving Ground (www.millbrook.co.uk)
- Mitchell Signs (www.mitchellsignsltd.co.uk)
- SportNetwork (www.sportnetwork.net)
This has been the first banger rally we've been involved in where everything, even the proceeds from the sale of the car, ends up in the hands of the charity we're raising money for, so the support in kind offered has been invaluable in keeping costs low and offering maximum exposure for the effort.
If you were following the rally on the website, you'll have seen that it was a pretty uneventful affair, with the Audi 90 running near faultlessly throughout the entire event, surviving with fewer issues than the Audi 100 entered by the Poole Audi dealership! However, the motorway sections meant I missed the cruise control, auto box and sofa-style seats that the legendary Renault Safrane from previous events had.
At the finish line at Mercedes-Benz World in historic Brooklands, a brief prize-giving ceremony took place, and we came away with a trophy for our efforts. We're happy with how we performed, especially when we were up against Honda's two cars, Toyota's entry and a great entry fom Hyundai, as well as a large number of dealer teams.
All told, the whole rally raised a stunning £15,268 for BEN, and only required around 70 people, 25 bangers, two support staff and one support vehicle to get there!
It may have been quicker and easier to dash a cheque off to BEN, but we wouldn't have had half as much fun doing that...
We'll be back on another rally in July, this time taking an ancient SAAB 900* to Rome and back via a very tortuous route (Stelvio, anyone?), and we'd love you to join us for that one.
Thanks once again for your support, and have a very happy and prosperous new year.
* Assuming the car works out ok. These things are never guaranteed...
Labels: Bangers4BEN 09, Home2Rome 2010
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