The Paris - Dakar Rally; the most dangerous race in the world. If you don't like the odds, don't have the cash but don't want to miss out, why not try the Plymouth - Banjul Challenge?
That's what Claire and I asked when we decided to take up the challenge. Tony at Lust for Rust got him running, spent days welding and replaced the rusty wing. Then, he undid all his good work by handing the car over to two girls, with no mechanical skills whatsoever, to drive through mountains, deserts and the odd minefield!
Some people didn't think we'd make it; some people said we wouldn't make it out of the UK! They were referring to the brightly coloured recovery van following us. Embarrassingly we had to admit our first breakdown had been 20 minutes from home. The Beetle was escorted, coughing and spluttering, the rest of the way to Portsmouth unable to go over 60kph.
A fault eventually traced by French VW enthusiasts to rust inside the petrol tank blocking the fuel lines. They fed us, put us up for the night and by morning had replaced the tank.
A day behind schedule our sight-seeing list went out the window. We had some serious catching up to do! We drove for 18 hours straight through the night. Sunrise illuminated fields of Spanish oranges and an ominous knocking noise beneath our feet grew louder.
