World record attempt to benefit Farm Africa
27 November 2012
©endurorally.com Drivers Paul Brace (left) and Philip Young (middle) unveil the car with Farm Africa's Chief Executive, Nigel Harris.
Farm Africa is thrilled to have been chosen as the charity to benefit from an audacious attempt to break the world speed record for driving from Cape Town to London in a normal car not specially designed for rallying.
Philip Young and Paul Brace have got together to form a dare-devil British driving duo that next February will attempt to cover the 10,300 mile distance in the unbelievable time of just ten days! If they pull that off, they will break the record of 14 days for non-specialist cars, set 30 years ago by Brigadier John Hemsley in a Range Rover.
But if Philip and Paul complete the drive in under11 ½ days they will also have broken the overall record for any type of vehicle. That record was set two years ago by a three man crew driving a Land Rover Discovery.
The route
Car unveiled
©endurorally.com
Incredibly, the car chosen to take on the herculean challenge of powering its way from the bottom-most tip of Africa to London is the latest model of the Fiat Panda Twin-Air, ‘powered’ by little more than an 85 bhp turbocharged engine of less than one litre!
Farm Africa’s Chief Executive was at London’s Royal Geographical Society this morning to meet the drivers and for the unveiling of the car.
Non-stop across deserts and through jungle
The two man crew will constantly be on the move with one sleeping on a foam mattress while the other drives and navigates.
They will have to drive 1,000 miles a day on all kinds of roads and terrain, from desert trails and narrow tarmac roads to rough tracks through jungles – while respecting the speed limits of the countries they pass through. They will also have to cope with chronic traffic jams as they battle their way through the chaos and congestion of cities like Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Khartoum.
The route: Cape Town, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania (Arusha), Kenya (Nairobi), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Sudan (Khartoum), Egypt (Cairo), Libya, Tunisia, a ferry to Italy (Rome), France (Calais), London.
You can help motivate the drivers and push them on to the record by making a donation via their online fundraising page.
Find out more about the record attempt and how to follow Philip and Paul’s progress, as well as the history of Cape Town to London rallying.
Read The Sunday Telegraph's article on the world record attempt that will raise funds for Farm Africa.
Listen to Philip Young talking to BBC Radio 5 Live about the challenge, and why they chose Farm Africa to benefit from the money raised by the world record attempt.
Watch Philip and Paul talking about the record attempt to ITV's Meridian news.
