Essex (Earls Colne)-based marketing company, redPepper Marketing’s, Jo Gould, 23, is to raise funds for Cancer Research UK by driving 1450 miles from Essex to Valencia in a 20 year old £150 eBay-acquired Honda Prelude, as part of a charity drive called the Ramshackle Rally. She will be accompanied by friend, Ros Compton, 23, of Birch.
The pair will be rallying under the team name of ‘All The Gear, No Idea’ which they both agree is startlingly accurate! Neither of the girls have any mechanical knowledge and are hoping to rely on the goodwill of other competitors should they run into trouble!
Gould said ‘Neither of us know the first thing about cars, but it seemed like too much of an adventure opportunity to miss! We have painted the car with Hammerite in British Racing Green and added on racing stripes and white trim, to get into the rallying theme.
All the car needs is an oil change and a bit of patching up to the exhaust and she is ready to roll. I’m quite sure my Dad wouldn’t let us go if he wasn’t confident that we’d come back!!”
“There are 120 other teams taking part in Ramshackle Rally, in their £150 bangers, and it isn't about speed, it's about getting there! We leave from Calais early on 20th August and start the long slog down to Annecy, on the 21st we head over to Italy into San Remo for the night, before driving along the south coast of France to Perpignon.
It is then up and over the Pyrenees and down to Valencia for 24th August.”
Scrapped in Valencia
The car will then be salvaged and scrapped in Valencia - providing she manages the distance.
On choosing to rally for Cancer Research UK, Jo commented: “Everybody will know somebody who has been affected by cancer, and we feel that by donating to this cause, we can really make a difference for the future. If we were going to do something so utterly mad, we had to do it for a reason!
We are happy to take business sponsorship, and are being kindly sponsored by Fork Andles, a new DIY shop in Earls Colne. They are providing us with our boiler suits to finish off the 'All The Gear, No Idea' theme!”
Michelle Tennens, managing director of redPepper Marketing commented: “We’re proud of Jo and Ros for taking the initiative, setting a challenge and making it happen. I believe it’s important for business people to sometimes take a step back and do something outrageous, life changing and fun for the benefit of others and I applaud Jo and Ros for their efforts.”
Please sponsor team All The Gear, No Idea by going to www.justgiving.co.uk/Jo-Ros-do-Ramshackle
