Charity pair are ready for take-off in a £200 banger (From Wharfedale Observer)
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Charity pair are ready for take-off in a £200 banger
9:20am Saturday 12th May 2012 in News By Annette McIntyre
The £200 banger that Graeme Mackenzie and Paul Blyth will be driving in the Crumball Rally across Europe, raising money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as they go
It may look like a plane – but underneath its shiny veneer this £200 car is really just an old banger.
And it could be a bumpy journey as pilot Paul Blyth, of Yeadon, and engineer Graeme Mackenzie take their creation on a fundraising 1,170-mile journey across Europe.
The two men, who both work for Jet2 at Leeds-Bradford International Airport, are setting off to Boulogne next week to take part in the “£200 Banger” category of the “Crumball Rally.”
And they are hoping their low-flying “plane” will help them raise funds for the MS Society and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Graeme said: “This Rally is a UK-based event which is very well known by most car enthusiasts. There are various rallies that take place each year and we have chosen to participate in the £200 banger category which means you have a car worth no more than £200, your tool kit, your wits and not much else to get you from A to B.
“From Boulogne we will travel through the European towns and countryside and 1,170 miles, and several challenges later, will end the Rally in Nice.”
Both men work in the aviation industry and have decided the Audi car’s theme will be a Jet2 plane.
Graeme said: “Paul is a pilot by trade and I am an engineer so we think that with his sense of direction and my ability to fix pretty much anything on wheels with a Swiss army knife and a couple of tie wraps, we should be able to make it.”
The two friends appealed for donations. “These two charities have supported many friends and local people and we feel that they deserve a little bit of local support to say thank you for all the hard work they do every day of every year for every person who needs them,” Graeme said.
To donate people can text the amount they want to give to 70070 and put either crum66 £... for MS Society or crum67 £... for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Online, donations and sponsorship can be given through website www.crumballflyers.com which will lead to the JustGiving pages.
