CROYDON: Destination Mongolia for eBay banger

9:08am Friday 18th April 2008

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It may be an old banger but David Lewis is hoping the Fiat he picked up for £175 off eBay will survive a 10,000 drive to Mongolia.

David, 29, from Thornton Heath, is entering the Mongol Rally with colleague and team-mate Kieron Norris, 37.

The pair - who work at Dulwich College Prep School - will be among 300 teams attempting to complete the rally in their one-litre 1993 Fiat Uno.

The race starts in London's Hyde Park on July 19 and will take competitors on a 10,000-mile trip through 11 countries, across deserts, mountain ranges and rivers.

Mr Norris said: "Crossing a third of the planet in a car that is limited to an engine the size of your dad's lawnmower is no easy feat. But the premise behind the challenge is more than just escaping a mid-life crisis."

Last year the rally raised nearly £200,000 for different charities including Mercy Corps, an international development organisation that operates in more than 35 countries.

The money raised for Mercy Corps will help rural communities and herding families in Mongolia through a range of economic, educational and agricultural development programmes.

Alison Cameron, director of fundraising at Mercy Corps, said: "Mercy Corps is delighted to be the principle charity for the 2008 Mongol Rally.

"It is inspiring to see the entrepreneurial, can-do attitude of all the teams taking part," she added.

The idea of the rally was born in 2001 when two Englishmen set off with the goal of driving to Mongolia in a Fiat 126.

They were unsuccessful but had so much fun on their journey that they launched the official Mongol Rally in 2004.

Each team entering the rally is required to raise at least £1,000 for charity.