It’s a slightly eccentric way of spending a weekend, but the very British concept of banger rallying seems to have ignited the Czech imagination. A new banger rally, called Czech Wrecks (leaving Britain this September), has really taken off in the Czech Republic, much to the organisers’ surprise.
The organisers are Street Safari LLC., the company behind the infamous Staples2Naples banger rally, a challenging 4-day drive down to Italy in cars bought for less than £100. CzechWrecks is a brand new banger rallying event, ending in Prague and taking place for the first time later this year, and was born out of unprecedented demand for the Staples2Naples banger rally.
Justin Clements of StreetSafari explained, "Staples2Naples has been a huge success, and we have been completely inundated with enquiries for the past couple of years, with 100 team spaces selling out for the 2006 event in just 4 minutes 27 seconds. So we’ve added another 2 new banger rallies, called Home2Rome and CzechWrecks. What’s been really amazing is just how much excitement CzechWrecks has caused in the Czech Republic. We haven’t promoted the event at all, apart from it having its own website. But already we have a number of Czech teams signed up, and there has even been some coverage in the national press over there. Nothing like this has ever happened for any of the other StreetSafari rallies."
Just like Staples2Naples, CzechWrecks has to be completed in cars bought for less than £100 and takes a challenging 4 day route to Prague, via the high passes of the Alps. Over 100 teams are expected to take part this year, and some places are still available. Participants can sign up online (www.czechwrecks.com) and a team place costs about £150. The rally is not a race, but the teams have set fun and interesting challenges each day, with the team accruing the most points at the end being rewarded with £1,000 prize money.
Rob Bambridge, of Team Piston Broke who participated in Staples2Naples 2004 and 2005, commented, "Banger rallying is the best way that I can think of to spend a long weekend that I can think of. Last year many teams made an effort to paint their cars and the convoy of wacky old bangers arriving in European towns every night really was something to behold. In one Italian town, we even had the mayor turn up to welcome us, and kids were being brought out of their beds to see the spectacle. That was the day that we all had to dress as Clint Eastwood for the day’s challenge, and I don’t think the Italians had ever seen anything like it. I’m doing Staples2Naples again this year, but I have to admit that CzechWrecks looks like an enticing proposition. Prague will be a stunning setting to end a big event like this and it sounds like the locals will give the rally convoy one hell of a reception."
The CzechWrecks rally leaves Britain on Friday 1st September 2006, arriving in Prague on Monday September 4th. Over 100 teams will be taking part, in cars purchased for less than £100.
Street Safari LLC is the original European banger-rallying company. The original event, the infamous and highly successful Staples 2 Naples rally (which took contestants from Staples Corner in London to Naples in Italy) first took place in 2003 and has taken place every September since. Due to overwhelming demand, further rallies have been introduced over the years including Home2Rome, CzechWrecks and now American counterpart BABE, with even more adventurous rallies planned for next year.
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