* Four passenger rides with Ben Collins at Rallyday * Rides with other Race2Recovery team members * eBay auction for ride in works Ford Fiesta WRC * eBay auction for ride in MML Sports Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX R4 * All proceeds to Race2Recovery goals
Visitors at this year's Rallyday, at Castle Combe in Wiltshire on Saturday 17 September, can enjoy the ride of their life, as passenger in a Qt Services Wildcat 500 driven by Top Gear's former 'Stig', Ben Collins. However, not only will they experience a once-in-a-lifetime thrill, they will also support the Race2Recovery campaign, as it raises money for wounded and disabled British servicemen.
The Race2Recovery campaign is supporting three charities - Help for Heroes, the Royal British Legion and Combat Stress - and has set itself a challenging goal: to compete in, and finish, the 2013 Dakar Rally and in the process, raise £2m for wounded British servicemen and their families. The team will run a pair of Qt Wildcats on the event, one driven by amputee Captain Tony Harris and co-driven by Captain Matt O'Hare, while the second will be driven by Qt's Dave Marsh and co-driven by triple amputee Corporal Tom Neathway.
The team will be familiar to fans of BBC's Top Gear, as they featured in the last episode of the latest series, preparing to begin competition in the Britpart British Cross Country Championship and gain their necessary license to compete on the Dakar.
Their cause has also attracted the attention of several celebrities, notably TG's former 'Stig' and experienced racer, Ben Collins, who became the campaign's Patron.
Collins will be one of the drivers giving passenger rides at RallyDay, rallying's premier fan event. Other drivers will also be giving passenger rides, including Harris, who recently claimed Race2Recovery's first class win in the BCCC, partnered by O'Hare.
Over the last few years, the organisers of the event, which draws huge crowds every year, have been developing the off-road, rally-raid presence at the show and this year, the Race2Recovery team will feature in this.
Passenger rides with Collins are priced at £250 while rides in one of the other Wildcats are priced at £20, with all proceeds going directly to Race2Recovery's goals.
However, it's not only rides in off-roaders that are available to supporters of Race2Recovery. Through the organisers, the team has secured two passenger rides in state-of-the-art stage rally cars: one in the works Ford Fiesta WRC, built in the UK by M-Sport and one in the Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX R4, also developed in the UK by the company formed from the ex-works Mitsubishi World Rally Team, MML Sports.
The driver of the Fiesta is yet to be confirmed but at the wheel of the Lancer will be former works Mitsubishi driver, Harri Rovanpera, who claimed second overall in Mitsubishi's last official event in the WRC.
Both the rides in the Fiesta and the Lancer will be auctioned by Race2Recovery online, with the proceeds again contributing to the campaign's goals.
Commenting, Harris said: "Rallyday is, without doubt, the biggest rally show in the UK and it was a bit of a no-brainer that we had to attend. Ben came up with the idea of 'selling' passenger rides in the Qt Wildcats to raise money towards our goals.
"The Rallyday organisers were incredibly supportive of the idea and we are all delighted to be at the event. Personally, I think £250 for a ride with Ben in one of the Wildcats is great value and will help our cause enormously. But of course, we will be just as grateful to anyone who goes for a £20 ride with one of the other drivers or simply makes a donation on the day."
Collins is also excited by the prospect of the event: "I'm looking forward to seeing the R2R Team in action again at Rallyday at Castle Combe - the last time I saw them was on BBC's Top Gear program and we were driving down a cliff face, so it should be exciting to see what the Team come up with this time out. Supporting this remarkable charity is a huge amount of fun and I would invite as many people as possible to come and meet the Team and to feel as inspired by their adventures as I do."
Wildcat rides with Collins are limited and must be pre-booked, by emailing Race2Recovery Team Manager Andrew Taylor at Andrew@race2recovery.co.uk. Rides in the other four Wildcats can be booked on the day, though.
For more information on the Race2Recovery campaign and how to support the cause, go to www.race2recovery.co.uk. The website will also feature links to the auctions for the passenger rides in the Fiesta and Lancer, each of which also come with a pair of ticket for entry on the day.
