THIS year’s Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge, which took ralliers on a week-long journey across Europe from Charlestown to Croatia, has raised over £55,500 for various charities.

Since the challenge’s formation in 2011, more than £1.2-million has collectively been raised for local and national charities. This year’s outing, Split or Bust, took participants on an exciting journey across seven European countries through some of the continent’s most scenic routes in cars which were over 15-years-old and costed less than £1,000.

Before the journey began, the runners and riders meet up in Charlestown, near St Austell, with their chosen chariots all lined-up ready to depart on the fundraising adventure. Former Truro mayor Steven Webb led the convoy out of the bustling harbour in front of a buoyant crowd as the ralliers started their journey to Croatia.

The eight organisers for this year’s event were Sarah Hart, Gareth Fitzpatrick, Melanie and Mark Lewis, Darren and Alice Milgate, Mike Stevens and Tom Marshall. Sarah, who is known to the Challenge community as ‘Officer Hooker’, spoke to us exclusively about how the trip unfolded.

She said: “After starting off at Charlestown, we headed to France. A few of us then inadvertently went to Germany, but we weren’t actually meant to, before arriving in Switzerland and then onto Italy. We did the lakes at Como, Garda and Maggiore which were fabulous as well as Venice. We went over to Slovenia which was beautiful and ended up in Split, Croatia. It was an absolutely phenomenal trip.

“The latest is that we’ve raised over £55,750. We’ve had people raising money for over 35 charities, including the Cornwall Air Ambulance, RNLI, Children's Hospice South West, Man Down and Little Princess Trust. Some people chose charities that were close to their hearts, me and Gareth, who is known to the Challenge community as ‘Sergeant Sausage’, raised money for the Merlin Centre, because I had breast cancer a couple of years ago.”

Sarah continued: “There was a lot of fun and laughter to go around. The challenges are always different and we can be quite spontaneous. Our job is to make sure our raillers have a fabulous time. We’re all volunteers so we all try and fit this around our day jobs and families. Sometimes while we are there you think, has then been done? did we do this? etc. But it really pulled together nicely in the end.”

With much fun had by all and games being contested along the way, the end of the trip saw the prize giving ceremony take place in Split. The overall rally winners were the ‘The Potters’, who were rewarded with £500 for their chosen charity.

Other awards that were handed out included for best-decorated car, best-fancy dress, the spirit of the rally, best driver, special recognition, best newcomer and rally runner-up. Victors also received the challenge’s coveted piston trophies, while awards were also given to each of the seven stage winners.

As well as the experience of travelling thousands of miles through Europe in a clapped out car for several days, Sarah explained how some ralliers have expressed to her how important the rally has been to them and how it has improved their mental health.

She explains: “What we didn’t really realise about these trips is that they are good for people’s mental health. I’ve had a few ralliers come up to me and express how the rally has really aided their mental health and helped them grow in confidence.

“People change from the first day they come. The first day at Charlestown is like a carnival, but then the realisation is that you’ve then got a really long day’s drive and you’ve got to do this for seven days on the bounce. It is a challenge, it’s hard work, sometimes the car breaks and there’s a lot going on.

“We see people that don’t want to contribute and don’t really want to do the challenges at the beginning, but by towards the end of the journey they are doing everything and embracing it, talking to everybody and coming out of their shells. It’s not just a holiday, it’s a sort of ‘find yourself’ trip for a lot of people.

“Ultimately we won’t stop doing this because of the money we raise for charity, but now we know how good we are for other people, we could never stop.”

The destination for next year’s Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge has already been announced and will see the 2025 cohort venture to Austria. Preparations are already underway for Vienna or Bust which will begin next September.

Without giving too much away straight off the bat, Sarah hinted: “We have had a few meetings so far and we are very excited about the route, it’s going to be a really fun one. We asked our ralliers for feedback after Split or Bust and all I can say is that we’ve listened to. Watch this space!”

For more information and to learn how you can take part in the Cornwall Banger Rally Challenge, visit: bangerrallychallenge.org