Local group head to Spain for Ramshackle Rally...

Chris Denning and the team at Tyneside Autoparc were delighted to provide a ‘£200 banger' for a local group of lads taking part in the Ramshackle Rally in Valencia in August, to help raise money for Meningitis UK.

Alex Alderton, Marty O'Hanlon, Brian Sheekey and Simon Davies participated in the ‘absurd' rally, where willing participants must place their trust in a car that costs under £200, starting in Calais before heading south through Annecy, San Remo, Perpignan and finally ending up in Valencia - that's around 1450 miles through France, Italy, Monaco and Spain in a tiny Ford Fiesta! And if that wasn't absurd enough, the car was broken into in Calais before they even got on the road!

Tyneside Autoparc donated and taxed the car, wrapped it in branding stickers, and had plans to sell the car once it returned and give the profits back to charity; however it broke down 90 miles outside Lyon and was towed away with too much damage to repair! Chris was nevertheless over the moon with the Autoparc's contribution for such a good cause, and said: "It was a great feeling to help Simon, Alex, Marty and Brian get involved in the Ramshackle Rally and raise some money for such a good cause, it's just a shame we weren't able to get the car back and add a little bit more to their total. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity for us to help donate some money to Meningitis UK!"

Regardless of the drama and the unplanned end to the adventure, the lads had an excellent time and raised a lot of money for charity, and Simon had this to say about the experience: "We all had so much fun doing the rally, even if it didn't all go to plan! But we would like to extend our thanks to Tyneside Autoparc for their involvement, it feels great knowing we've raised a bit of money to go towards such a good cause and we greatly appreciated their help."