Team Touchy: Mongol Rally 2007

After 13500 kilometres, 39 days, 12 countries, seven snaps to our suspension, three flat tyres and one hell of an adventure, we finished the Mongol Rally on Tuesday 28th August. The last 600km was done with no suspension or rear drive shaft, averaging 20km/hour. The last 50km was done in the dark, no headlights, with the suspension literally dragging along the ground. Poor Stacy-Jane only just made it. We pulled into the official rally end point, Dave's Place in Ulaanbaatar, at 11:30pm local time - and the victory beers began flowing.

The (mostly complete) damage report is as follows:

CAR

• No indicators from London
• 3 flat tyres
• Front brake line snapped - drove on one brake for over a week
• Rear brake cylinder leaked - patched leak but brake unusable for more than two weeks
• Rear right leaf spring snapped 5 times, completely rebuilt then collapsed and eventually dragging along the ground
• Rear left leaf spring snapped 2 times, eventually dragging along the ground
• Petrol tank cracked after suspension snap
• Petrol filler hose worn through from rubbing on tyre after another suspension snap
• Petrol tank had sugar cubes in it??
• Petrol cap lost after being left on roof
• CD player clogged with dust
• Passenger window shaken out of bracket
• Passenger window handle snapped off
• Passenger window shattered after hitting a bump
• Rear windows shaken off brackets, luckily caught before falling off the car
• Windscreen chipped from rock kicked up by truck in Ukraine
• Windscreen shattered by rock thrown by another team (as a joke)
• Rear door handle broke off - eventually deteriorated and required us to cut a gaping big hole in the back and click the mechanism by hand. Once in UB the door would no longer close.
• Roof rack tray collapsed (screws shaken out)
• Roof lining melted off in the desert heat
• Front right headlight on low beam stopped working early on, by end high and low beam of both were not working
• Flood lights broke
• Fog light shaken to pieces
• Stereo stopped working on second to last day, then got stolen from Dave's Place in UB
• Passenger tray shaken loose several times
• Bull bar completely loose, section of it fell off
• Horn intermittently stopped working
• No windscreen wipers for second half
• Parts of drive shaft fell off - removed the rest and ran it in 4WD only getting front wheel drive from it
• Dozens of axe holes in bonnet (voluntary)
• Exhaust fell off

PERSONAL BELONGINGS

• Dan's stills camera - cracked screen
• Dan's video camera - cassette release broken, switches clogged with dust, wide angle lens scratched
• Steve's stills camera #1 - completely unusable
• Steve's stills camera #2 - stolen
• Steve's leatherman - stolen
• Dan's Swiss Army Knife - conviscated by Ulaanbaatar Airport security
• Dan's sunglasses - scratched beyond repair
• Steve's sunglasses - two pairs lost
• Steve's wallet - missing
• Dan's maglight - missing
• Dan's walkie talkies - two of four missing
• Steve's tooth - fell out at Hyde Park Corner
• Dan's inflatable mattress - punctured

Check the photos link for some of the amazing sites along the way, not to mention the press coverage.

To check the path we took click here.

We will also be posting updates to our blog as soon as we can

 

Thanks to your generous donations we have already raised our target for one of our charities, and are getting dangerously close on the other. Because of this, and the fact we still have several months to go, we have decided to support a third charity - also focused on underprivelidged children along the route of the rally - the Christina Noble Childrens Foundation. For more details on any of these charities, please click on the Charities link on the left.



By donating on the above links, your cash goes directly to the charity.

You can also donate cash directly to the boys, to help cover some of their costs, by clicking here.

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Please check the Charities, Sponsorhip and Wishlist pages on other ways you can help.

 

Welcome to our new website!

For those who have visited us before should notice a siginificant change to the layout of this website. All the entries from the previous site have been migrated over to the Blog link on this site. Check there for regular updates on our preparations, and while we are on the rally you will find all our updates there too. If you wish to keep updated on our progress, and any major updates to this web page, please join our mailing list.

What is Team Touchy?

Team Touchy is a team of two Australians based in London who are preparing to take part in a life changing experience of epic proportions. On July 21 we will embark from Hyde Park, London, on a road trip to Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia. As far as we know we're the only Aussie team in the event so, unable to source a kangaroo to take with us, we will have the next-most true blue mascot along for the journey, a standard issue Telstra Touchfone 400. Check the Team page on the left for more information on who we are.

What is the Mongol Rally?

The challenge: travel a third of the way around the earth, from London to Mongolia, a 10,000 mile journey that will take around four weeks, via a plethora of countries most people haven't heard of, over seven mountain ranges, two deserts and a continental crossing, in any crap car that has an engine with no more than 1 litre of power. The Mongol Rally isn't just about adventure, it's also about raising huge sacks of cash for some great charities. Last year they topped £200,000 and collectively we hope to smash that this year. Team Touchy is aiming to raise £2000 (AU$5000) for the Rally charities through donations and fundraising. Click on the Charities link to the side for more information on the charities we are supporting and how you can get involved.

When is it?

The starting line is in Hyde Park, London, around lunch time on July 21. If we're lucky enough to be one of the 130 teams expected to actually make the finish line, we hope to be there by August 19 (four weeks later) for the official end of rally party.

Got questions?

This website should hold all the information you need on the team, the rally, the preparations, the hurdles and the rewards. We will constantly be updating the site, so please keep checking back for updates as they happen. Feel free to email us from the Contact link if you have any comments or questions.

Show your support!

Obviously donating to our charities is a great way to show support, but don't forget to sign the Guest Book as well. Thanks!