Shaftec raises over £10,000 for charity following Skinflint Rally
Shaftec Automotive has recently taken part in the Skinflint Rally, which saw it surpass its fundraising goal for the occasion.
This event saw 28 colourfully adorned cars of all makes travel well over 1,000 miles through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria and Italy en route to the stunning Slovenian town of Bovec!
Shaftec entered two teams and set a target to raise £10,000 for Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Coventry as part of the company’s “30 for 30” campaign, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Shaftec brand.
Team 1 – made up of Marc Wise, Chris White and Callum Dunbar – travelled in a Ford Focus, while Team 2 featured Mitesh Thanki, Aidan Vellender and Jim Harvey in a Volkswagen Golf.
What the challenge entailed
Throughout the event, each team was set a range of challenges, with points awarded for photos of the following:
· Car decoration/design – maximum of 20 points available (awarded at the judges’ discretion)
· Team photo with a Belgian, Czech, Austrian, Italian and Slovenian policeman – 10 points for each nationality
· Photo of an unusual car (not on the Skinflint Rally) – 5 points (additional 5 points for the best one chosen by a judge)
· Photo of your car/team at a disused airfield – 25 points
· Photo of your car/team at an abandoned military building – 35 points
· Photo of your car at the dealership of that brand – 10 points (5 bonus points per country for multiple countries)
· Photo of your car on a boat (excluding the channel ferry) – 50 points
The teams left Birmingham on Wednesday 17th September for the drive to Folkestone in preparation for the rendezvous with all the teams in Calais, France.
Day 1 – Calais to Cologne
On the first day, the teams took on the journey to Cologne via Spa, home of the Belgium Grand Prix.
Day 2 - Cologne to Prague
The second day started off a bit rocky with Shaftec’s good friend Yalcin having to say goodnight to his Citroën, where the crankshaft pulley snapped, ending his rally early.
Thankfully, Team Shaftec came to their rescue and, as a result, added two new members to their rally team.
Day 3 - Prague to Bovec
With their two new team members, the third day made for an epic last adventure! There were plenty of ups and downs and to top it off, Shaftec won the award for the highest amount raised for Zoe's Place Baby Hospice. Together with their sponsors, friends and family, Shaftec raised a whopping £11,141.25!
Marc shared some key points from the third and final day: “On the last leg of our journey from Prague to Bovec, we had an inflatable policeman make a surprise appearance! We were spotted and stopped by the Austrian police! We think they appreciated the look of the cars. We also visited one of the most stunning lakes we have ever seen, we met some Austrian locals that like to climb on top of cars, and we lost our car key!
“And if 10 hours of driving wasn't enough, our Ford Focus ended up on the wrong side of Slovenia, adding another three and a half hours to their journey! Somebody set the wrong address into the satnav… After all of that, we finally arrived at Bovec in the pitch black, three hours late to the awards ceremony.
So, it turns out that cars with a value less than £500 showered in aftermarket parts can indeed comfortably make a 1,300-mile journey across Europe through some of the toughest terrain!”
And just for good measure, both teams also drove onto Croatia, adding an extra 168 miles (270km) to the journey.
Regarding the challenges, Team 2 finished on the leaderboard in a creditable 8th position, with Team 1 just three places behind.
If you wish to make a donation to the “30 for 30” campaign, you can visit Shaftec’s JustGiving page. They are getting closer to their £30,000 target and would appreciate any donation you can make!