Ben Crowther and Ed Cooper, both aged 21 and third-year students of Engineering Design at the University of Bristol, have each just completed their year in industry. Ben has been working at Babcock International and Ed’s placement was with GE Dowty.
The two friends – team name ‘Baatarsky & Hutch’ – are taking part in the rally in memory of a close friend and raising money for PAPYRUS UK, a charity for the prevention of suicide in young people. They were interviewed by regional paper, The Bristol Post, before setting off.
Ben says: “We both love cars and the challenge of trying to take a tiny 1.0L car all that way, on questionable terrain, will be a huge test. As well as that, we will be passing some incredible sights. It’s a great opportunity to raise awareness for PAPYRUS and we can enjoy an adventure in the meantime.”
Now in its tenth year, the endeavour is to drive a vehicle with an engine of 1.0L or under from the UK to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. That’s a journey across 10,000 miles of often very rough road, with nothing but a co-pilot, and whatever tools will fit in the boot, for support. Cars must not be left in Mongolia, so shipping, or a return drive, must be factored in. The organisers ask participants to raise a minimum of £1000 for charity, of which £500 is given to the rally’s chosen charity, Cool Earth.
Ben and Ed’s Facebook and online donation pages provide further information, and an opportunity to stay up to date and help the team increase their contribution to PAPYRUS. The start date is 20th July; with a predicted journey time of four to six weeks: the finish line officially closes on 30th August.
Ben and Ed chose to drive a 998cc 1998 Nissan Micra, which they wrapped in red foil – not a simple task – in material kindly donated by Bristol Blue Customs, with white stripes from Zest Graphics. A free general service and MOT was carried out by local mechanics at Bristol’s Arley Garage. Once they are on the trip, however, most mechanical repairs will have to be carried out by them alone, an opportunity to put their mechanical engineering knowledge to the test.
Ben explains why the Micra was the car for Baatasky & Hutch: “They are absolute tanks. They have a brilliant reliability record on the rally and were sold so widely that spare parts, which we hopefully won’t need, should be easy enough to come by.”
Ed Cooper wrote a blog about the mechanical adaptations that will help protect the underside from debris, and thanks his father for applying a lot of patience to the work:
“Using box section steel and aerospace grade titanium, we fashioned a bolt-on sump guard that should be able to take a fair whack and save our engine from damage. The guard seems incredibly tough and the titanium sheet rings like a church bell when hit, which should make our off-road driving a bit more musical. In addition to this, we also changed the drive belts to make sure I know how to do it with confidence should they give up on us in the middle of a scorching desert.”
Ben adds: “We’ve also fitted two spot lamps from an old Frontera to aid us in low light, a front skid plate and a steel wheel arch liner to protect our fan belts from stray rocks.”
Ben says they intend to move through Europe promptly: “This should allow us to spend slightly more time around the lakes of Kyrgyzstan, explore the Aral Sea and generally take in the incredible scenery in the Asian leg of the trip. It is the harsh terrain of the unpaved Mongolian Steppe that will be the greatest challenge to the car’s undercarriage and wheels.”
Dealing with the unknown is the very jist of the Mongol Rally. Historically, only two out of every three cars complete the journey. There is no organisational ‘rescue’ so each team has to plan, as best it can, how it will deal with mechanical breakdowns and damage; not to mention the inevitable twitchiness that comes of spending endless days cooped up in a car together.
Ben says: “Most teams get a few punctures and some completely destroy their steel wheels. To get around this we’ve fitted sturdy van tyres and we’re taking puncture repair kits, tyre weld, as well as a comically large hammer that I will be tasked with to make the wheels round again.”
“We will try to camp as much as possible, occasionally sleeping in the car and we might get a hotel once or twice when we really need a wash.”
“Although there isn’t any support, we are driving in convoy with two other cars so hopefully we can sort any issues or tow each other to the nearest town.”
He adds: “With regards to getting fed up with each other, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Headphones and our own music devices, computer games, colouring books and Sudoku are all going to be taken to distract us from up to 15 hours of driving a day.”
Ed and Ben both want to thank their friends, colleagues and family, who have donated money and tools as well as helping with preparation in general. Ben’s employer, Babcock International, has been very supportive and generously donated to the cause, and there is still plenty of opportunity to add to their rising total, in aid of PAPYRUS, for the prevention of suicide among young people, and the cool earth charity, by donating online.