A 4000 kilometre journey through some of Australia's toughest roads, all in a car worth less than $1000. Things don't come much tougher than what NSW's Central West duo Sean Ryan and Henri Sutton have signed up for.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The pair, form Orange, are taking part in this year's Shitbox Rally which will see them travel from the Gold Coast to Alice Springs via the Gulf of Carpentaria from June 4.
This will be the first year they undertake the gruelling journey which raises money for the Cancer Council and they couldn't be more excited.
"It's a bucket list item," Mr Ryan said.
"I applied for the last three years and got in and ready for 2020, but then COVID cancelled the rally."
As you could imagine, finding a car worth less than the newest iPad was a tricky task.
"You get sick of looking for cars under $1,000 to be honest," Mr Ryan added.
"It's hard because you see something you like and they're just crap. It's like trying to pick a piece of crap from a big selection of crap.
"This one when we bought it had enough rego to get us through the race. But since then COVID jumped in and it ran out of rego so had to spend another $1,000 on that."
IN OTHER NEWS:
There are also rules about what you can do and what you can spend on the car after you've purchased it.
"You can't have a mate's rates thing, it's just not in the spirit of it," Mr Sutton said.
"They've got a pretty big logistics and support crew along the way. So if your car breaks down they'll tow you to the nearest town and work throughout the night to try and get it up and running again.
"If it's not up and running the next day they leave your car behind and you jump in with another rally team."
You can however, have services donated to the cause. This has already come in handy for the Orange team.
"The car didn't have air con working until recently and it just blew hot air, which would be a struggle in the Northern Territory and the bush," Mr Sutton added.
"So Apple City Auto Electrics helped us out and did some work on the air con system and now it's up and running."
But the journey won't stop for Mr Sutton once they arrive in Alice Springs. His father will be flying into town after the race and plan to see how far the car will go.
"Because we're in the memory making business, I'll keep going with dad for another week and drive it back to Orange through South Australia," he finished.
"Let the fun continue... if it makes it that far."
So far they have raised a little more than $8,500. To donate, search 'Old Fashioned - Shitbox Rally 2021' on Facebook and follow the appropriate links.