Leaving in January every year The Dakar/Banjul challenge departs for sunny West Africa and takes 21 day from your front door to the finish line should all go to plan Via France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal ending in The Gambia A distance of about 4400 miles in a very unsuitable non ULEZ compliant shopping car. What could possibly go wrong?
Open to all nationalities (even fly ins) Challengers age 17+ with little to no mechanical knowledge take part in this adventure of a life time in their trusty rusty old banger. Taking in nice smooth roads, Broken roads, Mountain passes, dust tracks, corrugated dust (you’ll know it once on it) 2 days in the desert and a whole day driving down an empty sandy beach dipping in and out of the sea. This is not a rally or a race. It is a bunch of like minded people all driving in the same direction , all looking out for each other making sure they all make it to the end. This is why it’s called a challenge!. Join the adventure of a lifetime taking in the sights from the comfort of your drivers seat. Limited to 20 Vehicles.
Leaving in January every year the Dakar (also know as the Plymouth Banjul challenge) gets you away from cold, wet and miserable European weather and takes you to the nice, warm and sunny African shorts and t shirt weather. It should take 21 day from your front door to the finish line (if all goes top plan!). Taking in nice smooth roads, Broken roads, Non existent roads, dust tracks, corrugated dust (you’ll know it once on it) Mountain tops, Mountain passes, Gorges, deserts Sand, Soft sand, Beach sand an all the other stuff in between. All to be taken at a safe and sensible speed of course. This is not a rally or a race. It is a bunch of like minded people all driving in the same direction, all looking out for each other making sure you all make it to the end. With or without car. This is why it’s called a challenge!. Limited to 20 Vehicles
The 21 day Dakar / Banjul Challenge departs for The Gambia in West Africa every January each year .Friday 10th January 2025, Friday 16th 2026. Friday 15th January 2027 and so on.. Minimum age 17. Open to all nationalities. Left hand drive cars helpful but not essential. Maximum 3 persons per car. Leaving at least 1 spare seat for potential new passenger should another team have car issues. You will technically have no support or backup and mechanical knowledge is supplied via each other. However the advantage of going with a group is that help may be at hand if your car dies. Our Roadbook will give you details of where to go and what visas and paperwork you will need. For the Mauritanian desert section you meet up with the delightful Desert guide Dahid. He makes sure you don’t get lost in the desert but cannot guarantee you won’t get stuck. He also takes care of formalities and puts on an awesome BBQ for the 3 days in the sand. Made up of two days in the desert and one driving down a long empty beach, ducking in and out of the sea. (Dahid, Formalities, BBQ and Senegal 1 car pass extra) You can of course save this charge and drive the road way but that’s not as much fun and you will miss out on awesome photo opportunities. For many the desert is the highlight of the journey. That said the whole journey has amazing most memorable moments that will stay with you for life. Shared with people who started as strangers and finish a great friends (especially the ones that helped dig you out the sand and vice versa) Our closed Facebook group has over 20 years of experience from previous challengers with postings, updates and requirements for the challenge ahead. All is posted prior to leaving. Its a place for up coming challengers to talk amongst themselves and plan routes. Our WhatsApp group keeps you all connected whilst on the road. The meet up points makes sure that you will meet guides for the desert section and fixers to get through the tricky borders. Not forgetting the rest days starting with a shit shirts and hats night in Tarifa Spain where all wander around the car park looking at each others cars to remind them of what they’ve forgotten and then back to the bar to laugh about it. Or the rest day at the hippy style Zebrabar in St Louis after the madness of the desert. Time to kick back with a cold beer, pat your car on the bonnet for most outstanding services rendered and get the gaffer tape out to bodge various bits back on before setting off for Dakar and then the ever unreliable Barra Ferry to The Gambia. The whole thing from start to finish is a constant changing terrain on your eyes and feast to your taste buds. Communication and camaraderie is key to a fun run. Travelling with other or meeting up up of an evening to compare stories makes the journey even more enjoyable.
Check out our on the road Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/groups/2131821293671000
Looking forward to having you on board for the next one… Please check the costs page for latest registration fees. Limited to 20 cars only. Flying in and need a car, click here for assistance.
The original Banger Rally Challenge, that has spawned so many others. In December 2002, the first group of hopeful souls left the UK in a motley collection of vehicles, optimistically believing that Julian Nowill knew what he was doing, and had substance and experience behind his words. Despite later finding out to the contrary, this first event was a great success and most of the 42 Teams even made it to Banjul.
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