A pair of intrepid friends didn’t let a broken radiator stop them completing a 3,000km challenge through the Sahara and raising nearly £15,000 for charity.
William Davies, from Chalfont St Peter, and his best friend Duncan Kite took on the Panda Raid from March 2 to 8. The cross-country rally requires competitors to traverse 3,000km of the desert in a Fiat Panda with no GPS or sat nav.
He said: “It was relentless and full on. We were pitching tents in the dark and freezing cold. The terrain was hard, and we experienced weather extremes – by the end, it was snowing while a few hours later, we were on the beach!
“Most of the time, it was desert as far as the eye could see. Navigating was very complicated, and we got lost a few times.”
At one stage, the car blew its radiator while the pair were in the “middle of nowhere”. They had to be towed 160km to the nearest village after a price was negotiated with some “enterprising” Moroccans who had been roaming the desert searching for broken down cars.
The friends had all but given up hope of completing the race when one of the villagers offered one of his old radiators. Miraculously, it worked, and the pair were back in the race.
Through the challenge, the duo have raised nearly £15,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
William said: “We thought £10,000 was ambitious but now we’ve almost hit £15,000 – everyone has been brilliant.”
You can donate to their page at www.justgiving.com/page/william-duncan-panda-raid24
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