| Mongol Rally facts | - Teams travel 8000 miles - about a quarter of the worlds surface.
- This takes them across two deserts and over five mountain ranges.
- Cars must have an engine under 1 litre and motorbikes under 125cc.
- Each team must raise at least £1000 for charity.
- In 2005 43 teams took part, 27 reached Mongolia, 14 reached the finish line.
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Tom, 21, lives in Tilton on the Hill and met Jack, 22, at university in Newcastle. | "We have no back-up crew, no spare vehicle, just our sense of humour and our absolute determination... " | | Jack |
When the opportunity to embark on The Mongol Rally presented itself the two couldn't resist - "This is a real challenge, we know very little about cars and even less about where we're going" says Tom. The journey will take them down through Eastern Europe to Turkey and then over the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan. There they will pick up the Silk Road at Merv and follow it through Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, then the pair will head north, towards the Altay Mountains in southern Siberia before hitting Mongolia. The journey is fraught with the risks - "We have no back-up crew, no spare vehicle, just our sense of humour and our absolute determination to reach the Mongolian finish line" says Jack.  | | Leg 1/3 of the Mongol Ralley |
This resolve comes from the desire to raise as much money as possible for their charities. LOROS, the Leicestershire and Rutland Organisation for the Relief of Suffering, provides care for terminally ill patents and their families. Tom adds - "We decided to support LOROS after a friend, Paul Lawrence, died of cancer aged 39." "Paul spent his last days at the hospice where he and his family received excellent care. It is a fantastic organisation, wholly funded by the community." They are also raising money for two other charities.  | | Mongol Rally 2005 |
CAMDA, The Cambridge Mongolian Disaster Appeal, works with nomadic herding families on the verge of poverty providing essential resources, water, hay-making machinery and healthy horses. Send A Cow works with poor African farmers, mainly women, orphans and disabled people, providing livestock and training to combat poverty and malnutrition. To keep up-to-date with Tom and Jack's efforts to reach Mongolia and to make a donation to the charities and learn more about them you can visit their website www.deserteagles2006.co.uk | 
