July 10, 2007

$800 "Hosermobile" ready for 13,000-km Mongol Rally

Jason Minvielle and Michael Vaughan, with the Hosermobile; photo by Nicole Griffin. Click image to enlarge

Regina, Saskatchewan - Jason Minvielle and Michael Vaughan, who are attempting to become the first ever team from Canada to complete the 13,000-kilometre Mongol Rally in their 1993 Geo Metro "Hosermobile", announced that the car has been shipped to the rally's starting point in London, England awaiting their arrival.

The Mongol rally is a charitable event which sees 200 cars depart Hyde Park in London, England on July 21, 2007 in a an attempt a journey through 20 countries, five mountain ranges and three deserts with an ultimate destination of Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Assuming the pair make it to Ulaan Bataar, their rally car will be donated to the local orphanage to be auctioned off with proceeds going to keep the orphanage open.

The Mongol Rally rules stipulate that vehicles must have an engine of less than 1 litre and must have been purchased for less than the equivalent of approximately $800.00 Canadian. Team Saskatchewan purchased their vehicle, a rusting 1993 Geo Metro aptly dubbed "the Hosermobile", for $1.00.

Minvielle and Vaughan spent the past few months preparing the Hosermobile for the journey including re-building the engine and transmission, installing a rooftop tent and obtaining corporate sponsorships to make the journey possible. Other preparations involved travel permits and visas for the countries on the planned route, many of which are former Soviet Republics still set on old red-tape ways. Lastly but possibly most importantly, the pair required over a dozen vaccinations for diseases long since eradicated in the West.

Once the work on the rally car was completed the Hosermobile was loaded into a sea container and made its way by rail to the Port of Montreal where it was loaded on a cargo vessel bound for Southampton, England. The rally car has arrived safely and is in strorage awaiting the arrival of its brave pilots.

For more information on Team Saskatchewan Mongol Rally and to follow the pair along their journey, you can visit their website www.mongolrally.ca . They will be aupdating the site and blog daily while enroute.

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