Two car enthusiasts from North Cumbria are taking on the North Coast 500 route with two other friends in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Marcus Nelson and Craig Lightfoot are teaming up with Andrew Briggs and Simon Rushforth to take on the iconic route in their beloved Ford RS Turbos.
The North Coast 500 route starts and finishes in Inverness and goes through the north of Scotland, taking in some of the most spectacular and remote scenery in the UK.
The group are taking on the challenge in memory of Andrew’s wife, Jayne, who lost her battle with breast cancer three years ago.
Andrew dedicated his car to the memory of his wife and has called it the ‘Spirit of Jayne’.
The group will set off on June 1 and are hoping to complete the trip in seven days.
“We didn’t know each other three years ago but we came together through our cars,” said Marcus.
“We’d always fancied doing the route and it was only really four months ago that we said why don't we do it for charity and see what we can raise.”
So far, the four men have raised more than £3,000, an amount which Marcus said he was ‘blown away’ by.
“We decided to raise money for Cancer Research and the response has been amazing,” said Marcus.
“We’ve only really put it on our own social media pages, and we'd like to think we could get it up to somewhere around £5,000 if possible. That'd be amazing.”
The group are undertaking the challenge in Ford RS Turbos which are more than 40-years-old which could provide a ‘challenge’ if one of them breaks down.
“We've all got quite a lot of money invested in these cars but the end of the day, they are 40-year-old cars and reliability has always been an issue,” said Marcus.
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“The biggest challenge is just hoping that they don't break down on us because they're not the kind of car where you could just pop into the local garage, and they would repair it because you just can't get parts for them anymore.
“Its in the back of your mind all the time but we’re really excited and can’t wait to get going.”
Anybody wishing to donate can do so online.
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