The Lada Rally
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The Lada Rally is an Intracontinental car rally that begins in Tallinn, Estonia and ends in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Often referred to as the "Race of Hope" and "The Balkan Trek", the Lada Rally sees on average a 65% completion rate. There are five fundamental Rules of the Rally:
- Rally teams must haggle themselves a 'monstrosity of a car' for less than €750 in Estonia.
- Rally teams must leave from Tallinn on a 'hideously miscalculated' route towards Greece.
- Rally teams are unsupported.
- Rally teams get hours knocked off their finishing time by visiting extra countries, discovering alternative landmarks called "LadaStops" and discovering all that eastern Europe has to offer.
- Rally teams must make it to the finish line in Thessaloniki in 168 hours (7 days).
The organizers are careful to point out that racing on highways is illegal. There are other differences from mainstream rallies, particularly the fact that no support team is provided and no other arrangements are made such as for accommodation, maintenance, or fuel.
Background[edit]
The inaugural rally took place in 2017, in which 11 teams started and 8 completed the course.
The Lada Rally is run as a charity event with all cars that are deemed 'roadworthy' after the race being donated to Refugee camps and associated organisations in Northern Greece, as well as the proceeds from the entry fees used to organise the event with the remaining donated to charity.
The 2017 rally left Tallinn, on 26 August 2017 and finished in Split at 2 September 2017.
The 2018 rally left Tallinn, on 25 August 2018 and finished in Thessaloniki at 1 September 2018.
Routes[edit]
There are an array of suggested routes that teams may take. After setting off from Tallinn, teams normally make their way to Thessaloniki via the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, before diverging west to either the Adriatic Coast or east to Romania and Bulgaria. Although, some teams have traveled as far east as the Ukraine and Turkey.
The final leg of the rally takes the surviving vehicles into Greece and onto the finish line at an undisclosed location overlooking Thessaloniki. None of the available routes are necessarily comfortable or safe: damage to cars, bribes and other related incidents are common. On 26 August 2018, one British participant trying to cross into Ukraine was held overnight by Polish border guards on the charge of attempting to drive a stolen car across the border.
Depending on the route taken, the total distance driven is around 2 to 3 thousand miles (approximately 4 to 5 thousand kilometres) and most teams complete the rally within the 7 day time limit.
The most countries ever passed through on the Lada Rally is currently 17, done in 2017 by a New Zealand team, Up The Boohai!
Vehicles[edit]
There are no restrictions on the engine size or make of the vehicle, as long as it was purchased for less than €750.
Ideally though, race organizers prefer people movers or estate cars as these would be more useful for the refugee organisations the cars are bring given to in Greece.
After the rally[edit]
Some of the cars do not make it to Greece; they are either sold when they break down, or scraped due to time pressure. Previous rally vehicles can now be found operating throughout the Balkans thanks to enterprising local mechanics who have repaired abandoned vehicles.
There were many refugee organizations in Greece who were grateful for the vehicles; furthermore, the low cost of running the cars in made it economical to repair and run old cars that would be scrapped in Western Europe. Nevertheless, due to the concerns, the organizers of the Rally stipulated in the contract with teams in 2017 that they should not remove components from the car, such as the rear seats, to ensure that the vehicles remained useful when being transferred over into the care of the Refugee camps.
The organisations supported so far have been:
Entry fee[edit]
The 2017 entry fee was £65.
The 2018 entry fee was £105
Organizers[edit]
The Lada Rally is organized by a group of friends who met during their time at Grant Thornton UK. Grant Thornton has also hosted Lada Rally related events and assisted with the opening events in Tallinn.
| “ | The Lada Rally was born out of obsession for adventure and a desire for tangible change in our world. Where one Lada failed, another will take it's place, culminating in an extensiatial shift in the minds and hearts of the contestants, organizers and the people of the wider ex Eastern bloc. | ” |
| — Tom, Ozzy, Hannah and Andy discussing the meaning of Lada around a table at the Green Man, London. | ||
Sponsorship[edit]
From 2018, Lada Rally secured a partnership with Ben & Jerry's, who have provided prizes and other incentives to the Rally itself and associated events.
In addition, teams have been sponsored from various organisations to assist with raising funds to support the charities Lada Rally is partnered with.
Teams[edit]
On average, between 10-15 teams enter the rally annually. Most teams have 2-4 people.
The teams and drivers for the 2017 season were as follows:
| Team | 2017 Result | Car | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
 Up the Boohai
|
1st | 2003 Peugeot 206 5dr Turbo | Robert, Christian, Ashlin |
 The Last and Furious
|
2nd | Samson, Joana | |
  Wade Boggs Memorial Express
|
3rd | Osneil, Tom, Andy, Ben | |
| Hot Garbage
|
4th | Volkswagen Passat | Tom, Beth, Liam, Joe |
| The Tribe A
|
5th | Jaz, Polly, Burma, Josh, Fin | |
| The Tribe B
|
6th | Mike, Nils, Hannah, Joe | |
| Pina CoLADA
|
7th | Charlotte, Mari, Dan, Matt | |
| Dicks Dastardly
|
DNF/DTF | Olly, Craig, Ollie | |
| Born Slippy
|
DNR | Dave, Trevor, Del, Pete |
NB: only 4 of the above cars made it to Greece after completing the race.
The teams and drivers for the 2018 season were as follows:
| Team | 2018 Result | Car | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
 Boohai Once Boohai Twice
|
1st | 1996 Subaru Legacy XL | Rob, Christian, Ashley, Ashlin |
| The Social Magnets
|
2nd | Renault Megane | Ru, Amy, Charlotte, Hannah |
| I'm Tallinn You This Is a Bad Idea
|
3rd | VW Golf Estate | Ed, Tom, Max |
 Livin' La Vida Lada
|
4th | Ford Escort Convertible | Ed, Jamie, Pedro |
| East 7team
|
5th | Renault Espace | Will, Simon, Andrew, Hannah |
 The Turkish Melonsmashers
|
6th | BMW 320 | Angus, Tom, Harry |
 Fitzcarraldo
|
DNF | Mercedes Benz E-Class | Kester, Matt, Sam, Henry, Julian |
| Lada FC
|
DNF | Volvo 460 | Andy, Tom, Sam |
NB: only 6 of the above cars made it to Greece after completing the race.
See also[edit]
- Charity rally
- Mongolia charity rally
- Mongol Rally
- Plymouth-Banjul Challenge
- Budapest-Bamako
- Roof of the world rally
- Silk Road Race
- Złombol
References[edit]
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lada Rally. |
- https://www.myswft.com/lada-rally.aspx
- https://www.mattthemiseryguts.com/lada-rally/
- The Lada Rally on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 23: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- The Lada Rally on Facebook
- The Lada Rally on Instagram
- https://www.networkmarketingjobs.com/.../tommy-takes-on-the-lada-rally-challenge/
- http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/aylesbury-local-tom-francis-and-friends-take-on-mammoth-charity-drive-1-8113591
- https://www.theladarally.com/
- http://www.thechildrenofstars.com/blog.html
- https://openculturalcenter.org/
- https://www.weareaniko.com/
- https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/ladarally1
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tommy-takes-lada-rally-challenge-jonathan-hirst/#
- http://tinylightproductions.com/the-lada-rally---tiny-light.html
- http://www.sponsorme.co.uk/edwardkirk-(1)/lada-rally.aspx
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