10. Memories of the Pavestone Rally

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Oct 11, 2017/ Off Comments / in Pavestone Rally / by


It’s back to work for Shaun, Jason and Steve after taking part in the Pavestone Rally, which saw the trio driving a road-legal car that cost less than £500 through ten European countries in four days to raise as much money as possible for charity.

The trio share their favourite memories of the rally.

Shaun: “I was gobsmacked to hear that Roger Daltrey from legendary rock band The Who had sent us a ‘good luck’ message ahead of the rally. He’d heard that we were fundraising for the Teenage Cancer Trust (of which he is a patron) and sent us a lovely note that said: ‘Hi Shaun, Jason and Steve, thanks so much for fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust. It sounds like you’ll have a lot of laughs, much better fun than running a marathon! Be lucky and safe travels. Roger.’ What a gentleman he is.

“Part of the challenge of the rally was to buy an old car and pimp it up, and it was an inspired idea by our team to call it the Bat-ten Mobile – which reflects our position as the UK’s largest importer of timber roofing batten. It was a great talking point with the other contestants in the rally and passers-by.

“I’ve got to say that we played a blinder with our fancy dress costumes. We looked online for batman outfits and found the array that you would expect. But then we came across suits with the batman logo on them, and they were only £50 each. They were a real bargain and everyone loved them.”

Jason: “I’ll never forget breaking down in Dover and having to watch all the other cars board the ferry while we had to call for help and Barretts Jaguar came to our rescue. They were able to recover the car, fix the radiator issue we had and get us back on the road the same day. They were absolute stars and they didn’t charge us a penny. What lovely people.

“The breakdown cost us valuable time, so we had to do some serious driving to catch up and make up for the lost ground. We were so, so late getting into Luxembourg City at the end of the first day, and I’ve never been so glad to see my bed.”

Steve: “I loved the stupid dares that we had to do along the way, as they were really good fun. We had to swap clothes with complete strangers, sing ‘happy birthday’ to one unsuspecting person, make a snow angel and get ten local people to touch our car at the same time. And yes, it was me covered in toilet roll.

“I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m in agreement with Jeremy Clarkson because the Stelvio Pass is the best driving road in the world. It was breath-taking, and although the weather wasn’t too clever, it was still incredible to drive the 48 switchback turns through the Alps.”

There still time to donate by visiting http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SR-Timber.