Mongol Rally

Typical Mongol Rally vehicle

The Mongol Rally is an automobile rally that begins in London, England and ends in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. It is described as the "greatest adventure in the world" and requires competing vehicles to have an engine displacement of less than 1000cc.

The Rally is designed to be an adventure for the participants, and not a traditional rally race. The organisers are careful to point out that racing on highways is illegal, and that no recognition is given to the first finisher. 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.

The inaugural rally took place in 2004, in which 6 teams started and 4 completed the course. The second rally, in 2005, was entered by 43 teams, and 14 automobiles arrived intact in Ulan Bator. The 2006 Rally began on July 22nd with 167 cars setting off. 117 teams made it to Ulan Bator.

The Mongol Rally was run as a charity event from 2004 to 2006 with all of the proceeds from the entry fees used to organise the event with the remaining donated to charity. From 2007 the event is organised by the League of Adventurists International Ltd, a UK registered company.

The 2007 rally is due to leave Hyde Park, London on the 21st July and is limited to 200 teams. Registration for 2007 was far more popular than the organisers could have foreseen, with the first 100 places being allocated in 22 seconds. Due to this popularity, the final 50 places were awarded on the result of a ballot.

Routes

There are an array of suggested routes that teams may take, all beginning in Hyde Park, London. Participants then generally proceed, via Prague, to Moscow, Kiev, or Istanbul, though teams have travelled as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Many teams then reconverge upon Samarkand, Uzbekistan.The final leg of the rally takes any remaining vehicles into Mongolia and on to finish in the capital Ulan Bator. None of the available routes are comfortable or safe: damage to cars, robberies and minor injuries are common. As of yet, nobody has been seriously injured taking part in the Mongol Rally although there have been several car accidents and participants have required hospital treatment. Depending on the route taken the total distance driven is around 8000 - 10,000 miles and most teams complete the rally within 3 to 4 weeks.

The cars

Participating automobiles are allowed to have an engine displacement of no greater than one litre (1000cc). Motorbikes with an engine displacement of 125cc or less are also permitted. Exceptions to this rule "may be considered for vehicles of notable unusualness with high comedy value". The Rally's rules have traditionally stipulated that a participating car must "generally considered to be crap." The choice of vehicles, therefore, is limited entirely to those wholly unsuited to rallying. Seemingly unlikely cars such as the Citroën 2CV and Fiat 126 are common. Other unusual vehicles that have participated in the Mongol Rally have included a Bedford Rascal motorhome, an Austin Mini, a Morris Traveller, a Morris Minor and a Ford Granada Hearse.

Many of the cars do not make it to Mongolia; they are abandoned or sold when they break down, or left behind due to time pressure. Previous rally vehicles can now be found operating throughout Central Asia thanks to enterprising local mechanics who have repaired abandoned vehicles.

Entry Fee

The 2007 entry fee, payable to the organising company, is £387 and the minimum charity donation is set at £1000 per vehicle. Teams may have as many members as they desire, but only 1 vehicle and those with multiple vehicles must pay a separate entry fee for each.

In 2004 there was no entry fee, although the 6 teams had to raise a minimum of £500 each, to be paid directly to the rally charity Send a Cow.

In 2005 an entry fee of £50 per person was paid to the organisers to cover the expenses of the rally. In 2005 the Mongol Rally website "About us" page stated that "The Mongol Rally is an entirely non-profit making organisation. This means that any monies raised that are not used in organising the event either get put towards next years run or given to the charities. All those involved in organising the event do so as volunteers." Teams were also required to raise a mimimum charity donation of £1000 per team split equally and paid directly to the chosen Charities Send a Cow and Save the Children.

In 2006, the entry fee payable to the organisers was increased to £227. The Mongol Rally website stated that "The Mongol Rally is now part of the mighty Institute of Adventure Research, a not-for-profit organisation striving to make the world less boring and raise huge amounts of cash for charity in the process." Teams were required to raise a minimum of £1000 per team: £250 payable to Send a Cow with the remaining £750 payable to either Mercy Corps, CAMDA, Wild Cru or the Christina Noble Children's Foundation

The organisers

The Mongol Rally is now organised by a profit making company called the League of Adventurists International Limited, a UK registered company (Company Number 05995303) incorporated on the 10 November 2006 and wholly owned by Mr Thomas Morgan, who is also the sole director. The company trades under the name "The Institute of Adventure Research" and also organises the Rickshaw Run.

What happens to the cars

The organisers make arrangements for all of the cars to be imported into Mongolia without any import duties. They make use of a standard procedure used by non-profit making organisations, charities, and non-governmental organisations in Mongolia that provides exemption from the most significant tax of 1000USD or 2000USD levied on older vehicles. Under Mongolian law the importing organisation in Mongolia is then prevented from selling the vehicle for 3 years.

The organisers have faced some concerns within Mongolia that the event has the effect of importing old and worn out cars from Europe into Mongolia. However, the high import taxes on older vehicles has created a car market in Mongolia where even an old, high mileage, Hyundai Excel, a common car in Mongolia, can be sold for US$2000. There are many organisations in Mongolia who are grateful for vehicles that are more affordable. Furthermore, the low cost of labour in Mongolia makes it economical to repair and run old cars that would be scrapped in Europe. Nevertheless, due to the concerns, the organisers of the Rally stipulated in the contract with teams in 2006 that they should not remove components from the car, such as the rear seats, to ensure that the vehicles can be fully utilised by the charities after the Rally.

Facts and Figures from the 2005 rally [1]

(Previously published on the Mongol Rally website)

43 cars left London... 27 reached Mongolia...14 reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar. What else happened?

43 cars left London.
27 cars reached Mongolia.
14 cars reached the finish in Ulaanbaatar.
2 teams were robbed at knife point.
1 car snapped in half.
3 engines fell completely out of the cars.
1 team were held for 5 days in no-mans land.
1 team cycled 200km to get to the finish when their car gave in.
100's of tyres were blown.
1 team got engaged.
1 team found a 10ft deep pot hole.
1 team found a 25 tonne crane rolled by a pot hole.
3 teams attended weddings
1 team had to reverse up a mountain after losing all bar one forward gear
1 person spent 24 hours in a Kazakh jail charged with 5 crimes against the state.
1 person was stoned by a mongolian nomad (who he then shot at with a gun).
1 team were rammed off the road after an arguement over water melons.
1 person spent a day in a Turkish hospital.
3 people were banned from Turkmenistan for a year.
As a result of an incident with a cow 1 person was detained by police in Azerbaijan and threatened with a beating from a dwarf.
2 cars flipped over in Mongolia.
3 teams were chased by armed bandits.
0 teams died

Sponsorship and TV coverage

On the 2006 rally a number of TV crews accompanied teams along the route. The 2006 event was also sponsored by .travel with the sponsorship money going towards the cost of organising the event. The Expedia Let Yourself Go Team were also featured on the Expedia website.

Money raised for Charity

In 2006, the teams taking part in the Rally together raised in excess of £200,000 for the Rally charities.

See also

• Rickshaw Run

External links

• Mongol Rally website
• Supported Charities website
• Mongol Rally team websites
• The Expedia Let Yourself Go Team Website with videos
• Video, Photos, and Stories from the 2006 Mongol Rally

Teams Participating in the 2007 Mongol Rally

• The Mongolian Adventure Team
• Team Wrong Way Round