4X4s set off to support Help for Heros

At 10.30am on Saturday 15^th June 2013 a spectacle of 4x4 vehicles crewed by 100 adults (and 7 children) will gather at Littlecote House Hotel, Hungerford in Berkshire ready to start out on the 2013 Help for Heroes 4x4 European Rally; a 12 day, 2,000+ mile adventure following the path of the 1944/5 Allied Invasion through Europe.

The inaugural rally in of 2010 had a goal of raising £20,000 for the charity; it went on to raise £121,000. The rally has since become an annual fixture in the calendar and has grown to become the largest independent event raising funds for H4H the rally – raising in excess of £600,000 for Help for Heroes. This, its fourth year, has already raised £110,000.

This non-speed touring assembly consists of over 40 vehicles and is crewed by serving and ex-military personnel, as well as civilians and families with children. Many of the serving/ex-service participants have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. The adventure will be part military history tour (including museums and cemeteries) and part off-road driving, and is open to road-legal 4x4 vehicles. As well as the driving, the teams have to complete daily tasks which include navigation, driving skills, observation, quizzes and competitions.

The organisers rely on the support of supporters such as Land Rover

Tim Price-Bowen, one of the organisers said “The hospitality and assistance we receive across Europe is second to none and everyone involved is so helpful. Some we meet still even remember D-Day itself! The Rally also has a wonderful sense of camaraderie, fun and adventure; and all for such a fantastic cause. Of course, we must also acknowledge the involvement of our event partners such as Jaguar Land Rover, the AA, o2, and others who provide invaluable support each year and who are key to our success.”

The route uses the byways of Salisbury Plain the Rally, and stops at military bases including before embarking on the Brittany Ferries sailing from Portsmouth to France. In addition to visiting WWII historical areas in Normandy, the H4H 4x4 Rally route will take in the WWI battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. It will then visit Arnhem in Holland and ‘Operation Market Garden’ before heading south to Bastogne in Belgium where the Germans made a final push – the famous ‘Battle of the Bulge’. The journey continues to the Alsace region of France - with its Maginot Line fortifications. The route then journeys into Germany and Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial; with its horrors of war. The event concludes 12 days after leaving the UK – the final part being a visit to Hitler's "impenetrable" Eagle's Nest high in the Bavarian Alps at Berchtesgaden.

Every car is fitted with a ‘satellite’ tracker kindly provided by Skytag-GPS. You can follow the rally in real time at; http://www.h4hrally.co.uk/livetracking/

For more information about the Help for Heroes 4x4 European Rally visit www.h4hrally.co.uk or follow them at www.twitter.com/h4hrally (@h4hrally) and www.facebook.com/h4hrally or contact Keith Bowen tel: 07766 712851 email: info@h4hrally.co.uk

To donate please visit http://www.bmycharity.com/H4H4X4Rally2013

Busy June for Race2Recovery

This June will be a busy month for Race2Recovery, the team of predominantly injured and disabled service personnel raising money for charity by targeting a finish on the 2013 Dakar Rally. The team will be attending two of the season's highest profile events to raise awareness of the campaign and funds for the Race2Recovery Foundation charity, which in turn supports the Help for Heroes Tedworth House project.

This weekend, the team will be at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, held in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. The event is in its fifth year and brings together some of the highest-octane action on land, water and in the air.

There is a huge array of action for any enthusiast and particularly relevant for the Race2Recovery team are two main areas: the Dakar Rally arena will allow the team to demonstrate its Qt Wildcats, which it will be using on next year's gruelling event in South America while the event's Military Combat Vehicles Area will have a familiar feel, as many of the Race2Recovery team members are serving military personnel.

However, the activity will begin even earlier than the official start of the Pageant, as the team has been invited to take part in a cavalcade from MediaCityUK in Salford to the venue on Thursday 14 June. This will see one of the Race2Recovery Qt Wildcats on display at Media City early on Thursday morning before forming part of the procession to the event, which will eventually mark the official opening of this year's Pageant.

Two weeks later, the team will again be out in force, this time at the world-famous Goodwood Festival of Speed. Here, it will be split across three distinct areas: several Qt Wildcats will be seen running through the Forest Rally Stage. The team will also have a presence in the main arena where visitors can find out more about the personalities of the team, a chance for fans to donate to the cause as well as purchase Race2Recovery merchandise.

However, by far the most interesting aspect for visitors will be the team's 'Dakar Experience' area set up close to the Formula One paddock. Here, they will build a section of sand dunes, similar to those they faced on the recent Tuareg Rally in Morocco and will face again on the Dakar next year.

But this will not be a static display; fans will have the opportunity to experience, first-hand, some of the pressure and demands that the most arduous motorsport adventure in the world places on team members. The Race2Recovery team will be running a Wheel Change competition, where members of the public can try their hand at changing one of the Silverline wheels and Cooper Tires that the team uses on its Wildcats.

Determination and teamwork, two of the key qualities personified by the team, will be crucial to success here and there will be daily prizes for the fastest time, as well as a unique, money-can't-buy prize donated by the motorsport community for the best time over the course of the three-day event.

Commenting, team driver and co-founder, Captain Tony Harris, said; "We are incredibly excited and honoured to have been invited to attend these two events. They are both very high profile and attract a huge attendance, so we are hopeful that not only will we be able to raise significant funds for the Race2Recovery Foundation and therefore, to directly support Help for Heroes and the Tedworth House project but also, raise awareness of the campaign even further than so far.

"The Cholmondeley Pageant of Power may be a relatively young event but it is one that is incredibly close to our hearts. The fact that it draws together action from land, sea and air makes it particularly relevant to us, as our team is made up of personnel from all three branches of the services. The combat power on display will also be very interesting to see, bringing our 'Day Jobs' into contact with the project we have chosen to demonstrate that our injuries, and wider disabilities, don't necessarily mean an end to your dreams.

"The Goodwood Festival of Speed is probably the best-known motoring event in the world and it is an honour to be invited to attend, and in so many ways. We are delighted that several Qt Wildcat owners are supporting us, as they did at RallyDay last year, by providing passenger rides on the rally stage with proceeds going directly to the Foundation.

"We will also have a big presence in the main arena, where we will be able to chat to people, explain what Race2Recovery is all about and raise more funds for the charity. But of course, it's the Dakar Experience that we are most excited about.

"We know from this year's Tuareg Rally just how demanding competing in the sand dunes can be - half of the eight-day event was run in the Sahara. So it will be really good to see how people react to changing a wheel and tyre on one of our Wildcats. We have had some amazing prizes donated by members of the motorsport community and will be giving these to the best time of the day, as well as the best overall time all weekend."

The Cholmondeley Pageant of Power takes place at the Cholmondeley Castle, Malpas in Cheshire on 15-17 June while the Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place at Goodwood House, Chichester, from 29 June - 1 July.