Huddersfiel duo to drive to Arctic...in £80 car

Jul 20 2009 By Dave Himelfield

TWO novice rally drivers are set to drive to the Arctic.

But they’re going to do it in a car that may not make it to the bottom of the road.

Matthew Greaves, 29, from Birkby, and Bruce Smith, 27, from Fixby, are to drive 5,000 miles to the Arctic Circle, in Norway, to raise money for Mind mental health charity.

The team, dubbed ‘Holdon and Prey Minicabs,’ will make the trip in an 18-year-old Peugeot 405 as part of the Scally Rally.

The car cost them the princely sum of just £80.

They will be joined by about 60 other teams driving jalopies costing £100 or less.

Matthew, Bruce and the car, called Bertha, set off on August 6 and hope to return – subject to breakdowns – by August 14.

Bertha, a diesel saloon with over 100,000 miles on the clock, has passed her MOT but only after the pair spent £270 on repairs – over three times the value of the car.

Indeed a cable to connect the radio cost more than the car!