Found our car for the race today! Well, found a car which I hope we can build up to eventually stand the 8500 kilometers to Bamako. Its a 27 year old long wheelbase Nissan Patrol 2.8 turbo diesel.

Little is know about the history of the Beast. Its chassis is from 1983, the body from the beginning of the nineties, the last few years it has spent in a small village in central Hungary.
The odometer shows 246000km, but its real mileage is probably twice as high.

It’s big enough for 2-3 people, and simple enough to be fixed by any African mechanic.

And it was cheap at EUR 2,600.- and comes fully loaded with a radio and 3 speakers (front left one missing), power windows in the front and on the rear right side (window crank on the rear left), a coconut smell Wunderbaum dangling from the inside mirror, lots of spare parts on the rear seat (including one front door, a tailgate, some windows, one tire, and a wiper motor), and finally a map of Budapest from 1991, which is going to be essential aid for the first few kilometers of the race. It was love at first sight…

I bought myself a copy of Chris Scott’s offroad book “Sahara Overland” as a Christmas gift, but couldn’t wait and started reading already. It’s a pity it is not available as e-book, it’s too heavy to hold it above your head in bed. But the content compensates for the weight.

Very capable navigator able of getting lost and consequently regain the right way in every life situation.
He got first driving experience at very young age (he does not remember) in Polski Fiat 125 turning the steering wheel while sitting on his fathers lap. First racing experience was in Fiat again. This time it was original Italian Fiat 850 with very sophisticated sport tuning: by far too small metal steering wheel.
After a couple of encounters with various objects around the roads he relatively quickly realized that the best way to go forward is to keep the car on the road. In recent years he gained capability of driving the car upside down on the continent called “Downunder”.