Tommy Dreelan and George Barrack will compete in the 12 day Sahara Challenge organised by Hero-ERA in a 1938 Fangio Chevrolet.
Nine million square kilometres of sand, seas of rolling dunes and large rock plateaus. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, a vast wilderness that stretches all the way across the top of Africa. There aren’t many environments on the planet that can claim to be as harsh as the extremes experienced in the Sahara, excesses of temperature at either end of the mercury, dust storms that engulf all that stand before and a lack of water that even the Dromedary Camel struggles with.
But for all the hardship, this is a place where life endures and finds a way, whether that be the West African Cheetah, or its distant cousin the Sand Cat or the countless other examples of wildlife that call this wilderness home. Human life also finds a way, nomadic herdsmen eking out a life in this severe environment.
It is also beautiful, the golden sand of the desert striking a hard contrast with the azure blue of the sun filled skies, oasis of green punctuating the dunes in a riot of life, water and colour and the topographic and geological transitions that are sometimes the only clue to any changes in elevation or guides to direction.
To witness this huge area is a once in a lifetime experience, a privilege and a reminder that life can conquer all and find a way just about anywhere. To rally out here on the other hand, is a joy that is only really known by those that have done it.