The Fiat Panda attempting
to set a new world record for the 10,300 miles between
Cape Town and London driven non-stop has reached the
halfway point of Nairobi in Kenya. The crew of Philip
Young and Paul Brace drove up from the frontier of
Tanzania in the early hours of this morning.
If they are to beat the
14-day record, which has stood for 30 years, set by the
British Army, they have now to endure the gruelling
drive across the desert of northern Kenya, where one of
the roughest tracks in Africa will prove a severe test.
The crew are aiming for the border of Ethiopia. The
desert run is long, hot and very exhausting, even for a
4x4 crew - the standard two-wheel-drive Fiat
two-cylinder Panda will be facing the hardest, toughest
section of the 10,300-mile, long drive home.
Philip Young and Paul
Brace have made good progress so far.
They are raising money
for Farm Africa, a charity working with local farmers in
agricultural projects along the route.
They have to catch a
ferry out of Tunisia to be in with a chance of beating
the record. Providing the wheels don't fall off, they
could be at Marble Arch by 6.30am on 11 February, for a
cup of tea in the nearby Costa coffee-shop.
The record was set in
1983 by Major John Hemsley and his wife Lucy in a
factory-prepared Range Rover, setting a time of 14 days.