Banger rally

A banger rally is a rally in a scrap or low value car on public roads. The event is a non-racing variant of banger racing. A banger rally may also be a charity rally where the teams taking part in the event also raise money for charity. Such as the 'Sucata Rally' where all funding proceeds go towards the London's Air Ambulance. Banger rallies chiefly appear to be a United Kingdom-based phenomenon and most involve driving through Europe to various destinations where the cars are environmentally scrapped, sold or auctioned for charity. Some events have a limit on how much a participant can spend on buying a car or the size of the engine. Participants in the events often decorate their vehicles with the stickers of sponsors or customising to a theme from popular culture.

The Rise of the Banger Rally

The banger rally first appeared when Julian Nowill took a group of sub £100 vehicles to Dakar over the Christmas and New Year of 2002/2003. The event was called the 'Plymouth Dakar' as a play on the name of the famous Paris Dakar rally. The event is now known as the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge.^[1]

A variation of the Dakar appeared in 2003 in the form of Staples2Naples, Banger Rally for Wage Slaves. This event developed the much copied European Banger Rally style.

Now days there are many rallies to choose from, some have just copied events with out much thought or direction. A list of interesting destinations doesn't make for a good rally. How you get there and actually getting to the named destination is the whole point of a road trip, some rally companies don't even manage this! Care should be taken when choosing a rally, a glossy website is not all ways a good rally.

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