Plymouth-Banjul Challenge

Then the course runs through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and finally into the Gambia - a distance of approximately 4,400 Miles.

Participants in the challenge are on their own, meaning that no assistance is rendered to motorists in case of a car breakdown or even if they become stranded.

[citation needed] Mechanical reliability is the main obstacle to completing the course given that such vehicles are ordinary road cars and are mostly at the end of their useful lifetimes.

Many cars cope very well until they have to go through the desert and then almost all suffer a great deal due to high temperatures and dust.

[4] Amongst the many cars that have taken part in the challenge was the fine Peugeot 505 family estate that went on to be auctioned at the end of the rally for several times the amount of money it would have commanded back in the UK.