MAC 4 x 4 Challenge - PLCUK Team plucks applause from jaws of derision

‘Plucky’ pair’s off-road rescue service‘Zero-to-Hero’ route gets more Flux support for 2008 MAC 4 x 4 Challenge

[ClickPress, Tue May 15 2007] You’ve spent the previous day fording rivers, climbing rocky passes and tackling some of the UK’s most rugged terrain in the 2007 Macmillan 4x4 UK Challenge, the long distance four-wheel drive event in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support fund. Now it’s 6.30am and you’re in a tent on the side of a peaceful Welsh mountain, deep in much-needed sleep. What’s the most irritating thing that can happen? Some idiot’s car alarm going off in your ear comes high on the list.

The culprits were the Plcuk team, comprising a heavily modified ’93 Landrover Discovery TDi driven by Dennis Brown (Smurf), and navigated by Adrian McCarthy (Ado), who had inadvertently rolled onto the alarm remote in his sleep.

But by the following night the two had won the ‘Spirit Of The Mac 4x4’ shield, voted by their fellow participants. What’s more, sponsors Adrian Flux Insurance had agreed to sponsor them again in 2008 – despite the alarm incident! So what was their route from zero to hero?

The Flux-sponsored team's 'man of the match' award came because of their selfless help to fellow competitors on the last day.

"Looking forward to the finish, we found Bluebottle (aka Patrick) driving a range rover classic in the Bala car park," said Smurf. "His front right wheel needed a new bearing. I carry a spare and luckily it was the one he needed.

“But when we removed the hub we saw the inner race had welded itself to the stub axle. So Patrick ( Bluebottle team 8) called Selwyn (one of the organising members ), who got a petrol disc cutter down to the car park. It's amazing how everyone pulls together."

So then could team Plcuk get back to the race? Not quite: "Ian and Sandie rolled in to the car park in their loudly-clonking 110,"( team 52) Smurf continues. "Turned out their front prop’s rear UJ was completely destroyed. We removed the front prop with the help of lepaj (Carl and Lawrence team 35 ), the 110 was now a two-wheel drive version with diff lock on . Back to bluebottles range rover wheel bearing problem. We got the inner race off and filed the stub axle to remove what was left of the old inner race. It felt like a tag team. But once it was all back together it meant that Patrick could finish."

All of which took time, and the roadside angels had to rush straight for the finish line at Horse Shoe Pass. Back at the hotel it was a good news/bad news situation for the pair. Bad news: they came in a lowly 51st out of 60 because of all the time they’d spent on roadside assistance. Good news: despite breaching the peace on Saturday morning, their fellow participants awarded them the 'Spirit of the Mac' shield.

"The whole event is more about participating and having fun than winning," says Smurf. "I’d like to think the 'early morning alarm call' would be regarded as part of the fun."

Craig Darwin, of sponsor Adrian Flux Insurance, was also impressed. Flux specialises in 4x4 insurance and as a result of their exploits they’ll get more Flux support in 2008. Says Craig: "Hats off to Smurf and Ado, they’re great guys and totally deserved the award. The Mac 4x4 challenge is all about taking part and helping raise money for a worthy cause. The guys absolutely exemplified that spirit, and we want to sponsor that sort of attitude."

Adrian Flux has insured the Team Plcuk Discovery since June 2006. It’s a heavily modified 1993 Land Rover Discovery Tdi, fitted with winch bumper, steering guard, roof rack, roof lights, snorkel, differential guards, rock sliders “and a dog guard”. And a big bag of spare parts…

For more information on the 2008 Mac 4x4 (7th - 9th March 2008), visit www.mac4x4.co.uk. The 2007 challenge is expected to raise over £100,000 once all donations are collected. Team Plcuk www.plcuk.co.uk raised £1000. Their own photos of the event are on http://digbig.com/4scjd. Next year the address for making donations is http://www.justgiving.com/car42_team_plcuk .

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