abbey are proud sponsors of ‘Team Lodge Losers’ who successfully completed the 2006 Plymouth – Banjul rally, crossing seas, continents and the Western Sahara in their 1986 beige BMW 325i, bought for £100 in Hamburg. In the course of their three week journey from the south coast of Great Britain to the West coast of Africa the team travelled over 3,500 miles, greased palms at border crossings, ate goat in the desert, and filled up on fuel sponsored by abbey. They also raised over £5,000 for charity.
It all began at University … When, in the autumn of 2000, Rob Crawford and Carl Dacombe started as freshers at Southampton University. 'After 2 years living in some of the worst student accommodation in Southampton,' recalled Carl, now an Officer in the Royal Navy. 'the spirit of the Losers Lodge was born.'
Rob took up the story: 'A succession of budget motors, a van and a boat graced the driveway of the Losers Lodge throughout our time at University. One night, after one quadruple vodka too many, we decided to give the Plymouth – Banjul a go…'
Unofficially spoken of as 'The Ultimate Banger Challenge', the Plymouth-Banjul challenge involves a motley collection of left-hand drive cars (it’s one of the rules) costing less than £100 (another of the rules) driving from southern England through France, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal, to finish in The Gambia.
abbey Fuelcards are dedicated to providing the highest levels of service and security within the fuel card market. abbey offer competitive fixed weekly fuel prices through a convenient network of stations through the UK, for example the Shell network. Their significant bulk buying can help members save on their weekly fuel bills, while the VAT registered invoicing, dedicated account management and free management reports can help to reduce administration costs. In the desert, with sparse opportunities for refuelling, even the savings, service and security of an abbey Fuelcard are stretched to the limit. But the team proved equal to the challenge, carrying 100 spare litres of fuel and provisions, strapped to the roof rack!
Steve Clarke, Customer Services and Marketing Manager for abbey Fuelcards, commented: 'All of us at abbey are very pleased to have been able to help Carl and Rob successfully take part in this very British challenge, and raise a considerable amount of money for charities here at home and in Africa. A win-win result for the ‘Losers!'