The next Rally will be in December 2025
Information & Rules:
The Banjul banger challenge is to raise money for CARAVAN OF MERCY to fund its ongoing projects in The Gambia/ West Africa
and Gaza/ Palestine. Your car must be handed over to Caravan of Mercy upon arrival to The Gambia to be auctioned for local
projects.
There are no exceptions.
PLEASE NOTE THE CAR MUST BE PURCHASED AT THE PERSONAL EXPENSE OF THE APPLICANTS. Personal expenses will
be covered by each Participant.
If any participant gets support from his family and friends for the cost and expenses for the trip separately, there is no problem with
this.
FUNDRAISING IS STRICTLY FOR THE CHARITY PURPOSES MENTIONED
ABOVE, EACH PARTICIPANT MUST RAISE A MINIMUM OF £1,500.00 GBP
The Leicester – Banjul Challenge or unofficially the Banger Car Rally Challenge
is not a race, or a competition.
This is our second banger car challenge. Caravan Challenges have already
completed 2 successful bike rides in the Gambia for the charity. After our first rally
in January 2023 which proved successful, Caravan Challenges is up for the next
rally on 20th December 2025.
We advise you take on this challenge as part of a team, so that you can support each other. We plan to create groups so that there
are several cars travelling together. We hope all teams keep within the group to ensure no team is left on their own.
A TEAM CONSIST OF A CAR WITH 2 OR MORE PASSENGERS/ DRIVERS.
Each participant will fill in a registration form and pay the registration fee of £200.00 each.
Basic mechanical knowledge is essential. Start practising by changing your car tyre. However, the advantage of going with a group is
that help may be at hand if your car runs into difficulties. We strongly advise that all teams travel together in a group to help and assist
each other at the time of need.
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 lifetimes. Many cars cope very well
until they must go through the desert and then almost all suffer a
great deal due to high temperatures and dust. Once the cars
make it to Banjul in The Gambia, they will be auctioned or
donated to relevant projects.
This Challenge strongly recommends that the car be a left-hand drive. Participants are advised that only left-hand vehicles
are suitable for all countries in West Africa. The other benefit is it will fetch a better price when auctioned in the Gambia.
If possible, please take any left-hand drive vehicle.

Right-hand Drive cars should be a last resort while preferred right-hand vehicles are:
Vauxhall Zafira, VW Golf (estate, saloon or hatchback), VW Sharan, Ford Galaxy,
Mercedes (220, 190, 180), Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Auris, Toyota Rav 4,
Toyota van, Mercedes van, Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux.

The above vehicles are commonly used in the Gambia and will be easily auctioned and fetch a reasonable price. A right-hand drive
will sell for less as the buyer will have to spend a lot of money to convert it to a Left-hand drive.
As this is a Banger Car Rally Challenge, all participants must be driving a car worth a minimum of £600 – £800. Although there is no
limit to how much you want to spend on your vehicle, please consider it needs to be affordable for people to purchase if auctioned. All
participants should take time to prepare their vehicles for the challenge.
The route can be completed by almost any vehicle, and there is no
advantage of having a 4×4 drive (except when others are stuck in the
sand!). If you wish to bring a 4×4, you are most welcome.
The Teams will leave the UK in December 2025 and
registrations is open for this Challenge. Closing date for applicants will be
in October 2025.
The Banjul Banger Car Challenge will start from the UK on Friday 20th December, driving through France and Spain (exact route will
be given closer to the date). Any team wishing to leave a few days earlier may do so. All teams will meet up in Tarifa (Southern tip of
Spain) on the night of Sunday the 22nd. All teams will cross over from Tarifa to Tangiers (Morocco) on the morning of the Monday 23rd
December 2025, driving South through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal, arriving in Banjul in The Gambia. The
route travels mostly on tarmac roads, but the highlight of this challenge will be the two-day crossing of the Sahara Desert. While in the
Sahara Desert we hope to have some spiritual lessons. The total route is approximately 4,000 miles and can comfortably be covered
in two weeks Allah willing if all goes well. This is NOT a race. There is so much of interest en route that it makes no sense to rush.
The actual Challenge starts in Tarifa, where hotel accommodation is provided.
As the Participants bond over some hot / cold drinks, travelling groups will be
formed for the journey ahead all the way South to our destination The Gambia.
Ahead lies adventure, different cultures, people, sand, sea, and even more
sand, experiencing the heat of the desert sun and tranquillity of the Sahara
Desert plus the challenge of nursing your car all the way to destinations that
most people would only consider flying to.
We aim to provide help through Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia Borders. All teams will be responsible for their own car
insurance for the entirety of the journey.
Registration fee will include the following:
Official car stickers, entry numbers and T shirts.
One nights’ accommodation for 2 people, B&B in one of two designated hotels in Southern Spain. One night accommodation on
reaching the Gambia.
2 meals for all the teams, one in Morocco, one in The Gambia.
Support on the Morocco/Mauritania border.
Behind the scenes administration to try and smooth passage through Senegal and The Gambia.
Behind the scenes international liaison with partners and coordinators that allow this event to take place.
Web site listing and Publicity.
Inclusion within the formal lists of Participants that are issued to the Officials of some of the countries en route.
Discounted Flights will be sourced out by our recommended travel agent. Participants may source their own flights, if they wish and do
their own bookings for their return from The Gambia. Booking your return flight in advance will save you a lot of money.
Approximate cost of Challenge:
After paying your registration fees, purchasing your vehicle and return ticket home,
approximate cost per individual/ team will be shared with applicants via e-document. We
recommend that each Applicant/participant have approx. £1,000 at his disposal for the
cost of the journey from UK to The Gambia.
An approximate detailed breakdown of costs will be shared with applicants after
registration. Cost will be based on 2 people per team. If a team have 3 or more people,
this will be worked out accordingly.
Recommended Vehicles.
Each team is allowed to take any vehicle they wish, as mentioned above a left-hand drive is preferable but our partner in the Gambia
has recommended commonly used vehicles in The Gambia (see above). This will Inshallah bring a better price when sold/auctioned.
This will be emailed to each applicant after registration.
Insurance/ Medical/ Passport/ Travel Safety/ Visas/ Currency.
• Insurance/Vehicle Documents: Every applicant/team will be responsible
for their own insurances (personal and vehicle) from the UK to the Gambia.
Costs which will incur in Europe will be the responsibility of each team.
Costs which will incur in Africa will be indicated on the e -Document under
the heading, Approximate cost of Challenge.
• Medical/ Vaccinations: Information and all medical requirements for all countries will be the responsibility of each applicant/team to
acquire. However, we will also include information on our eDocument.
• Passport: We recommend that your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 8 months from the date of travel from the UK.
• Travel Safety: Most of the countries are relatively safe to travel through, Alhamdulillah. Nevertheless, we recommend each applicant/team to make their own research. We will share a few videos from YouTube after registration. There are lots of videos on YouTube where individuals have shared their experiences.
• Visas: You need a visa to enter Mauritania. Visas are issued on arrival. The current cost is €55 (Euros) or $60 (US dollars) in cash
only. The visa issuing process at the border can take several hours. The organiser will Inshallah try all it can to make the crossing as easy and smooth as possible. No Visas required for Senegal and the Gambia for British Passports.
• Currency: It is highly recommended that you have a certain amount of Euros and US Dollars with you including GBP. Currencies commonly used in Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Senegal are Euros.
The Banger Car challenge registration will close in October 2025 for the organisers to start the “behind the scenes preparations”. Registration will be done on a first come first basis. Limited spaces are available. To avoid disappointment, please register ASAP.
Any questions or queries, please contact Molana Ebrahim via email caravanchallenges@gmail.com
or by WhatsApp 07730984944.
For all updates, please keep an eye on the website which will be updated frequently.
Follow the link below to register your details to join the 2025 December Banger Car Rally.

 

 

 

⊛ Car Rally Registration
⊛ Car Rally Rules & Information
⊛ Car Rally Requirements
⊛ Car Rally Expenses
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