NUTS & BOLTSAll you need to know about the Mongol Rally

You’re now one step closer to finding yourself stuck, axle­deep in sand in the middle of the Gobi desertin a car that shouldn’t be capable of getting your granny to the shops.

It might be as ugly as a dinner lady in a gimp suit but this document should give you all the informationyou need about what you will be doing next summer. So sit back, make yourself a cup of tea (preferablya 2/1 blend of Earl Grey and Lapsang served without milk) and read on. But, if you have any morequestions wobbling about in your mind we’d be delighted to chit chat to you on the telephone.

Give us a call during UK working hours on +44(0)117 364 3402 or emailmongolrally@theadventurists.com. You can also find us online here:

Facebook: The Adventurists | Mongol Rally | Official Rally Teams Group

Twitter: TomAdventurist | JoolzAdvntrsts | DanAdventurists

HOW IT ALL BEGANBack in a time when the world had only just realised that the millenium bug was bullshit, Mr Tom and MrJoolz lived in the Czech Republic. They were studying fine art, which gave them an excess of free timeand an excuse to be drunk. At one of the frequent ferment­induced moments an idea arrived. They wouldtry and drive the tiny sack of motoring shite, a Fiat 126, that they had bought recently from a con­man innorthern Prague to the most stupid place they could think of. That place turned out to be Mongolia and

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with no preparation, no luggage and no spare clothes or even pants they set forth to reach their goal.And failed. But they had so much fun in the attempt that they swore to try again.

Mr Tom decided that this was something the rest of the world needed and so the Mongol Rally wasborn. A website was made up and the invitation to join was sent out. In the summer of 2004 just 6 carsrolled out of the back of a bar in Shoreditch, London to face the world’s first Mongol Rally. 4 of themmade it to the finish in Mongolia; the first of which contained a couple of bedraggled ex­art students in acompleted fucked Fiat 126. Word spread and the rally grew. Now, we think it’s probably the biggest roadrally in the world. It’s undoubtedly the best.

DEVOLUTIONAs more and more of the world gets scanned, bar coded and shoved into a device we once used fortalking to other humans, we thought it was time to fight back against the forces of boredom.

10 Mongol Rallies have passed since the first edition of 6 teams back in 2004. An entire decade ofmotoring chaos has seen cars snapped in half, people getting shot at, arrested and stuck in all mannerof farcical places, but the rally has evolved over the years.

The cars gradually got newer as the government increased the taxes. Engine sizes crept up past themagic 1 litre mark. The roads are getting better and better. The entry fee has risen. It’s inevitable theysay. You can’t stop the relentless march of modernity they say. Everything will end up in a riskassessment and a nice safe bubble wrap of unaccountability they say.

Bollocks to that we say. After ten years it’s time to take radical action. It’s time to draw a line in theGobi desert sand and shout fuck you health and safety, fuck you modernity. You can’t have the MongolRally too.

We miss being able to fix the cars with chewing gum and a baked bean can. We don’t understanddiagnostic systems or electronic ignition. Anything we can’t fix with a hammer is over engineered.

So we’ve ditched the 10 year rule, cut the entry fee almost in half and brought in the “Rather IrregularPlaces” to ensure tarmac is rare.

Bring the shittest, rolling turd of a car you can find. Use a car you swapped for a bag of crisps. Seek outa car that most people wouldn’t even use for the shopping run. Or better still come along on a scooter.There are few things that compare with hitting top speed on a Honda C90 and leaving a kilometre­longdust trail, watching all the bolts gradually shake themselves out.

We’ve simplified the Mongol Rally to bring you more of what you want and less guff so grabbing a spot isnow cheaper than it’s been for years. And the all new Rather Irregular Places bring back the world beforetarmac in a way that will tear your tiny machines into a thousand pieces.

The old school Mongol Rally is back.

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THE UN­ROUTESYour Mongol Rally can come in an infinite variety of adventuring flavours. Because the whole point of theMongol Rally is to have an adventure it’s absolutely vital that we don’t tell you where you should begoing or how to do it.

We could all too easily give you an extended road book that gives you the most up to date informationabout every single border between the UK and Mongolia. We could tell you which roads are good andwhich have fallen apart. We could warn you of all the danger spots or get you all driving along exactlythe same route. But any of that would be morally abhorrent.

We believe the world is too safe and too organised. We live our lives in ever decreasing circles offreedom. Fear of litigation, greed and spineless refusal to take responsibility for ourselves have robbedus all of the most interesting things in life: the unexpected. If you burn yourself on a coffee it’s your faultfor being stupid, not the maker of the cup for not warning you.

And in this spirit the un­route was born. We set the stage for the adventures to happen. We give you astart point and a finish point but where you go or what you do in between is yours to discover. We highlyrecommend you don’t spend too long planning your route. Don’t buy any useful maps or guidebooks.Find out what’s there when you arrive.

In the past some teams have travelled as far south as Iran and Pakistan while others cross the ArcticCircle in search of adventure. Why not break the mould and go via the Congo or the North Pole?

RATHER IRREGULAR PLACESAs that evil of evils Tarmacadam slithers across the lands, we of a Mongol Rally ilk have a problem.Once you can get to Mongolia without leaving a metaled road, you should probably not bother. Unless ofcourse, you don’t use it. And herein lies the secret of the Mongol Rally. It’s all about making life difficultfor yourself. And so as we watched in horror as the black adventure death slowly advanced on thewilderness we loved we reached a tipping point after which something had to be done. And that point isnow. We had to preserve the ridiculousness of the Rally. And that something is now the mighty andreally quite stupid Rather Irregular Places.

These little marvels are being planned out by the Department of Farcicality deep in the Adventuristsbunker. They are points in the world which are not entirely easy to get to. They are graded in difficultyand scattered slightly further and wider than they should be. There are quite a lot of them and they areentirely optional. But we will be running a leader board for those who prove they have reached them. Orin some cases, those who prove they have got the closest. the harder the place to reach the morepoints. But, you can only claim the points if you also get to the finish line.

They will mean you can have as much adventure in just Russia as you can by driving through all theStans. They will significantly reduce your chances of getting to the end.

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YOU’RE ON YOUR OWNThe most important thing to realise about doing the Mongol Rally is that it is not a holiday. It isdangerous. You really are on your own so if things go seriously wrong. You will need to fix themyourself. That sounds all fun and games as you read this but make sure you are really ready for thatwhen things go wrong. Are you going to be happy with both your legs broken, bleeding out slowly in aKazakh village after a car crash knowing that nobody is coming to get you?

That said you can get good insurance for the rally and they will have an evacuation plan and medicalsupport. But remember we are not offering you a guided tour. We are not there to help you if you forgetyour spanners or need a new pair of pants. These are the things of adventure. Being self­reliant is whatmakes the Mongol Rally worth bothering with.

VEHICLESThe Mongol Rally has always been about small rubbish cars facing up to a drive that would scare a tank.Over the last five years, the practicality of importing cars to Mongolia has diminished somewhat. In 2009import taxes made it necessary for cars to be 9 years old or younger. In 2012 even taxes for cars 6­9years old became higher and not many of us can afford a 5 year old car to drive for a month and a half.Plus let’s not forget these damnable new cars have an annoying tendency to be reliable. But thankgoodness, old is the new new and the Mongol Rally is now open to a more worthy collection of vehicles.

CARSUnder 1000cc and crap. No fancy electronics or rust proof paint to make your ride morecomfortable. We’re talking about uncomfortable, woefully inadequate vehicles that will breakdown when it’s least convenient. We want you to be driving in a car so rubbish that getting halfway is an achievement and reaching the finish line makes people think you’ve been cheating.

MOTORBIKESWe like small motorcycles and scooters on the Rally, it’s a difficult undertaking which wesalute. That doesn’t mean we’re going to allow ruddy great adventure touring bikes though.Bikes should be under 125cc and preferably in the classy shape of a scooter.

ANYTHING ELSE?Subject to HQ approval there can be some flexibility with the rules. We don’t usually mind if youwant to bring a slightly bigger vehicle if it is a suitably ridiculous mode of transport, though it hasto be genuinely original and a solid amount of comedy value.

If you’ve got an old car rusting to death in your driveway which is a more than 1 litre that youwant to give a fitting send off too, you might be able to twist our arms.

Proper classic vehicles are almost always allowed in for sheer excellentness.

Also something high on the impractical scale like a Lamborghini would be entertained.

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If you’re under the misguided delusion that it is a good idea to take an ambulance to Mongolia,we won’t try to stop you, we will however say it hasn’t been cool to drive an ambulance toMongolia for about 5 years now. They’re boring to drive, miss the point of the Rally and aren’t ofany use to the emergency services in Mongolia. If you’re desperate to bring one and it’s not justbecause you’re trying to bring too much stuff, give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.

YOUR VEHICLE AND THE FINISH LINEThe flip side of being able to drive old crap cars to Mongolia is that you have to take them out of thecountry afterwards. The good news is the lower entry fee and the cheapness of old cars means you’llstill end up spending less overall than the 2013 pre­devolution teams.

THE OPTIONSThere are a couple of options here once you reach the finish line in a car. But either way it can only stayin Mongolia if you are willing to spend a MINIMUM of £4000 on import taxes for older cars. So luckilythere are some much cheaper and more convenient options than that that we will be sorting out for you.

The easy way ­ we ship it back to EuropeIf after taking a month long beating from your car you’re not quite in the mood to drive it anyfurther or you think it might be just so shit that the remaining wheel will fall off fear not, we’ve gotit covered.

We have organised to ship the cars back to a central location in Europe. Once it arrives thereyou can decide if you want to pick it up or not. If you can’t be arsed we will scrap the beast foryou. But if after a month of stench your car has become part of your soul, then it’s yours to pickup so you can re­live the Mongol Rally by sleeping in it in your drive.

Because of the large number of vehicles we’ve got you an incredibly good rate on this. Costs dofluctuate a bit because of the markets though we will be able to confirm well in advance of therally and it should be under £1000.

The cheap way ­ you drive homeIf the thought of parting with even another Tugrig is too much for your bank to bare then thecheapest all round option is to drive home. Not only do you save on the shipping costs but alsoon the flights. It could save you several thousand pounds by doing it this way.

You can get from Ulaanbaatar to the UK in about a week along the M53, M51 & M7 motorways.In 2012 Ben Cox and team Only Fools & Horsepower took 7 days to drive home, and it costthem £800 between the three of them in fuel and food (including accidentally crossing back intoKazakhstan and a detour up to Moscow on the way home). Which is much, much cheaper thanflying home. In 2014 we will be offering you the Driving Home Road Book. This will give you allyou need to know about how to do it on the cheap and a bunch of good places to stop off if youneed to.

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COSTSHow much the Rally costs depends a bit on how much you can afford, and how sneaky you are at notspending money you don’t need to. It is possible if you are a bit clever and willing to put a lot of effort into do the whole Rally for zero pounds (or zero dollars if you are of the American or perhaps Australianorigin). A lot of charm, tenacity and hard work coupled with a bit of knowledge about how the worldworks means you can persuade sponsors to figuratively throw money at you.

THE VEHICLEIt’s not difficult to get someone to give you a car. Firstly you need to persuade them that their car is shitand that they need a new one, then you just need to offer to take it off their hands for them. Failing that,ask your gran if you can borrow her nissan micra for a few days. If you do need to buy a car you canpick up a pile of rusty bolts for as little as £100. Or you could break out some classics like the everstylish mini or better still the God of all Rally cars, the Fiat 126.

FUELThis depends a lot on which route you are taking, Turkey for example has some of the most expensivefuel in the world and a tank of fuel costs 1000 gold coins, the key to your home and your immortal soul.Most of the rest of the Rally is pretty cheap for fuel, but obviously the longer your route the more you’lluse. The beauty of small cars is that they don’t get too thirsty and most teams run their cars forbetween £500 & £1000

SPARE PARTS REPAIRS & ACCESSORIESOld cars do apparently break down a bit, the beauty of them is that you can fix them with chewing gumand a paperclip. Lots of bits that break you won’t need, more important bits can be cannibalised from oldLadas, and if you’ve got a bit of mechanical knowledge you can save a few quid on that as well. Lots ofteams spend a load of money on sump guards, rally tyres and doing things with suspension. We saybuy a beaded seat cover and save the rest of your cash for vodka.

EATING THINGSYou probably will need to eat at some point, but for much of the Rally your problem won’t be the price ofthe food as much as the lack of options for food. It’s mostly cheaper than chips anyway. If you lookdishevelled and friendly enough you will be surprised how often people will try to feed you. If you buy acheap stove a load of baked beans and noodles, you can eat for a hell of a lot less than you would backhome.

SLEEPING ON THINGSYou shouldn’t even be thinking about sleeping anywhere but in your car. Sometimes occasion doesdemand a night in a hotel and while we say two fingers to your occasion it does make registering withthe Police a tad easier. You can spend a small fortune on hotels but the average seems to be about $20per night. If you stay in a hotel 5 times, this equals approximately $100. Previous teams have usedcredit card reward points to pay hotel bills.

VEHICLE INSURANCEVehicle insurance is a dark art. So dark it cannot be hoped to be understood by anybody. The formula

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seems to go a little like this. Professional 30 somethings in a Perodua Kelisa tend to get insured forapproximately the pocket money of a 9 year old. 18 year olds with 2 months driving experience in anambulance tend to have to fork out more. Needless to say we know Ralliers that have not had to payterribly much at all to be insured on their vehicles and others that have had to pay many, many moniesindeed. With a bit of research and wrangling it shouldn't be an issue, especially if you follow the splendidvehicle rules and have a proper small car.Once you leave Europe you’ll need to buy insurance on the borders when you come to them, whichusually costs around US$20 but can cost a little more. It depends a bit on how long you need it for asit's often done by the day.

TRAVEL INSURANCEFrom £80 per person. It has been reported that some travel insurance companies define what is clearlyadventuring genius as 'wilful exposure to unnecessary risk'. Personally we think a slice of the unknownis utterly essential to make the world less boring, but it's difficult to convince stuffy, shirty, suity types attimes. We have found a great company Campbell Irvine that knows all about the Rally and gives abrilliant level of cover. You do really need to get good insurance though rather than just look for thecheapest cover. They need to know exactly what you are doing, but be sure to tell them you're nottaking part in a competitive rally or road race. You will feel like a prize dick if the shit hits the fan, yourinsurance company won't pay out or you don't have one and you are staring down the barrel of a nearhalf million dollar bill. Exactly this has happened.

TRAVEL VISAS£200­£900 per person. A common perception these days is that to the do the Rally you need to get asmany countries stamped in your passport as possible. But the more countries you travel through themore visas you'll need and the more money you'll spend and the more time you will spend standing in aqueue. There is as much adventure to be had in the unexplored regions in northern Siberia as insouthern Iran, so if you have the balls for getting lost in thousands of miles of uncharted forests andmountains you would only need two visas.

If you're a UK passport holder the minimum number of visas you'll need is two ­ for Russia and Mongolia­ which will set you back around £130, but you might prefer to get a few extra to add a bit of variation toyour route.

You could save a few pennies by applying for each visa in person, but we recommend using a servicelike The Visa Machine so you don't have to spend months in visa queues in London. Head to The VisaMachine for the latest costs and up­to­date info. They were originally set up to procure the more trickyvisas required for the Mongol Rally so they are really rather good. Plus as a signed up Mongol Rallyteam you'll get a hefty discount on their processing fees.

VEHICLE DEPOSITAbout £1000­£1500. To make sure we don’t get a bunch of vehicles dumped in Mongolia we take a fullyrefundable vehicle deposit. We don’t do this because we’re trying to make money out of you, or becausewe don’t trust you we do it to make sure we don’t go out of business and can put on a Mongol Rally thefollowing year. The exact cost of the vehicle deposit is dependent on the price of shipping, which we arenegotiating a price for. We should have an accurate idea of this in January.

GETTING HOME

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Just like skinning cats there are a few ways to get yourself back to your cosy hearth.

DRIVEThis does a bit depend on where you’re going, but the cheapest way to get yourself home is towalk or indeed not to bother and just stay in Mongolia. But if you want to get home withoutwalking the next cheapest way is to drive your rusty old jalopy home, this takes about a weeksand shouldn’t cost more than about £800 per car. You obviously also save money because itincludes shipping your car home sort of like committing two acts of ornithological animal crueltywith one geologically formed blunt implement.

TAKE THE TRANS SIBERIAN EXPRESSIf you fancy the scenic route without driving you can try the Trans­Siberian, you can book fromthe finish line and tickets to Moscow cost from $160. Flights from Moscow to the UK areusually under £100.

FLYIt is cheaper to book flights in advance, but as it’s difficult to predict when (if) you’ll arrive at thefinish line you should try to book flexible tickets or make sure your insurance covers missedflights. Flights back to Europe usually cost about £600. Previous ralliers have begged borrowedand stolen air­miles to get themselves home.

KIT YOU NEEDFrom nothing to silly silly money. You don't need to take loads of stuff with you. Just because yourcar has a boot doesn't mean you should fill it, people will undoubtedly say you need to bring XYZ, youdon’t. You can actually survive on what other people throw away. Or take Mr Tom and Mr Joolz’ exampleand carry nothing at all.

THE UNEXPECTED...From half a pack of Percy Pigs to a border guard to ? It's really not an adventure if nothing hasgone wrong. Fortunately, no matter how well prepared you think you are, you won't be. Bribes andbreakdowns are as certain as death and taxes but if you pull out some cunning it needn't cost you muchmore than your first born or your grandmother. If you're once trusty steed ceases to be so trusty andcollapses like a half ton sack of vegetables 600 miles from a road then you might find getting homecosts a few sheckles.

For when the shit really hits the fan make sure you have good travel insurance or you will be paying forthe seriously unexpected from your own pocket.

THE ENTRY FEETHE ENTRY FEE FALLS TO HALFSo as part of devolving the Mongol Rally we’ve taken the entry fee and jumped all over it until it fits into atiny hole. Its dropped right down to £525 per team if you’re in a car or £325 per rider if you’re going on a

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motorbike (bravo and hats off to you) including all credit card fees if you sign up before 1st November2013.

After that is goes up to £630 per car team and £350 per motorbike. A billy bargain

SPLIT THE PAYMENTS UPWe’ve also made it much easier to pay for your Rally by offering you option to split your entry feepayment across 3 months. Because we get stung by our payment provider and it’s a bit more adminwork there is a small extra cost to splitting the payment up of £50. But it means your bank won’t take ahammering in one month.

REFUND POLICYIf you suddenly discover you can’t go on the Mongol Rally without losing your family or your job, firstthing to do is assess which outcome is preferable. Mongol Rally or Job?

If it all comes crashing down and you do find you have to bail then we have a refund schedule that goesas follows:

28 days after paying you can get a full refund minus an admin fee because it’s pain in the bumand we still get charged by our payment provider for both accepting and refunding your cashmoney.

£15 if you’ve paid the £100 deposit £60 if you’ve paid your entry fee in full

More than 90 days before the adventure starts you can get a 50% refund, this is because a lotof our costs are incurred year round. If you’re paying in installments we keep 50% of the wholeentry fee you’re due to pay, so you get back whatever you’ve paid over that amount.

Less than 90 days before the adventure unfortunately we can’t refund your entry fee at this pointbecause we will have spent it.

WHAT YOU GET FOR YOUR ENTRY FEE

Simply put, by taking part in the mighty Mongol Rally you will have tales of adventure that you’ll betelling your grandchildren about in decades to come. You choose your own route, cause your owntrouble and get yourself out of jail, but you do it along with hundreds of other fine Adventurists from asmany countries from around the world as you care to name.

Most important of all you are part of of one of biggest and most outrageously splendid adventures on theplanet. For evidence of the truth of this bold claim (one that not even the smarmiest shiny­suitedcorporate lawyer could counter) watch this splendid video A brief Guide to the Mongol Rally or indeedthe Mongol Rally Official DVD Trailer on YouTube.

THE FINISH LINEWhen you've just driven 10,000 miles through up to 20 countries you may want a suitable spotto celebrate your achievements. We've established a drive in finish line with a stage and giganticsignage for your photo and video pleasure. Other on­site essentials include immediate access

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to food and of course a bar along with an enthusiastic gathering of Ralliers and partyatmosphere pretty much every night for about a month. There will also be one of us shiftylooking chaps dishing out information on where is good to eat, stay and get a decent tailor tosort out the mess you’ve made of your second best suit.

VEHICLE LOGISTICAL ASSISTANCEShould you choose not to drive home we are arranging a shipping service which means you getyour vehicle shipped home for the best price possible. If you no longer need your vehicle at thispoint we will handle scrapping it for you, or if you want to turn it into a shrine on your front lawnyou can come and collect it.

Whether you are driving home or shipping your car back to Europe we will assist with yourtemporary import documents and use our local contacts to expedite your transit.

TRACKING MAP, SMS UPDATES & SMARTPHONE APPWe’ve got a tracking map where you can upload your location along with messages, photos andeven video clips by SMS message. We have also developed an iphone and Android app so youcan do this all at the touch of a button, either via mobile data or the updates can be saved untilyou are within wifi range.

TEAM WEBSITE PAGESWe provide you with team pages where you can shout about your rally preparations and yoursponsors & fundraising efforts before you head off. When the Rally is launched your trackingmap is activated here too and your updates will be posted on the map as well as your blog.

PRE & POST­RALLY EXPERTS LURKING IN THE WINGSOur team here have done the Rally 7 times between us and know almost all there is to knowabout driving shit cars to Mongolia; although we won't tell you everything of course, becausethat would be boring. We can however answer questions about insurance, Carnet de Passages,choosing and buying cars, fundraising, getting media coverage, border crossings, how to gethome and which tea to drink with your afternoon jam and scones.

We are available from the day you sign up until many moons after you finish ­ be that by email,telephone or in person in the UK, at checkpoints or Mongolia. If you're holding a team event giveus a shout, we’'ll probably be able to help out with that as well.

We also update the Online Adventure Handbook for teams throughout the year with a bunch ofuseful information and dish out regular mail­outs telling you what you should be doing and otheruseful tidbits of information. Nothing that would give the game away of course, you'll still haveabsolutely no idea where you'll first get completely lost and stuck on the rally itself.

BANTERJoin the discussion on the website’s banter module. Talk to fellow teams and The Adventuriststo discuss routes, vaccinations, what to take, choosing a team name, what fancy dress youneed for the parties, first aid tips, how to modify your car, and mechanical hints for the road. Aswell as far more important subjects such as what is your favourite gin, which hamper would bebest for roadside afternoon tea and really, after all, what colour cravat looks best in the desert in

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Uzbekistan?

THE VISA MACHINERalliers get a hefty Mongol Rally team discount on visa admin costs via the The Visa Machine.We developed The Visa Machine right back alongside the first of the rallies, and it’s becomesuch a force in adventuring visa procurement it is slowly taking over the visa world.

SPONSORSHIP ASSISTANCEWe have a dedicated sponsorship manager Mr Gareth, and what he lacks in social nuances hemore than make up for for magiking money and booty from thin air. In 2012 he persuaded Wispato run a competition where one team won £2000, in 2013 he sweet­talked JVC into giving 20teams £800 worth of action cameras each. He is also available to give advice about individualsponsorship or any larger project you have in mind.

MEDIA WISDOMThe other half of the two­mouths­one­ear department is Mr Dan who is a bottomless pit of mediaknowledge, if you’ve got a TV project about the Rally you want to breathe life into this oldwindbag is just the ticket. If you’ve not got a TV project but just want to get your exploits (not tomention sponsor logos & fundraising endeavors) into the local news Mr Dan will happily pass onhis knowledge.

ALSOWe have regular events at Adventurist HQ or at other UK locations which you get entry to, theyare a great way of meeting other ralliers and having a chat with us lot in persons. You also getthe camaraderie of being a Mongol Rallier, making hundreds of new chums for life of the typeyou only get from sharing in the agony and ecstasy of 10,000 miles of mountain and desert overthe worst roads in the world. And as good as all of this is, you also get the official t­shirt, andnot even Ranulph Fiennes can boast that.

THE LAUNCHWe are busy right now scouting around the country looking for an awesome location to launch from.We’ll let you know where as soon as we have it. But don’t book a ferry yet as you won’t want to miss it.Or the ferry.

RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITYSince 2004 teams on the Mongol Rally have raised over £2 million for charity. No mean feat by anyyardstick. You can find out how the charities make excellent use of this money in our Charity Reports.

WHY?We need to save every rainforest in the world so future generations have somewhere to getstuck. Not because we’re tree hugging sandal weavers, but because the world would be shitwithout them. It’s not about the carbon off twatting, the point is rainforests are indescribably

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excellent.

We don't just want to have adventures across this here planet, we also want to save it a bit too.We're working with the lovely folks at Cool Earth trying to not just save a tiny piece of the worldat a time, but by saving the whole thing in one go, read more in The Plan

£1000We give all teams a target of £1000, this can either all go to the official charity or half can go tothe official charity and the rest can go to a charity of your choosing.

HOW?The best way to raise these funds is through your friends and families, people you work with oranyone who's got a dirty little secret only you know about. We've found that the best way tocollect these funds is through an online platform such as Justgiving as they make it easy for usto count the funds, the cash goes straight to the charities and also because it is possible for thecharities to claim Gift Aid. Different charities can use different fundraising platforms in differentcountries so it's best to check with the charities which is best.

WHEN?You've got until 6 weeks after the adventure to collect that cash, this means you get as long aspossible to raise funds including the duration of the event and shortly after.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I MISS THE TARGET?If you can't raise £1000, unfortunately you will go to hell. Together with the charities we give youtips and resources to help and when the time to count up what everyone has raised comesabout we will pester you somewhat, but we won’t set any dogs on you, or force you to sell yourchildren. We will be very, very disappointed though and do a sad face at you.

THE FINISH LINEIf you actually reach the end of the Mongol Rally you will find yourself in the capital of MongoliaUlaanbaatar. There you will be greeted by us offering you a shiny glass of cold beer, a hearty pat on theback and weeks of nightly entertainment to ensure you go home with a hangover.

The gates officially swing open two weeks after the launch and we’ll get bored of waiting for you by thesixth week. However we have people out in Mongolia all year so we can still sort you out when you arriveif that happens to be 6 months late. The pomp and ceremony will be reduced though.

Once you arrive we will be on hand to sort out your vehicle. We will be managing it’s re­export if that’swhat you want or helping you find repairs if you want to drive home. Or dealing with all the paperwork ifyou are coming in on a motorbike and leaving it in Mongolia.

TEAMS FROM OUTSIDE EUROPE

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If you’re coming from overseas to take part in the Mongol Rally you may have further questions abouthow to get on board. There is a boatload more information available in the Team Handbook which youcan access when you sign up but here are the essentials.

Hundreds of Americans, Canadians, Australians, Brazilians, Indians, New Zealanders, Mexicans, SouthKoreans, Singaporeans and Hong Kongers have taken part in the rally so we have a bunch of knowledgeand contacts that may save you some time on boring logistical stuff therefore giving you more time forthings like charity fundraising and not planning your route to make sure you get lost.

If you can't simply up and move to the UK (where we get more holiday time anyway) we’ve prepared tipsand advice and contacted past teams that have come from the States, Canada, Australia and othercountries for their words of advice on how you can prepare for the Mongol Rally if you don’t happen tolive near one of the start lines.

If you live somewhere else but could do with a chinwag with a veteran rallier from your neck of thewoods, just drop us a line. Participants from pretty much every corner of planet earth have taken part sowe'll be able to put you in touch with one of your countrymen who knows about Mongol Rally pre launchgubbins.

BUYING YOUR STEED IN THE EUUnless you’ve got a very helpful knowledgeable pal in mainland Europe it’s a good idea to buy a car inthe UK. The UK is one of the easier corners of the EU to purchase a car if you’re not European and ifyou’re from one of the English speaking corners of the globe such as the United States, Canada,Australia or New Zealand, people speak English here too (English English).

All you need is a UK mailing address to register your steed to – this can be a friend, relative or fellowRallier who’s willing to help out. You will need to give yourself enough time to do this as registering thevehicle under your name could take a few months ­ so consider buying your vehicle remotely.

INSURANCEA good place to start is HIC. As you only need advance insurance for your European leg you might wantto look at temporary insurance like ‘camper van holiday’ policies. Any insurance bought in the UK willcover you for the whole of Europe.

VISASProcuring visas can be an awkward process. The Visa Machine will be able to dispense advice to youbut may not be able to acquire some visas for non­Europeans. This means you’ll have to either find alocal visa service or arrange to visit the embassies in person.

Do your research early. Timeframes for visa procurement could take many months. Plan your routecarefully. US citizens find it difficult to get Iranian visas without individual tailor made tours, and it is notmuch easier for Canadians. For Turkmenistan all ralliers have to go through The Visa Machine, in thepast this has been at the specific request of the authorities. You'll get updates on this once you'vesigned up.

We'll be dispensing more nuggets of wisdom and handy information in the teams handbook which youcan access after you've signed up. If we don't publish any particular advice that relates to a team in yourlocale then we'll try to help you by putting you in contact with teams that have already done it from your

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neck of the woods.

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