Ashbourne lads off on the adventure of a lifetime in a vintage fire truck, taking part in 15,000km rally to Sierra Leone

A GROUP of car mad pals from Ashbourne are preparing to take part in a 15,000km rally that will take them from Dublin to Sierra Leone for charity in a vintage fire truck that they have restored themselves.

Adam Johnston, Tim Higgins, Eoin Murphy, Declan Moore, Colm Murphy and Sam Kenna are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime taking part in The Budapest to Bamako rally billed as the “world’s largest amateur rally” in a 1994 Renault fire engine they bought in the Netherlands. The group is undertaking the challenge to raise funds for children’s hospice charity LauraLynn and UN’s children's agency Unicef.

The rally has been running since 2005, though it no longer ends in Bamako, Mali, because of the volatile security situation there. The route now goes through five European and five African countries ending in Sierra Leone, with participants travelling roughly 9,400km in 19 days.

The Budapest-Bamako is a minimal assistance adventure and navigational race that is not for the faint hearted. The rally is not an easy Sunday drive or picnic in the park.

Participants have no rescue helicopters, tow trucks, translators or tour guides. They must rely on their own luck, resources and skills! However with five mechanics in tow, they don’t have too much to worry about.

"We are all mechanics, bar one guy who is a carpenter. We are into anything with wheels, three of us are truck mechanics and two of us are mechanics,” said Adam.

“I saw the rally online last year and I said why can’t we do it. So we were originally going to buy a couple of bangers do the rally then one evening I was just on the phone and browsing for trucks for sale on a website based in Holland and I saw this fire engine and crew cab and as soon as I saw it, I said that is definitely what we need to do the rally in!

"It’s a four wheel drive, lot of others would have two wheel drives and suped up kind of stuff. We are probably half mad doing it in this thing but that’s part of the adventure I suppose!”

“It is kind of like an amateur version of the Dakar Rally.

"We are going from Dublin. The official rally starts in Budapest but there is also another start in Fes in Morocco, we are going from there and driving to Sierra Leone so it’s going to be 15,00km round trip."

The Ashbourne mechanic spotted the fire engine whilst browsing online and made the trip to The Netherlands to buy the vehicle.

"Three of us flew over and we actually drove it back but it broke down on the way to the ferry on us," he said. "The diesel tank was full of rust but we managed to make it to the ferry."

Although it had not been a working fire truck for many years, the vehicle was in pretty good condition as Adam explains:

"It wasn’t too bad in fairness, there is low mileage on it because it is a fire truck. It was parked up for a very long time. It was bought out of France and then brought to Holland. It was originally for sale for €15,000 then it dropped to €6,000 which is what we bought it for.”

The group have been tipping away making repairs on the truck since it was bought in January.

"It was a fully functioning fire truck, we stripped all of the back out it out and we did normal repairs, we had to put a new alternator and diesel tank on it. We gave it a good clean, put a new spring on it, small bits and pieces nothing too major really.

"We put couple new seats in the front and more in the back. We still have a fair bit to do. We are probably doing stuff that’s not really essential but just in case, if we really had to we could drive it the way it is in fairness."

Adam says the group is “prepared for anything” as they make their way through dirt road and deserts.

"The terrain is going to be tricky enough,” he said. "There is going to be two classes in the rally, one is going to be an extreme class for lads with all the gear and there is a touring class which is the one we will be in. It will be very unlikely that there will be even any paved roads on the route we are taking.

"We will be driving through the Sahara desert in the first section. I was talking to someone who did it before who said one day you could be up in mountains ploughing through snow and the next you could be in the desert. We are not really too sure what to expect!

Dusty 4X4 jeeps, SUVs, buses, pick-up vans and motorbikes have been the transport of choice for other participants over the years but Adam is unsure they will meet another former emergency service vehicle!

"I don’t think there will be another fire truck anyway,” he said.

Adam added that the group is looking forward to the adventure.

"When we talk about a rally in Ireland, we think of an escort going flat out down a back road, there is like an adventure navigation rally. I think it averages about 400km per day we have to cover which is massive considering it is off road it is a case of getting up at the crack of dawn and finish late at night.

"I’d say we are going to see some unbelievable scenery and meet some extraordinary people , it will be a trip of a lifetime!"