TWO things tend to spring to mind when you hear about a man celebrating his 40th birthday by treating himself to a new car.
Firstly, he is clearly having a midlife crisis. Secondly, it is often likely to be a two-seater sporty number with someone else’s wife in the passenger seat.
Well, Paul Doublet might be about to hit 40 and might also be looking forward to getting behind the wheel of his new car, but he is not a man in crisis.
His new motor, a 1986 Daihatsu Charade, is hardly what you would call a babe magnet, and it will be his brother-in-law, Tony Scriven, a mechanic, in the seat next to him.
The pair are now just weeks away from the start of the longest banger rally in the world. On 19 July they will be among a colourful cavalcade of madcap adventurers setting off for Ulan Bator in Mongolia – in the Charade.
In January Motoring reported on their decision to enter the rally, the rules of which are simple. All cars must be less than 1,000cc … and that’s it. Once they set off, anything goes.
Since then the pair have been working on the Charade that they were given by Mauger’s Garage, and it is now ready for by far its greatest test yet.
‘It has taken us a while to get the car ready, but we’ve finished it now,’ said Paul, who works for Jersey Telecom. ‘We’ve done a hell of a lot to it. We’ve added spotted lights and a roof-rack and have done a lot with the electrics, including putting in an extra battery and cut-off switches and all sorts. We’ve put on a snorkel exhaust and made lots of other tweaks here and there. Compared with what it used to look like, it has been transformed. It’s looking really good at the moment.’
He added: ‘I think we will get there. It is going to be a long haul, but we are pretty confident. We have managed to team up with another car from the UK that includes another Jersey driver, so we will travel together.’
After months of deliberation, and after discounting heading north to the high Arctic, where the sun would shine 24 hours a day, they have decided on their route.
After leaving Hyde Park in London they will head to France before driving through Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Russia again and then into Mongolia and the finish line in that country’s capital, Ulan Bator.
While they are in Kazakhstan the boys intend to head to the Aral Sea. ‘It’s basically a massive dried-up sea,’ explained Paul. ‘You come across boats that are just rusty hulks. Where there used to be water there is just nothing. The boats are just sitting on sand. It is supposed to be an amazing place to visit.’
Paul says that they reckon the 10,000-mile trip will take about three and a half weeks. So what does one pack for such a wacky race?
Paul explains that most of the space will be taken up with jerry cans, spares (wheels, tyres, fan belts and so on) and camping kit. His only luxuries will be an electric razor and some baby wipes. Tony has decided that his luxury will be an electric toothbrush … and baby wipes.
They probably won’t even have room for a present for Paul when he does turn 40 during the trip.
Since we last wrote about Paul and Tony – who have called themselves Band of Brother-in-Laws – they have easily surpassed the charity fund-raising target they set of £1,000. They thank all those who have been so supportive and generous and they expect to be able to hand over more than £2,000 to their two chosen charities: MercyCorps, an international humanitarian aid and development organisation, and Hope for Homes, a charity which finds foster homes for orphans in eastern Europe and elsewhere.
More information about the boys and the rally can be found at www.willwemakeit. com/band_of_brother_in_laws.
*Picture: Paul Doublet and Tony Scriven with the Daihatsu Charade in which they will be driving through Europe to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator
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