Melksham friends have completed a 1,538-mile European rally in a Rover 45, raising nearly £3,000 for Wiltshire Mind and ending the adventure with a surprise marriage proposal.
Amy Fletcher, Roger Fletcher, Debbie Marchant and Kev Payne took part in the Two Ball Banger Rally, travelling from the UK to Barcelona over five days in July.
The route saw the team travel through Reims Circuit, Annecy, Mont Cenis Lake, Sanremo, Monaco, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez and Arles.
Originally donated to the group, the Rover 45 was transformed into the ‘Duck Mobile’ with duck-themed decorations, stickers and rubber ducks added with support from local people.
The team named themselves ‘Team Dark Ducks’ and their vehicle ‘Daisy’.
Amy said, “We were blown away by the amount people helped us raise. It’s been amazing to see such support for such an important charity. The encouragement from Melksham residents and everyone following us online kept us going through the hardest moments.
“The rally wasn’t without challenges. Daisy suffered multiple overheating episodes, at least three breakdowns and even lost reverse gear again for the last two days.
“The final stretch was particularly tough, with Daisy struggling mechanically. To protect her, we travelled at a maximum of 50mph, stopping regularly to cool her down. We didn’t see much scenery on those last two days, it became all about nursing Daisy to the finish.”
Despite the slow progress and long hours, support from other crews and online followers kept morale high.
Amy said, “Drivers waved, beeped and filmed the car as we drove by and one family — who had been following our updates on Facebook — even drove to a motorway services in France to meet us and take a photo.
“We completed all but one of the rally’s daily and event challenges, including building a sandcastle in Saint-Tropez, posing in full costume at a mountain summit and photographing Daisy beside a supercar.”
Their efforts earned them the Spirit of the Rally – Dipstick Award, voted for by fellow crews. The celebrations continued on awards night when Kev proposed to Debbie, who said yes.
Amy said, “This added an unforgettable ending to an already memorable event.
“Daisy may no longer be with us, but the memories and the Duck Army spirit will stay for a very long time. And once we’ve recovered, who knows, maybe we’ll do another one but not just yet; we are all still tired after this one.”
So far, they have raised nearly £3,000 for Wiltshire Mind from 92 supporters, with donations still coming in.
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