Motoscape Banger Rally Blog

The 2011 Rally Starts Tomorrow!

In: 2011 Rally

2 Sep 2011

The 2011 Motoscape Rally starts tomorrow, Saturday 3rd September 2011.

Stay tuned to the blog and our facebook page for all the latest updates from the rally, we’ve got a feeling this year is going to be best one yet!

See you at the start line.

The Motoscape Team

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Pre-Rally Build Up

In: 2011 Rally

17 Aug 2011

Hey everyone, hopefully your all prepared for the experience of a lifetime, as the 2011 Motoscape Banger Rally starts in just over 2 weeks!

Here at Motoscape HQ, we can’t believe how quickly this year’s rally has come round. It doesn’t seem like 2 minutes since we were enjoying the first beer in St Omer 12 months ago.

We hope all your preparation is going to plan and can’t wait to see your motoring masterpieces! If you can’t wait till the 3rd of September to show off your banger, why not post it on the facebook page for all to see!

Everyone should have had their pre-rally packs via email now, if you haven’t just email us at contact@motoscape-rally.co.uk, but here’s a few essentials you need for the rally:

Your passports
Driving Licenses for all those planning on driving
Insurance certificate to cover all those drivers
Valid test certificate (MOT)
A sense of humour :)
Some spending money for the trip
A digital camera & computer lead / memory card reader (important for challenges)
A Sat Nav (with Europe enabled) or detailed European road maps
And most importantly of all, your team and your car!

If you’ve got a website / blog or facebook page for your team, feel free to email it over to us and we can put the link under your team name on the teams page – http://www.motoscape-rally.co.uk/teams.asp

This year we are going to be updating the website constantly with updates from the rally. Every day there will be a blog on the latest rally news, challenges, leader boards, photos and general daily goings on.

If your friends and family want to keep up to date with the rally, point them in the direction of our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MotoscapeBangerRally

This will be the main hub for all the latest news & photos with instant updates to their news feeds so pass it on.

We want this years rally to be the best one yet and we hope you are all as excited as we are!

The Motoscape Team will be at the Etap Hotel in St Omer from 11am on Saturday 3rd September ready for registration!

Look forward to meeting you all

Paul, Peter and Mark
The Motoscape Team

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Tags: 2011 Rally, St Omer

Designing the Ultimate Banger

In: General

16 May 2011

One of our favourite things about running the Motoscape Banger Rally is seeing the variety of cars and wacky themes. The car designs get better and better each year so for 2011 we want to see the BEST THEMES YET! After the famous Moonraker James Bond car of 2010, the stakes have been raised for 2011. Don’t forget, there’s a £100 prize on offer for the best banger, plus the kudos of being voted the best banger by fellow “Motoscapers”!

So, how do you decide on a theme for your banger this year? Well here are a few ideas to get you going…

Cartoon Characters: Everybody has a favorite cartoon or character and this has been a popular choice in previous years. So whether it’s Scooby Doo, Mickey Mouse or Buzz Lightyear, your car will be memorable spectacle throughout Europe. Combining car design with fancy dress always works well, could it be our first year for a Simpson’s theme???

Animals: Cars based on animals are always eye catching and distinctive, particularly good if you are raising money for an animal based charity. There’s plenty out there to choose from so the sky’s the limit and the furrier the better!

Action Heroes: Cars based on action heroes are my personal favourite! Think of all those childhood and modern day heroes. From James Bond, Batman, Superman Spiderman or the Ghostbusters the choices are vast and cars can look really impressive as we saw last year. For any nostalgic entrants out there, we think an early 90′s WWF Wresting theme would look great!

Abstract: Trying to think out of the box for an idea to make your car the best for 2011? Just follow your instinct and the £100 best decorated car prize could be yours.

A memorable guy who did exactly this was in 2008 when John from South Yorkshire was having his house plastered he asked his plasterer, Bill, for ideas in decorating his banger. Bill came up with the idea of artexing the whole car, here’s the result, you couldn’t make it up!

We hope this gives all the teams something to think about, and it’s not too late to change your team name if you want to create a new theme. Just email us at contact@motoscape-rally.co.uk for any questions or advice!

We can wait to see the cars in September – good luck everyone and get your creative caps on!

The Motoscape Team

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Tags: 2011 Rally, Bangers, Do Something Different, Themes

Motoscape Banger Rally Insurance

In: News

1 Apr 2011

ALL SYSTEMS GO!

You’ve got your entry form, you’ve got your passport, you’ve got your tool box, you’ve got your banger and fingers crossed it’ll still be running at the end of the rally! But are you correctly insured?

This year the Motoscape Rally has teamed up with specialist motor insurer HIC (Herts Insurance Consultants) to offer a banger rally insurance scheme that will cover you both effectively and for a reasonable price. It’ll mean no nasty surprises along the way, plus it’ll save you time when you check in at the start line. We know this specialist insurance gives you the correct level of cover you need to partake safely and legally in the rally.

AREN’T I INSURED ALREADY THOUGH?

This is up to you to check! Some insurers won’t cover you when you tell them you’re entering a charity rally, especially ones that include travel to overseas countries, however remember this is not a race, it is a European motor tour.

Check with your own insurance and then with HIC and judge for yourself on the best option.

WHAT ABOUT BY MY CO-DRIVERS? WILL THEY BE COVERED?

The specialist cover HIC provide allows cover for up to four drivers, subject to circumstances and age of course, so you’ll have the peace of mind that everyone is covered fully and legitimately while driving but please bear in mind the cover is third party only.

HOW LONG DOES THE POLICY LAST?

This is up to you! The HIC policy can be tailored to suit your requirements. It might also be worth checking with your own insurance to see if they allow additional vehicles to be added to your policy on a short-term basis.

HOW DO I GET MY POLICY WITH HIC?

Just give HIC a call on the Motoscape Rally hotline: 0844 888 7251

You can also contact HIC by email at enquiries@hertsinsurance.com or via the website, www.hertsinsurance.com

ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO INSURE MY BANGER?

You should be able to take out a standard car insurance policy with added European cover. Remember, this is a motoring tour, it is not a race / speed rally, so do not mention anything to do with speed, rally and races as most insurance companies do not cover this.

Some people swap the insurance over from their own cars (not recommended if it means leaving an expensive car without theft cover); others take out a separate policy on a pay monthly basis and then cancel it when they get back home (check the terms and conditions that the policy can be cancelled within a set period). This way it will cost you just one month’s insurance.

The Motoscape Team are always on hand to give you advice on insurance for your banger, so don’t hesitate to give us a call, send an email, leave a comment below this blog or on Facebook and we’ll get back to you!

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Tags: Bangers, Insurance

Which car to do the Motoscape Rally in?

In: General

4 Mar 2011

One great thing about a banger rally is the variety of cars that take part. There are so many cars of all shapes and sizes to choose from, so here’s a few tips when considering the ideal vehicle!

1. Fuel Consumption

With the ever-increasing cost of fuel, you need to consider whether a petrol or diesel engine is most appropriate. The small petrol engines (under 1000cc) tend to be quite uneconomical on long journeys, not to mention the risk of over heating, however 1600cc – 2000cc are a good compromise and usually fairly economical on a run.

Diesels are economical and simplicity is the name of the game, therefore non-turbo models are best suited to the rally.

2. Comfort and Space

The rally involves a mixture of hills, country roads and motorways including the derestricted Auto Bahns (no speed limits!) in Germany. When picking a car, remember you will be spending quite a bit of time in it, so air con and comfy seats are well worth considering.

A reasonably powerful engine is ideal especially for those spectacular hills on the Stelvio Pass.

3. Simplicity

Pick a car that has simple mechanics just in case you need to do a roadside repair. Turbos and complicated electrical injection systems can become your worst nightmare if you get a malfunction, where as standard cars just keep running and if there is a problem you can usually repair relatively easily.

4. THE ENJOYMENT FACTOR!

This is the balance, do you take the “classic car” option and choose something like a traditional 4.2 Jag (the ultimate luxury) or a “banger car” such as a bog standard cavalier 1.6 GL (the original rep-mobile). Well only you can decide, there are plenty of cars to choose from (take a look at some of our popular choices from previous rallies), but whichever car you decide on the 2011 Motoscape Rally will be a trip of a lifetime – We can promise you that!