2,500 miles in a banger; FRIENDS BRING TRUSTY STEED HOME AFTER SPANISH TRIP RAISES pounds 1,000

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), June 22, 2009

Byline: KATY SIMPSON

MEET Tyneside's answer to Knight Rider.

These David Hasselhoff fans enjoyed the adventure of a lifetime when they drove an old banger 2,500 miles from Newcastle to Barcelona and back again.

Pals Kev Gibson, 35, Phil Surtees, 31, Matt Powers, 35, and Andrew Saunders, 35, donned Hasselhoff wigs in honour of their TV idol, who starred in the 1980s Knight Rider series, as they raced through Europe as part of a charity rally.

Teams were only allowed to enter the race, called the Barcelona Banger, with cars worth pounds 200 or less.

And the Tyneside team set off in a clapped-out BMW 730, which they nicknamed Monique.

It was only supposed to be driven one way, with the cars not expected to survive a return journey.

But Kev, Phil, Matt and Andrew fell in love with their car and could not bear to abandon it, so they drove it all the way back instead.

Kev, a photographer from Blaydon, said: "We limped back with the fuel tank hanging by a thread.

"But the car, which we called Monique, did fantastically well. In fact, EN ROUTE: Team Knight Rider passed through stunning scenery it did so well, I've decided that my next car is definitely going to be a BMW.

"The other teams all scrapped their cars at Barcelona and flew back, but we were so attached to Monique that we've driven her home. Now she's up for sale on eBay." The friends covered 2,500 miles in five days and drove 1,200 miles in just 25 hours.

The Barcelona Banger rally, which is in its fourth year, started in Calais and followed a route through Brittany and on to Nantes, heading down through western France, past Bordeaux and on to Toulouse, before a final day through Andorra, over the Pyrenees and on to Barcelona.

The friends raised more than pounds 1,000 for The Stroke Association and Newcastle-based charity No Strings, which uses puppet films to educate children in the developing world about threats such as HIV/Aids, landmines, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Now they are thinking of starting their own rally to Norway.

Kev said: "It's a good job it was a comfortable car, because it was a mammoth trip.

"We drove a solid 25 hours on the way back and it never faltered, despite the fuel tank looking like it was hanging by a thread. That car was a legend, with 244,000 miles on the clock." Phil, an engineering manager from Whickham, Gateshead, thanked their sponsors, which included Sanderson Young Estate Agency, MD Creative design agency, CreationPR and Marketing, Room 501 Publishing and LFUKPrinters..

CAPTION(S):

HOFF FANS: the pals donned wigs and branded an old BMW Team Knight Rider EN ROUTE: Team Knight Rider passed through stunning scenery