We need sleep...But we just love our fans.

Finally the combined wheels of Mongol Rally have been set in motion. Midday on Saturday saw the launch from Hyde Park, and then it was all down to Dover for the opening dash across Europe. Team Wrongolia are now in the beautiful city of Prague, supping on a few brews, after a marathon all night session through France and Germany.

This is the culmination of a highly eventful few weeks that saw Ian desperately begging for cash while I was running about London desperately begging for visas. In the end we got chucked some free toys in order to pipe down, and a bit of sterling from the most unlikely of places; long lost friends, random people in pubs, distant relations, and believe it or not, Ian's mum, who was one tough nut to crack. But not even a whiff of shrapnel from the white-collar folk with the six digit marketing budgets. Now that's even tighter than our Turkmenistan visa application. Thankfully the good people at Bar Estilo and TC's swooped in at the last minute providing some much needed financial support for journey. So, finances aside, the car has been sorted beyond recognition. The boys at Chambers Ford have really put the hours in and even managed to give us a crash course in motor mechanics. Unfortunately we couldn't hide the fact that they were starting with two pretty much blank slates. Pre-rally schoolboy errors include a tank full of diesel due to my incompetence, and Ian getting the car keys stolen while in Newquay on the Fiesta's inaugural run; setting in motion 'Mission New Key to Newquay.' Huge thanks to the captain of BMI Baby flight 1973 who agreed to carry them in his cockpit.

And so to the rally itself. After loading the beast on the morning of departure it was difficult not to notice the wheel arch hanging dangerously close to the tyres. This signified a potential problem. After a re-shuffel we managed to move weight forward enough to move, but not enough to avoid the terrible noise of metal on rubber each time we hit as much as a pebble in the road. By Dover the situation was pretty dire. Fortunately our enthusiasm with a hammer and metal cutters proved successful and the arches got a little trim and flare. Aside from that, so far so good....well, apart from a limp brake line that insists on dragging along the tarmac.

We're back on the road at the crack of dawn tommorrow. We hope to see you in Istanbul.

Until then, mind how you go.

Ian and Phil.