Three men and a Ford head for Mongolia

THREE friends have set off on a road trip to Mongolia to raise money for seriously ill children.

Paul Glavin, 32, Adrian McLaughlin, 33, and Brian McKeown, 32 are Ireland’s entry in the mighty Mongolian Rally 2010.

They drove their modified 1.2 litre Ford Fiesta onto the Cork-Swansea ferry before the weekend on the first leg of their adventure.

Over the coming weeks they plan to drive a third of the way around the Earth’s surface, across Europe then into deserts and mountains through Turkey, Iran, Russia and finally Mongolia.

They are hoping to raise funds for Barretstown – the specially designed camp for children with serious illnesses.

More than 300 teams, mainly from Europe, the US and Canada, enter the gruelling 10,000-mile rally every year.

Teams must complete the epic trip in a car with an engine no bigger than 1,300cc, and without the support of a back-up crew.

The Rebel Warriors have upgraded their car with new suspension, new air filters, cooling and air conditioning systems. A snorkel and special lights have been fitted to allow it to drive in desert conditions.

The rally officially started at the Goodwood Racing Circuit in West Sussex in England on Friday and the team took the channel tunnel to Calais before driving across Europe. They hope to arrive in Ulan Bataar on August 23.

The car and all equipment will be donated at the end of the trip to charities in outer Mongolia.

Donations are via website www.rebel-warriors.com