D- day has arrived

And yes, after so many days, weeks and months D-day has arrived. Tomorrow at 7AM the adventure is starting direction to Madrid where the official start will take place on Friday at 4 PM. Close to 350 Fiat Panda / Seat Marbella direction to Motril.

Today some friends have come to say goodbye. It was a wonderful moment and very much aprreciated taking in consideration the current weather conditions (today we had snow in Barcelona).

Stay tuned!

Only 8 days and we go!!!

Today we are happy to show you the final pictures of the car. Everything is last minute which makes it more challenging but at the same time more fun.

Theoretically we should not have anymore surprises after all the mechanical changes we have done.

I would also like to thanks our Sponsors / Friends for making it more "PRO":

- Fundació Hospital de Nens de Barcelona

- Psy@Work

- Pivote Marketing

- Gau Catering

- The Valley Digital Business School

- Sublime Oils

- Pronto Rotulo

Only 18 days before the start! Final daily parcours are known

During the last weeks many things have happened in the preparation:

1. Design of car finished

2. Several sponsors are supporting us

3. All little details for making the trip easier are bought and ready to be packed

4. Several test trips have been made in order to get familiar with car in different environments

BUT, 2 weeks ago we broke the engine of the car... The good news is that tomorrow, hopefully, we will get our car back with a brand new engine!!

So, what exactly is the detailed route we will do per day?

DAY 1 (March 2^nd 2018)

Madrid – Motril – Nador – Mohammed V Lake

DAY 2

Mohammed V Lake – Bni Tadjite

DAY 3

Bni Tadjite – Errachidia

DAY 4

Errachidia – Merzouga

DAY 5

Merzouga – Tafraoute Sidi Ali

DAY 6

Tafraoute Sidi Ali – Tansikht

DAY 7

Tansikht – Marrakech

For more details clik on the following link: Details of the daily trips

Next week we will be able to share final pictures of the car!!!!!!

Well, the previous post was not the last one of 2017.
As some of you have asked more information about the Panda Raid I have compiled some nice pictures and videos of previous years. Hope you like them and you get enough excited to also join next year!

Happy 2018!!

Click on the link to see the videos:
Summary
How hard it can be

Last day of 2017 and 60 days before the start

Today we have officially created vdE Racing Team. 

When I say we, it's the super team composed by Robert, my brother, and myself! Logo is WIP and will be shared soon.

The car has been heavily tested during 650 kms in the last 2 weeks in different environments like highway, gravel and sand. So far everything looks great, but some surprise are always part of the game. Last week suddenly the car did not start and after a quick investigation the outcome was that the start engine decide to leave us. Also after some heavy off-road test in the Gava area the engine started to leak some oil. At this stage not clear what it is but next week the car will go back to the garage to finalize some fine tuning (mainly electricity) and check the oil issue.

The next big project is the external layout of the car. Designer and materials are identified, so everything should be ready by the end of January.

Regarding sponsorship, we are definitely running behind schedule, so if you or somebody you know is interested to sponsor us he/she is welcome. Logo's will be placed on the car. Any small or big contribution is welcome.

100 days to go

In 100 days Panda Raid 2018 will start and we, CASTEFA PANDA RAID 2018, are almost ready.
Next week the synchro of our gearbox will be finalized and we will finally start to fully test the car, prepare all the logistics and start the hunting process for sponsors.

Getting ready for PANDA RAID 2018

After many months of considering to participate in PANDA RAID 2018, the decision was finally taken this summer!

Step 1: find a Panda 4x4 which is in acceptable condition

Step 2: By a car.

Step 3: Get the car prepared for the challenge

Step 4: make sure all the aspects of the care are OK to be able to start and finnsih the RAID

Step 5: get some basic knowledge on how the repair the engine and how to read a roadbook as no GPS is allowed in the desert

This is where I'm currently. The start will be in March 2018.
More to come in the next weeks and months!