Take one very cheap Ford Fiesta, add four grown men in fancy dress and drive 1,278km to Monte Carlo, via eight countries, in just three days. 

It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but that’s the mission for The IPG’s managing director Robin Beal and his colleagues Kevin Oakes, Jim Dore and a ‘lucky’ IPG member as they take part in the Rainy Day Trust’s VADO Rally this month.

The Rainy Day Trust supports those who work, or have worked, in the builders’ merchant industry who have fallen on hard times, and The IPG is hoping to raise over £2,000 for this important charity.

Throughout the Rally, over 30 teams will have a series of challenges to complete and every day will be spent in fancy dress. Points are awarded for challenges completed successfully, quality of fancy dress and age and engine size of the car purchased – the older and more dilapidated the car, the more points you get!

“The Rainy Day Trust does such a great job for our industry, and the VADO Monte Carlo Rally is a fun way to raise the money,” explained Mr Beal. “We purchased the Ford Fiesta for just £500, and the route isn’t flat. We will no doubt experience many challenges along the way, and we don’t know for sure if we’ll make it, but wearing fancy dress and with no air conditioning in the car, it will be an interesting event that’s for sure!”

You can donate to The IPG’s Rainy Day Trust VADO rally attempt by visiting its Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/IPG