World Rally Championship stars cycle Britain for a cause

FIA World Rally Championship competitor Matthew Wilson and his co-driver Scott Martin are set to embark on a 960 mile charity cycle across Britain in June via the infamous Land's End to John o'Groats route; the ride aptly named End 2 End 2008.

The Cumbrian pair, who race for the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team in the WRC came up with the idea to help raise awareness for two vital motorsport related charities – The Richard Burns Foundation and The Great North Air Ambulance. The lads will also ride for the Cumbria Community Foundation which make grants to local charities in Cumbria where the team is based.

The Richard Burns Foundation was set up in the name of the former World Rally Champion, who lost his brave fight against Brain Cancer in November 2005 aged 34, the Foundation strives to inspire and support people with serious injury and illness. The Great North Air Ambulance Service operates three helicopters based at Teesside, Cumbria and Northumberland. It has been proven time and time again that helicopters are vital for the transportation of time-critical injuries and in 2005 one of these helped airlift Martin to hospital after a serious crash on the Rally of Wales; his speedy transportation to hospital a key factor in his successful recovery.

Please help these worthwhile causes by donating to End 2 End charity cycle through www.end2end2008.com

Supporting the cause in various capacities are the following organisations: Scott Sports, M-Sport, Stobart Motorsport, Keswick Mountain-bikes and J Edgar & Son – New and Used Car Centres. The support from these businesses has made this adventure possible for the Cumbrian pair who have been vigorously planning the event since March.

Kicking off at 07:00 on Saturday 21 June the lads will embark on their trip from Land’s End to the far north eastern point of Scotland covering 960 miles over some of the most picturesque scenery in the world. Along with raising awareness for these important charities the ride will form an important part their physical and mental training program for the World Championship as they ride over 100 miles per day through whatever conditions are thrown at them.

The opening two days will see a nice cruise across the south coast of Britain passing Cornwall and Newquay. The pair will then set off north towards Bristol crossing the Bristol Channel into south Wales and into the very hilly regions around Telford and Shrewsbury before heading up the eastern side of Wales. The End 2 End train will then head towards Manchester/Liverpool area up through the Pennines mountain range before hitting rural country north of Preston. Following on, the boys will head through Lancaster and over the Cumbrian border into Kendal. Moving through, they will ride over the highest point, the infamous Shap Fell, before descending into Penrith and up to Carlisle.

From England to Scotland the pair will cross through border country, skirting around Glasgow before beginning on the Scottish Highlands and the famous Grampian Mountains. From there the ride heads to the vast mountain range of Rannoch Moor where they will be put to the test over a narrow 10 mile hill-climb ascending over 1500 feet before racing back to sea-level and into Fort William. From here the cycle will take the direct west to east line alongside the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness on its way to Inverness. They will then cross the Moray Firth at Inverness travelling right up the east coast through Tain and Helmsdale before a final pitstop in Wick. The final 10 kilometres from Wick to John o’Groats will be used as a time-trial to celebrate the ride as they plan to arrive at their destination at 16:25 Sunday 29 June.

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