British army veterans with life-changing injuries complete ‘one of world’s toughest rallies’

'We worked as a team, drove as a team and when there was a problem we got out of it as a team'

A team including a number of disabled veterans has completed one of the world’s toughest car rallies through the Sahara Desert.

After driving more than 2,000 miles from England to the starting line in Morocco, before taking on giant sand dunes, rocky roads, flooded tracks and other harsh terrain in the Carta Rallye.

The Future Terrain team which represented an Armed Forces charity, is made up of wounded and sick veterans, who have gained off-road driving and motor sport qualifications after life-changing injury or illness.

One of the drivers was former soldier George Frost, a 37-year-old dad-of-one from Dorset who suffers from complex PTSD.

“I was nervous beforehand because it was my first trip back to the desert," he said. “I never thought it would be something I would do but it was better than I was expecting and I think I would probably do it again.

The Future Terrain team who took part in the Carta Rallye 2019 (SWNS)

“It was an amazing adventure and it has helped my mental health. I have learnt a lot from the experience. I've learnt to push myself further. The cars exceeded my expectations. We proved a lot of people wrong.”

Scott Garthley, a 51-year-old veteran from Edinburgh, was an expedition coordinator on the event. In 2003, while serving in Iraq, he received several complex injuries following an explosion and in recent years had to have a limb amputated.

“Not only did we do it, but we were competing against vehicles which had tens of thousands of pounds of modifications, while we had a car off the factory line," he said. “On one day we finished second, third and fourth in our class. We were gobsmacked and it did a lot for everyone’s spirit.

"We worked as a team, drove as a team and when there was a problem we got out of it as a team."

Battling gruelling conditions they finished second and third in their categories on one day.

While a number of specially-built rally cars costing hundreds of thousands of pounds got stuck overnight in the desert, the team drove 4x4 Dacia Dusters a combined 3,000 miles in the seven-day event, making it back to the camp each evening after 10 to 12 hours of driving plus night stages.

Navigation during the orienteering-type competition was made more difficult by the unpredictable weather. Sunshine was interrupted by heavy downpours and visibility was limited by regular sandstorms.

The Future Terrain team who took part in the Carta Rallye 2019 (SWNS)

The only mechanical issue experienced during the rally was on the first day when one of the Dusters damaged a radiator, forcing the team to add extra protection to certain areas of the vehicles.

The team have now returned to the UK following the event which ended on Sunday.

They will now prepare themselves and their next challenge – racing in the British Cross-Country Championship rally series.

Grant White, co-founder of Future Terrain, added: “The Carta Rallye is a highly demanding event, even for the fittest able-bodied people. When you bring people into the mix who are in wheelchairs, with prosthetic limbs or have mental illness, it really ups the ante. We did a lot of life coaching, turning negatives into positives, getting people to work together who might not normally want to.

“Everyone found it tough but that’s the nature of the beast, and as tired as everyone was at the end of it, there was a lot of positivity."

He added: “We’re really proud of what we achieved and happy with how it all went.”

SWNS