News

9th of October

I have written a Trip Report for anyone planning a similar trip or planning on coming on next year's event. The report is going to be held on record at the Royal Geographic Society.

2nd September

You can catch some photos from the rally uploaded by James from Green Fuels.

3rd August.

Less than 2 weeks to go; lots of news to report;

The stickers have arrived and should be sent out to teams in the next couple of days. The cars are starting to look the part. A few of the teams have already got themselves in the local papers around the country.

The Ace Cafe in North London have agreed to allow us to start from thier place and are saving their grease in a 50 gallon drum for us as we speak. I'd like to try to get as many cars as possible to join us for the Sausage Smoke Cruise drive through London, so tell your friends to head down there for 4pm.

The Ambassador in Athens has confirmed he will be presenting, not only the Golden Lard Award to the winning team, but also special certificates and prizes to all the teams that complete the journey.

I'm in the process of updating the route which now means there is no alternative to journeying through Albania. Teams with a nervous disposition should not read the Foreigh Office Advice on Albania.

And on that subject; Teams are reminded they should get medical insurance. - The Grease to Greece is a "Challenge", not a "Rally" so if they have any exclusions on taking part in a "Rally" you can argue the toss with them.

I spoke to the Austrian Trade Commissioner this week to ask about the legality of running on veg oil in Austria and he was in fits of laughter as I explained what we are doing so I think Austria will be OK.

20th July

We are delighted to announce that GreenFuels have agreed to be the our main sponsor for the Greece to Grease rally. As well as the very sensible support of covering the organisational expenses, providing an unrivaled Biofuels expertese, and giving each team with their first tank of B100 fuel, they are also bringing an appropriately ludicurous approach to the trip by entering a 5litre VW Touareg, but with good reason; Not only does the brand new Touraeg prove that biodiesel isn't just for old bangers, its awesome horsepower will be used to tow a FuelPod2 Biodiesel Processor, which teams with unconverted engines can use to process their vegetable oil into Biodiesel. We're really happy to have such dedicated sponsors that are willing to get thier hands (and their leather intrerior) dirty.

18th July

RoughGuides are supporting us with a range of excellent detailed guidebooks, phrase books and maps for each of the teams. So now there are no excuses for getting lost, and we'll have the inside steer on the best campsites, hotels and eateries on the way down to Greece. They are also providing some financial support and stickers, T-shirts and prizes for the "special stages".

15th July

SpeedFerries, the ones that do the really fast sailings across the channel in the sexy catamarans, are giving each team a free cross channel ticket for the rally. They also have an onboard restaurant with a chip fryer...

12-13 July

Good to meet a couple of teams this weekend at the PDC reunion. Currently trying to find a good location to set off from and waiting to hear back from the ferry companies about tickets. Watch this space.

2nd July - The GreaseMark Exchange

Everyone has been asking about the coveted Golden Lard Award and how they can be in with a chance to win the Grease to Greece Rally.

Well we won’t reveal what the prize is yet, but we can at last reveal how to win it:

At the start of the rally every team will be issued with 300 GreaseMarks (or GMs for short), our very own international currency. Teams will then be able to use their GreaseMarks to buy oil from each other every evening. Teams that have done well finding fat along the route will make a killing at the expense of teams that haven't been so lucky. But overall everyone will be on the lookout for oil to contribute to the rally, and hopefully all teams will be ready to set off each morning with a full tank.

The winner of the Golden Lard Award will be the fat-cats with the most GreaseMarks at the end of the trip.

Teams will receive a small fine for using fresh vegetable oil, a massive fine for using fossil fuel and there will be a small GreaseMark tax on the oil you bring to the start line.

But there will be GreaseMark prizes too for Nurburgring lap times and other challenges along the route.

Interest free GreaseMark loans are available, but your car is at risk if you do not keep up repayments! It will be credit-crunched.

18th June - Live along the route?

...Then start saving your fat for us. Any Restaurants, Hotels, Hospitals, Holiday camps, ofices, nuclear facilities... in fact anywhere that has a canteen with a fryer, then please drop us an email with the best greasy pun you can come up with in the subject ("Fat's your lot!" or simply "Take Fat") and start saving your fat for us. We'll be round in a few weeks to collect it, and give you a plug on the website.

16th June - Can anyone speak Croatian or Albanian?

We need help translating our explanation letter into Albanian and Croatian: If anyone can speak these languages, perhaps they can email me a translation of this 5-line letter that we will show kebab shop chefs along the way.

Expalnation Letter - English Version.

10th June - See the itinerary

Download the itinerary

9th June - Greasy Hitchhickers

Sophie (from London) and Virna (from Rome) are looking to hitch a lift with team. Both are good friends of mine and if I had space I'd offer them a lift myself.

5th June - Ambassador, you are spoiling us!

I got a call from the British Embassy in Athens today who wanted to know if we would like to be welcomed in an official ceremony when we get to Athens. What an honour! (and also a great chance to scoff a few Farrero Roche).

The great news is that they helping us establish contacts with Hotels and Restaurants in Greece that will save thier waste grease for us.

As some teams are keen to leave there cars behind and fly back, I'll also be asking them if they can suggest some reputable charities that might benefit from having grease powered cars, so we know they go to a good home.

3rd June - Carehome fry-up

We've been contacted by a member of the National Association of Care Catering who has offered to store up the grease from Carehomes in England so teams travelling down to the start will have a network of filling stations. A big thanks from all greasers.