Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
The team from Chandlers Building Supplies have won the 2019 Pavestone Rally and raised over £7,000, contributing to the £133,000 total amount raised for charity.
In addition to their overall win, team Chandlers Cembrit, led by rally driving timber trading director at Chandlers Building Supplies, Trevor Mudd and Sam Hanks, sales manager of Cembrit, also scooped the ‘Best Dressed Car Award’ for their fully ‘pimped up’ and refurbished three wheeled Reliant Rialto, affectionately known as ‘Raquel’.
Mudd, said “This year’s rally was our most challenging yet but having come so close to winning last year we were hungry to get our hands on the trophy. We were determined to pull out all the stops, raise as much as possible and bring home a win.”
The Pavestone Rally, infamous for its wacky costumes and madcap daily challenges, kicked off on the 5th September in Reims in Northern France, with teams travelling to Stuttgart, Salzburg, Venice and finishing on the 8th September in the beautiful setting of Lake Como.
Sue McKinney, head of marketing at Chandlers Building Supplies said: “Trevor and Sam can always be relied on to go the extra mile and they threw themselves into the challenges posed by this year’s rally with typical enthusiasm. As well as persuading a crowd of Harley Davidson bikers to dance a conga and convincing an Austrian policeman to photograph them in the back of his car they also both got tattoos!”
The family-owned builders merchants bought the 1986 classic three-wheeled car on Ebay for £200. It was then handed over to Hastings College’s Automotive Training Centre, where 43 students worked on rebuilding the engine and over hauled the bodywork.
Mudd said “Raquel was definitely the third member of our team on the rally this year. There were moments when we weren’t sure she’d make it, including on the trip from the UK to the starting line in France. But thanks to the expert work of the students at Hastings College she pulled through and we’re so proud to have raised in excess of £7,000 for these very deserving charities.”
The Pavestone Rally invites UK builder’s merchants to raise money for its three chosen charities: Rainy Day Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Variety, the Children’s Charity. The goal is to drive a car, worth less than £500, across Europe in four days, while in full fancy dress.
Following on from her triumph at this year’s rally, the decision has been taken to retire Raquel. Any motor museums and Reliant Rialto enthusiasts are invited to get in touch offer her a home.
