Hello & welcome to the Team Midlifecrisis fundraising page, I am Wayne and my team-mate is John. We are going on a 1400+ mile road trip from Donington Park race circuit in the Midlands to the Nurburgring nordschleife (north Loop) race circuit in the Eifel mountains and back in 5 days. The trip is know as the Scumball Rally 2008

Detail on what the Scumball is all about can be found here: http://www.scumball.co.uk - please have a look and see what kind of hardship me & John will be putting ourselves through!  There are a number of video's on YouTube too.

We decided to support Menegitis UK's search for a vaccine as one of our close friends son Zac contracted Meningitis last year. Thankfully both Chris & Tania were vigilant enough to spot the sympoms in time and rushed him to the local hospital where he was admitted immediatly. After what to us on the outside seemed like months he started to make a remarkable recovery, he was eventualy discharged and has had to endure countless tests and physio. I am pleased to be able to report that he seems to be getting stronger every day.

John has already decided to invest in an industrial strength chemical suit and breathing apparatus knowing he'll be spending about 6 days with me in a confined space!  The word of this event has got out and our high-orbit satellite reports say that there's a massive blue-bottle migration headed towards Nottingham of unprecidented scale.

We finally bought the right car for us, a 1991 BMW 525i Sport in a lovely shade of off-white with 188000 miles on the clock (genuine too apparently!).  The previous car (a 1996 Honda Prelude) is too small for me to get in with my crash helmet on - and as I'm not the world's best driver, the helmet is essential (as is the stash of adult sized nappies in the boot - or is that for the after event party ... hm. I'll have to check ... ).

So come on guys & gals, stick your hands in your pocket and donate to this *very* worthwhile cause.  It doesnt matter how little you dontate (or how much come to that!).   A pack of fags these days is over a fiver in places, so giving that money here not only puts the money to some good use, but helps save your health too - double whammy!  To the non-smokers out there, you can afford it!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Meningitis UK gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor us now!

Hi John here, we attended Codnor Fete on Sunday 6th July (in the pouring rain), and managed to collect £40 in donations. Thanks to all who turned out and even more to those who donated..

2008-07-15: Wow, here we are back home - after about 1600 miles, several very expensive fuel stops (believe it or not, unleaded is more expensive on the continent than here in good ol' blighty!) and 8 laps or the beast that is the Nurburgring.  I have to say that the 13 or so miles of *public* toll road is the most demanding, tortureous adrenaline fuelled stretch of tarmac that I have ever laid rubber on, and John laid a fair bit more rubber down than I did.

We saw everything from convertable beetles/mini's/old vans and astra estates to the latest bmw's/lambo's, ferrari's and porsche's ripping up the tarmac and bore witness to 1 accident (of about 20 or so that weekend) that will leave at least 1 person in hospital for a while, as if we really needed any more evidence of the killer track in action.  Sabine was there on the Saturday working the BMW M-Ring Taxi to the delight of the crowds, and no doubt the passengers who parted with the 185E required for the trip.

I also need to tell everyone about the rough diamonds that make up the Scumball.  40 or 50 chaps most of which are petrol heads through and through all having a ball getting drunk, shrink wrapping cars, inserting baguette's in places that were not designed for baguette insertion and generally being a solid gold set o blokes looking out for each other.  Top chaps in mine and John's opinion, and we're already planning the car for next years event.

The 1st night was spent in Nottingham which served myself and John very well as we live about 15 minutes away (some chaps drove up from the south coast, only to have to drive back again the next day .. now that's dedication!) and acted as a good ice breaker.  We had a fantastic meal followed the next day by an all you can eat buffet breakfast whch set us up for the 3 laps around Mallory Park the following morning! (Thanks Mallory Park!).

A short (yeah, right) hop down the M1/A14/A1/M25/M20 later we ended up in Dover to board the SpeedFerry over to Boulogne.  The sea was a little "frisky" to say the least.... Once over the water, a petrol stop and something to eat was in order followed by a leisurely jaunt to Brussels where a few "incidents" took place. 

Next day saw us set off early to the track at which we arrived as the heavens finally stopped pouring.  Our 1st lap was interesting to say the least.. A slippy wet road, big fat rear wheel drive car and a boot full of beer meant that we weren't going to set any lap records, but we may have set a few more for the most profane 15 minutes of human history.

The night was spent in the Dorintz hotel about 30 miles from the circuit.

A full buffet breakfast awaited us after being in the hotel bar until 2:30am being entertained by the chaps in the red volvo 360 (nice dancing chaps!).

Sunday's weather was beautiful.  The track was dry and John made the big fat beemer dance round the ring enough to entice me into giving it a go.  After a couple of laps driving like an 87 year old, John re-took the wheel to show me how it was done and did a 10 minute lap in the oil tanker.  He earned his captains licence that day.  The token student didn't fair so well though.  Halfway around a corner something snapped at the back end of his MR2 causing him to have a tete-a-tete with the armco.  The recovery of the car and repair of the barrier cost him a small fortune (446e) and to add insult to injury they had to pay some more to the local scrap merchant to have the car crushed.... They caught a lift back with the Peugeot guys and were in high spirits despite thier loss - good on ya chaps. 

Sunday was an early night for yours truly and we packed up for the drive to Reims on Monday.  We called at the 'ring for a few piccies and to re-stock the pressie bag followed by a leisurely drive to Reims centre in time for a beer or 2 and a pizza before hitting the sack.  The following morning we visited the historic Reims start/finish straight before commencing the final part of the journey.

A long - long drive to Boulogne found us in good spirits and a water pistol fight erupted during the wait for the ferry.  A number of other passengers quizzed us regarding the cars and the event, so hopefully the Scumball name has touched a few more people.  Finally a 200+ mile homeward drive was met with a stella for me and a cup of tea for John (poor chap had to drive onward to his house) leaving us to reminisce a little and upload some pics. 

Again, a big thankyou to Omi and the rest of the chaps for a truly life changing experience and we both look forward to seeing you next year.