Greaseball Challenge charity rally

The first ever Greaseball Challenge charity car rally will take place in April when five teams will drive from the U.S. to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in under four weeks promoting biofuels and green adventure travel. Designed to show that you can use locally-available fuels as viable alternatives to petroleum fuels, the participating Greaseballers are out to have a good time and promote a great cause.

The rules are simple:

• Teams must acquire a diesel vehicle on a shoestring budget (under $200) by resourcefulness, sponsorship or mechanical ingenuity.
• Teams are on their own! (i.e. unsupported for the duration of the rally).
• Vehicles are powered using alternative fuels - biodiesel, vegetable oil, waste grease, or any renewable fuel source.
• All vehicles are donated in the destination countries to benefit local environmental projects.

The 2007 Challenge is a pilot run with plans to expand the event in 2008 to include 100+ teams participating in cars, buses, and trucks. This time around though, teams will be driving diesel vehicles including two vintage Mercedes and a 72-seater school bus, running on biodiesel, waste grease and vegetable oil sourced from biodiesel producers, diners, fast-food outlets, markets, factories and farmers.

Along the way, teams will be stopping by biofuel projects to meet biofuels producers, distributors, farmers, community cooperatives, entrepreneurs and NGOs actively working in this field. At the end of the run, all the vehicles and funds raised will be donated to biofuel-related projects in the destination country.

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