The Southland team preparing to take part in next year's 16,000km Mongol Motor Rally will have a little bit of New Zealand competition, in the form of an Otago-Auckland team.
Wade von Tunzelman, Jo Cahill and Darcy Ruffell, of Invercargill, as team No 8 Wire, announced last week they would be taking part in the race from London to Ulan-Ude in Russia via Mongolia.
Now Darryl Sherwin (54), of Wanaka, and Leon Ford (55), of Auckland, have revealed their ''Team Kiwi Rescue'' also plans to be on the start line in July next year.
Mr Sherwin, originally from Oamaru, has not long finished 17 years' flying Westpac rescue helicopters in Auckland.
In 2014, he was the first Westpac rescue helicopter pilot to clock up 2000 missions.
Mr Ford is a crewman with 10 years' experience.
The pair plan to fly to London a few weeks before the race, and then find a car that fits the race rules - something cheap and low-powered.
Up to 300 teams of two to four people normally enter the rally, which has only two other rules - teams cannot have a support vehicle and they must raise at least $2300 for charity.
Mr Sherwin said he and Mr Ford decided to enter after seeing the race on television and being attracted by its ''craziness''.
The race - with no designated route and no overall winner - was founded in 2004 by Tom Morgan and is run by his League of Adventurists International Ltd company.
Its website says: ''There's no backup, no support and no set route; just you, your fellow adventurists and a tiny car you bought from a scrapyard for 11.50 ($NZ27).
''The Mongol Rally is about getting lost, using your long-neglected wits, raising shed-loads of cash for charity and scraping into the finish line with your vehicle in tatters and a wild grin smeared across your grubby face.''
In 2010, one race participant died in a crash and one was seriously hurt.
