Classic Minis Taking Part in Allgäu-Orient Rally

Five classic Minis are taking part in the Allgäu-Orient Rally that runs from the Allgäu region in Bavaria to Azerbaijan. The rally is meant for classic and near-classic cars, and the Minis will compete alongside 44 BMWs and a total entry of 207 cars. The rally begins on April 28 in Oberstaufen, Germany, and runs to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan on May 12. That is a distance of about 5,000km. All of the vehicles that complete the rally will be auctioned off for charity. 

This is the seventh time that the rally has been held, and BMW is a major sponsor of the event. Many of the sponsors are even BMW staff. 

At the end of the rally, the cars are auctioned off for humanitarian aid projects. Last year, the rally raised about €250,000. Teams are also free to get charitable sponsors for their cars to raise more money. 

The cars entered into the rally must be less than 20 years old or have a value of less than €1,111.11. Teams must either sleep in their cars, in tents or in a hotel that costs no more than €11.11 per person per night. The route runs from Germany to Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia to Azerbaijan, but teams are free to choose their exact route. So some teams choose to route themselves through Italy, Croatia and Macedonia. Also the teams may not use motorways or satellite navigation. The teams have to meet up at certain locations throughout the route to prevent cheating. 

You can follow the progress of the rally once it begins with pictures and videos on its web site.