Oh, what an endeavour

Blues Brothers, Soachim Sawkins and Michael MacLaurcan from Brisbane are in their first rally.

By ALENA HIGGINS

AS THE flag sliced through the air signalling the beginning of the 2014 Great Endeavour Rally, more than 50 cars spluttered to life.
Competitors braved the chilling conditions at Warwick on Saturday morning for the launch of the gruelling fund-raising event.
Participants will cover 3500km in eight days across challenging terrain in some of the most remote parts of western Queensland, before arriving at their final destination – Bundaberg – on 19 July.
Rally co-ordinator Joel Stephens said participants came from all walks of life.
“There are the hardcore rally veterans of course, the people who turn out year after year,” he said.
“For them the rally is an annual, must-do event, where they get to challenge themselves and their cars and meet up with friends they have meet in rallies past.
“Then you have people who are fairly new to the rally that have taken an older car and restored them of fixed them up to get into rally-fit condition.”
While the final figures are not yet know, the event normally raises several hundred thousand dollars for the Endeavour Foundation.
This year, those funds will go to service users and facilities in South Western Queensland, including Warwick, Toowoomba, Biloela and Bundaberg, Mr Stephens said.