Telford man's Italian Job trip in charity rally

For one Shropshire man that means taking part in a rally that will visit the filming locations of the 1969 blockbuster film The Italian Job - and it’s all for charity.

Harry Weaver will be part of a team later this year entering The Italian Job Rally but a condition of entry is raising a minimum £1,500 in sponsorship for the charity Variety and he is looking for help.

“My friend Liam Fearn and myself will be taking part in the rally for Variety, a children’s charity which endeavours to transform the lives of children all over the UK - particularly those with disabilities,” he said.

“To date The Italian Job event has raised £2.4 million since the beginning of 1990. The rally is based around the film The Italian Job which was first premiered in 1969 starring Michael Caine.

“As part of the trip ourselves and the other minis will visit the filming locations including the rooftop test track on the Lingotto Hotel formerly the Fiat car factory.

“We will also be visiting the Ferrari and Pagani factories and taking part in a police escort around the city of Turin.

“We will visit Venice, Nurburgring and Mugello as well. The main rally is held around Italy and involves competing in a time trial.

“On our way to Italy we will be traveling through France, Germany and Austria and over the Alps into Italy. We estimate covering a total 3,500 miles, which is a long way in an old Mini.

“The trip will take us 14 days in total, leaving Telford on October 22. On the day we leave we will be gathering at a local pub, which we haven’t decided on yet, before leaving for the motorway in convoy with local Mini owners escorting us.

“Our Mini is a genuine Mini Cooper 1275cc. We have done an extensive amount of work to the car to get it ready for the trip with the help of our main sponsors Vantage Vehicle Conversions.

“It has a tuned engine and upgraded brakes and suspension to help with performance on the time trial. It also has a custom roof rack system for storage of spare parts.

“So far our sponsors are Vantage Vehicle Conversions, Lyreco, Sign Shop Wellington, Mr Bridger's Retro Roof Racks, Simply Gym, Minisport and R.D.W & Sons.

“We are looking for more sponsors and so far we are £1,000 into our sponsorship goal of £1,500. So if anyone can help us and would like to get involved then please let me know.

“We are the only team from Shropshire so are representing the county. We have a Facebook page which can be found using #hcij2017 and from there you can follow the link to our Just Giving Page.

“The car is on display at a number of shows both locally and across the country ahead of the trip.”

If anyone would like to sponsor the team or would like more information, they can email: harry.weaver17@yahoo.co.uk