Stobart duo delighted with End2End success
The End2End team have successfully completed their challenge as they powered home over the last of 960 miles from Land’s End to John o’Groats on Sunday. Stobart Motorsport crew Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin, who were joined by the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team Fitness Trainer Barry Johnson and SCOTT Sports UK General Manager Ian Hughes, began their quest on 21 June from the most south westerly point of Britain in aid of three extremely worthwhile charities.
In total the ride has currently amassed over £25,000 in donations with more still coming in, which has been spread between the Richard Burns Foundation, the Great North Air Ambulance and the Cumbria Community Foundation. The support of so many in the rallying and cycling community from across the globe has been phenomenal and, indeed, the driving factor for such an impressive figure raised for these great charitable organisations.
The group was hit by some shocking weather but with it came some amazing days of sunshine, which was fortunately what they were treated to over the final two days of the ride. At the midway point to the trip the team stopped off in their home county of Cumbria at one of the Stobart Group depots in Carlisle to be greeted by local press and 60 excited young fans from Wilson’s former primary school. The pupils from the Eaglesfield Paddle School put in a huge effort to help support the guys by raising over £800 in donations.
Joining the pair for the afternoon stint on their 96-mile penultimate day was fellow FIA World Rally Championship competitor Chris Atkinson. A keen cyclist himself, Atkinson flew straight in from a trip back to Australia to offer support and ride with the guys through the Scottish Highlands near Inverness.
All-in-all, the 960 total mileage was filled with bumps, bruises and broken chains and it was a remarkable effort for the team to keep on track for nine days straight without once having to reroute or deviate from the original plan set out in the lead up to the challenge.
The fitness element of this gigantic effort puts both Wilson and Martin in good stead for the next two WRC events in Finland and Germany, which will be testing both physically and mentally. Wilson will next be in action for the Stobart squad at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 11-13 July.
For anyone wishing to support End2End, you can still support the charities and donate at wwww.end2end2008.com until the end of July.