DESPITE being immobilised for three days in the Ukraine with car trouble – which they solved by the simple application of a lump-hammer and angle grinder – and almost falling foul of Russian police because the light bulbs on their vehicle were allegedly too big, three islanders have completed the Mongol Rally.

Will Ash, 20, James Druce, 26, and Nick Mackey, 28, drove from Goodwood to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar in 29 days, 17 hours, in a Citroën Saxo, raising a remarkable £10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis charity, with more pledged.

They were placed 76th out of nearly 400 teams that started, covering 8,500 miles and negotiating 14 countries.

"Actually, some 25 entrants pulled out or retired, so we can claim to have finished in the top 50," said James. "We're really happy with that."

The trio hail from Tresco where the only form of mechanised transport permitted are golf buggies and tractors. However, in preparation for their marathon, the Citroën was allowed in for practice purposes.

Before the rally the car already had 57,000 miles on the clock and had an engine smaller than 1.3 litres, as specified in the rules of the rally.

They were stranded for three days when they discovered they had bent the entire car and the back wheels were rubbing, solving the problem by taking drastic measures with the lump-hammer to cut away part of the arches.

The driving – in temperatures ranging from 45 degrees in Kazakhastan to minus 6 on the Mongolian border – was done on roads that were acceptable up to Romania, but thereafter deteriorated steadily until, in the Gobi Desert, they were mere tracks.

Shifts

James took the morning shift, Will the afternoon and Nick the evening, with an average day's driving lasting 13 to 14 hours.

Despite having no arguments en route, James admitted a certain "grumpiness" in the mornings was not uncommon. After catching the ferry to France they passed through Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary ,Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhastan, Siberia and Mongolia.

"We were impounded on the Mongolian border for three days, trapped in a fenced off area because of paperwork problems," said James.

"In Russia and the Ukraine we were often stopped by police who would make up stupid taxes to try and extort money. Hence the light bulb farce. We got out of most of them by paying £2 to 3."

They arrived at 8.44am UK time on the 29th day into the trip with front shock absorbers gone completely and only first and fourth gear left.

James sums up the experience as "quite hardcore, absolutely incredible, and with minimal sleep and food, definitely an endurance test".

"At times we felt isolated although in Mongolia the people were so friendly. Locals went out of their way to help, jumping into their car and showing you the way out of the city."

Driving through the Altay Mountains in douthern Siberia was "fantastic", said James.

Race over, they backtracked to the UK via Moscow, having spent two days in Ulaanbaatar where they abandoned the car, equipment and camping gear for the rally organisers to put up for auction, with proceeds going to an orphanage.

James described himself as "exhausted". "It's taken its toll," he added.