The team of four men from the Siberian city of Tomsk, calling themselves the "Banjul Challenge" team, took part in an expedition to the city of Banjul, Gambia, as part of the Ultimate Banger Challenge, previously known as the Plymouth-Dakar Challenge. First originating in the UK in 2002, this annual car event unites fans of old cars from different countries for charity.
The "Banjul Challenge" enthusiasts started their expedition from St. Petersburg, Russia on December 23, 2016. The Russian participants had to cover a bigger distance than the ones from Western Europe. In 15 days these comrades drove 9200+ kilometers through 35+ cities of Europe and northern Africa in their 1996 Russian-made sedan, a VAZ-2106 nicknamed "Tiger."
The vehicles participating in the challenge are ordinary road cars, which are mostly at the end of their useful mechanical reliability lifetimes and there is no assistance in case of a car breakdown. That's why participants have to check their worn out vehicles to better be safe than sorry. The "fantastic four" took their time for a proper check-up before the long journey, too. Piece by piece they deconstructed the car to test and replace broken parts, making sure that everything worked and there wouldn't be any unpleasant surprises when they hit the road.
The old "Tiger" swept through Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Monaco and moved to the African continent, where roads gave way to a desert. But it was not the only test of the route, both for the car and for the team. In Morocco they were ransacked by armed men in uniform, and on the border with Senegal, the crew had a chance to negotiate with bandits.
The adventurers were lucky enough to make it to Banjul, Gambia just a few days before military operations began there. Once they arrived to their final destination, the young people passed their car as a gift to locals and headed home by plane.
The VAZ-2106 Zhiguli," also known as the Lada-1600, the "shestyorka," or "sixer," was in mass production from 1975 to 2005.
