Andy Johnson of Fix Auto Lichfield and Sam Randon are in the middle their second run at the six-day Panda Raid Rally, which started on 12 April, and once again they’re doing it for a very good cause – to raise funds for the amazing DEBRA UK charity.
The Panda Raid is different from your average rally – it’s an adventure, an uncomfortable journey, with very few toilets – and it takes place in the far western edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Johnson said: “There are many ways to try to describe it, but once you’ve experienced it, it gets under your skin like the Moroccan desert sand.”
Panda Raid Rally to help DEBRA
With more than 350 classic Fiat Panda 4×4 cars from the mid-1980s taking part in the 2025 edition, traversing 3,000km (1,864 miles) of blisteringly hot sand, the Panda Raid is rightly described as an amateur driving challenge like no other.
There’s no Wi-Fi, no GPS … did we mention the lack of toilets?
Johnson and Randon and the other teams are navigating each stage using analogue maps and roadbooks handed out each morning. Stage classification is based on a scoring system taking into account navigation, as the cars reach checkpoints, and average speed in certain sections. A satellite tracker is fitted to each car for safety reasons and you can follow their progress on the Just Giving page.
Johnson said: “We have chosen DEBRA as our charity with our partner Morelli Group who do amazing work raising funds for them, and the stories of those affected by this awful disease have touched our hearts.”
DEBRA UK is the national charity supporting those directly affected by, and working with, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) – a potentially fatal skin condition that causes constant pain due to unstoppable internal and external blistering. DEBRA provides lifelong care and support to the entire EB community.
