OU researchers get set for Mongol Rally to help the earth and hungry people

Two researchers from the Open University are to take part in one the world's most challenging motor rallies.
Ilaria Tiddi and Manu.Ilaria Tiddi and Manu.
Ilaria Tiddi and Manu.

Ilaria Tiddi, 28 and Emanuele Bastianelli, 34, both from Italy, will be driving thousands of miles across Europe from Milton Keynes to Mongolia, while also raising funds for a charity helping to feed those facing hunger.

The duo are preparing their ageing Renault Clio for the journey in July, to take part in the Mongol Rally.

The non-competitive event will take them, and many other participants, across mountains, deserts and other tough terrain, as they head towards the East.

Ilaria said: “We want to promote ourselves as the team that takes ‘Milton Keynes to Mongolia’, in order to give visibility to the city we live in and to represent its cultural activities.

“Our idea is also to be included in the celebrations for the MK 50th anniversary.”

The duo are fundraising for Mary’s Meals, a charity that fights hunger by providing meals to schools in food-vulnerable areas such as Africa and South East Asia, and Cool Earth, the rally’s nominated charity.

They have already held a number of events and will continue this year, and have adopted a Liberian school through Mary’s Meals, and hope to feed its pupils for an entire year.

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