By Claire Soares

KEBEMER, Senegal, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Competitors in the Dakar Rally can count on support trucks, planes and even helicopters to back them as they steer their state-of-the-art vehicles across the Sahara desert.

David Kirkpatrick had only his ancient Mini and his wits.

The financial analyst took time out from his City of London job to compete in the Ultimate Banger Challenge, an alternative amateur rally where beat-up cars try to survive a three-week road-trip from southern England to the west coast of Africa.

"I wanted to have a crack at something a bit different," explained the 30-year-old during a lightning refuelling stop on the penultimate leg in northern Senegal. "And driving this thing across the Sahara was certainly that".

This year marks the fifth alternative rally, conceived as a spoof version of the better-known Dakar Rally.

The Ultimate Banger Challenge is the brainchild of a frustrated London stockbroker, Julian Nowill.

"I set up this rally to take the mickey out of the 'Big One' (the Dakar Rally) to prove you can do it in a crap car with no experience or special skills," the 47-year-old said in an e-mail interview.

Devoid of the glitzy commercialisation that surrounds the Dakar Rally, there are just five rules in the amateur race.

Drivers are not supposed to spend more than 100 pounds ($190) to buy their cars, and no more than 15 pounds ($29) on improvements.

Vehicles must be left-hand drive and must be auctioned off in the Gambian capital, Banjul, the final destination, with the proceeds going to local charities.

But the regulation ringing in Kirkpatrick's ears as his Mini battled its way across the Sahara was this one: "Once the Rally is under way ... teams are ON THEIR OWN."

"DRIVING BLIND"

"We had to keep up a speed of at least 50 mph (80 kmph) otherwise we'd be swallowed up by the dunes and we couldn't see more than 100 metres beyond our noses because we were stuck in a sandstorm," Kirkpatrick recalls.

"So we were bumping off rocks and basically driving blind, just hoping not to get separated from the pack."

Spray-painted with the Union Jack, his car certainly looked the part, but its ventilation system left much to be desired.

"These cars overheat in cold England so imagine what happens when you're crossing Africa! We were expecting it to blow up at any moment but thankfully we made it," Kirkpatrick said.

Some competitors were not so lucky. The 'Dukes of Hazzard' team, taking their name from the hit U.S. TV series, had to abandon their orange car in the sand dunes after its chip blew.

Others had to call on all their powers of ingenuity.

After one vehicle's fuel pump packed in, its crew had to construct a gravity-fed fuel system from a hosepipe and a jerry can mounted on the roof. The only hitch? They had to stop to top up the container every 30 miles (48 km).

This year 400 teams applied for 200 places in the Ultimate Banger Challenge and the organiser admits to purposefully picking "the unsuitable and inexperienced".

Linda Drury, a 38-year-old travel operator from England, does not even hold a driver's licence, but is taking part in the 3,000-mile (4,800 km) trek as navigator for fiancé Dave Wells.

TYING THE KNOT

Driving a yellow and red Land Rover emblazoned with hearts, the pair will marry when they reach Banjul. Their best man and male matron of honour are also competing in the rally and several of their new racing friends also plan to attend.

While the founder and many of the participants may be British, the 2007 rally includes drivers from around the world, from the United States to New Zealand, from Bulgaria to Wales.

"The Latvians are my star nation, always entering teams, always public spirited, always helping teams who break down," Nowill says.

The amateur race is about participation not prizes and organisers are proud of the fact nothing except the cars gets imported so local communities reap more benefits -- with drivers using local accommodation, restaurants and fuel suppliers.

This contrasts with the publicity-fuelled frenzy that surrounds the Dakar Rally, which has claimed 49 lives in its 29-year existence, 24 of them competitors. Two African children were killed in the 2006 professional race.

For many in the Ultimate Banger Challenge, it is their first taste of Africa.

Some give away sweets or T-shirts to the hordes of children that surround the convoy. "I've learnt the French for 'Give me a present'," jokes British computer consultant Robert Goulding.

But for others like American Jeff Domzalski, a 49-year old accountant, the cultural experience has gone deeper.

His team, 'The Good Knights', is named after the band he and co-pilot Keith Czerr play in back home in Cleveland, Ohio.

Having made it to Banjul, the pair did an impromptu set with some Gambian musicians and one invited them back to his home.

"We sat outside his two-room dirt poor shanty house in the shade of a papaya tree, singing songs and talking," Domzalski recalled. "This was probably the most interesting day of our journey," he said.

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