The S***box Rally was formed 12 years ago by James Freeman who sadly, after losing his parents to cancer, decided to establish the charity for raising funds towards cancer research.

Now the rally is Australia’s largest community-driven fundraiser for Cancer Council, having raised over $23 million since its inception.

Not exactly a race nor competition, the rally is a fun, colourful challenge fuelled by unpredictable adventure.

The Rally’s aim is for participants to drive their cars, that under the rules are to be worth no more than $1000, to traverse across Australia while taking on the most formidable roads and tracks, all in the name of charity.

For brothers, Luke and Jakob Boulton, this will be their first year joining the rally that’s planned to launch in May 2022 from Wollongong, NSW, to Mackay in Queensland.

The brothers have decided to name their team Nuts & Bolts Racing.

“This is our first year. We have no idea what to expect, but that’s going to make it even more exciting. It’s a good cause and we’ll have a bit of fun while doing it,” Jakob said adventurously.

“The rally takes about seven days to complete, give or take,” Luke stated.

Jakob jokingly adding, “We haven’t got a map, but we know we’re going inland and there’s no highways, it’s all dirt roads.”

The brothers were inspired by not only Freeman’s story and watching numerous documentaries about the rally, but it was their own personal experiences with the big, bad C-word which compelled them to partake.

“My father-in-law had pretty rough skin cancer, but he recovered and beat it thankfully. One of the blokes I work with actually has lung cancer. So, it’s pretty close to home for me,” Luke explained.

“It’s a crazy reality, everyone knows someone who’s either had it or passed away from it unfortunately,” Jakob said.

As a requirement for signing up, rally teams must raise a minimum of $5000.

“We’ve only just kicked off our fundraising, we’ve received over $100 so far, but we have a lot of money to raise before the event in May 2022,” Jakob admitted.

“We’re aiming to fund $6000 and more if we can. I’m growing my hair out for this entire period from now to the rally. If we reach our target, I will shave it all off,” Luke mentions, although his wife is beginning to dislike the longer hair style on him. “She’s hating it already, every time she says ‘get a cut’, it’s another week of growing it out,” Luke laughs.

“We’re hoping to receive steady donations, and we’d appreciate any in-kind sponsorships for mechanical parts towards our Nissan Bluebird we’re rebuilding for the rally.”

A challenging task is sticking to the $1000 spending limit on the car, which includes both the purchase price and maintenance. The Boulton brothers admit it’s a very tight budget.

“The only exclusions are tyres, registration and any donations from sponsors such as filters, belts and any parts like that, we can accept them to make the car run,” Luke clarified.

“Actually we do need a clutch. If anyone’s able to sponsor us a clutch, that would be great,” Jakob happily added.

“We’ll be placing stickers of our sponsors all over the vehicle, so if a local business donates anything to us, we’ll share their logo across the Nissan.

“All donations are welcomed and the best thing is it’s all for this great cause,” Luke says humbly.

“Exactly right, it’s all about helping this big cause for trying to beat cancer,” Jakob added.

If you would like to donate towards this important fundraising event you can scan the QR code or contribute online via the following link: https://autumn2022.shitboxrally.com.au/nuts-bolts-racing