THE Wacky Races came to life when nearly 80 cars were put through their paces in a series of madcap motoring challenges.

About 80 cars roared away from Blenheim Palace on Friday, on the first day of the trip to Witney's twin town Le Touquet, to raise cash for Charlbury charity SpecialEffect.

Teams roared into Abbeville Circuit in northern France today for the third day of the challenge, to raise vital cash for people with disabilities.

In the pit lane teams decorated their cars with items from a treasure hunt on yesterday, then changed a tyre as quickly as possible before getting it approved by the event's mechanics.

A short track was set up where drivers were blindfolded and had to guide their cars around the course as fast as possible, while being directed by their teammates.

And on the go kart track, teams had to grab a number of large cardboard boxes and hold them to their cars while trying to get the around as fast as possible without dropping the crates.

All the cars were worth £500 or less and the cash raised is going to Charlbury-based charity SpecialEffect, which uses computer games to help disabled people to interact more with friends and family.

Lizzie Watson, from Charlbury, and Simon Bennett were part of the 4 Fours team with Bryan Hunter and Rod Densham, all dressed in matching red tops, tartan trousers and knee-high red socks.

Ms Watson said it was nerve-wracking driving their Volvo V40 round the course blindfolded.

She added: "It was scary but the first thing I said to Bryan was keep talking to me and that really worked."

Mr Bennett, a trustee of SpecialEffect, was pleased their car made it around Abbeville Race track in one piece.

He added: "It was great, although it's always a worry when you spend £150 on a car that it will actually go around the track.

"The weekend has been brilliant and it's fantastic has got involved."

The event has raised £189,000 of its £250,000 target already.

The cars set off from Blenheim Palace on Friday for Le Touquet via Silverstone race track.

On Saturday, a colourful collection of cars sped through the streets of France on a treasure hunt as part of a cross-Channel challenge raising vital cash to help disabled people.

All the cars cost £500, but were decorated in a vast array of different designs including the Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and Austin Powers.

On the treasure hunt teams had to identify the location of 30 landmarks they were given pictures of and a golf caddy with inflatable clubs was waiting along the route to hand the teams their bonus golf balls.

Andrew Hammond, of the Oxford Products Team, was in a team with his dad and two brothers.

He said: "It's been great fun bonding with the rest of the Twin Towners and Le Touquet has pulled out all the stops for us which is very impressive.

"The route details were good but we got hopelessly lost."

The event has far raised £189,000 of its £250,000 target for the charity, which supports disabled people to access technology to play games and interact with friends and family.

Anneli Thomson and her team from Sandler Training were dressed up as Christmas trees and drove a fairy light-bedecked Audi.

Miss Thomson, managing director of the Chipping Norton firm, was happy the car made it to France after it broke down three times before the event started.

She added: "Silverstone was so much fun and the treasure hunt was good, although we got lost twice."

SpecialEffect founder Dr Mick Donegan said the cross-Channel challenge had raised lots of cash for the charity and its clients and was a great morale boost for the staff.

He added: "I feel absolutely delighted and inspired.

"The people who have come here have come because it's a brilliantly organised event and a whole lot of fun, but they have also given up their weekend for the charity because they love the work we are doing."

The teams will return to Oxfordshire tomorrow for the awards ceremony.