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Would you believe that 50 years ago, Michael Fothergill and Peter Jackson sat in their choice of steed at Wembley Stadium on 5th May 1974 waiting for the flag to drop that would send them on their way in an old but strong and trusty Hillman Minx 1500 running Car No.37, from London to Munich via two crossings of the terrifying Sahara Desert as they started the UDT World Cup Rally?

46 years later, HMRG Member Ralph Humby was in lockdown and did what most petrolheads do…..he bought a car on e-Bay. Not just any car….but the very same Hillman Minx, unaware of its unusual back story.

This little Minx was trailered up from Hampshire and featured at our Historic Marathon Rally Show on Sunday 21st April 2024, as Ralph continues his faithful restoration using old photographs and film footage as his only reference.

The rest, as they say, is history!

When Major John Hemsley and co-driver John Skinner decided what car they’d use on the 1974 UDT London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, they didn’t mess about.

Their Morris Marina V8 Coupé was a mighty machine but, like many competing cars, suffered from several punctures in the hostile wastes of the Sahara and Algeria before its axle snapped in Niger and they retired from the event.

On Sunday, April 21st at Gaydon, HMRG Member Ian Dixon’s wonderful and beautifully recreated replica of the original car attracted huge interest at the Historic Marathon Rally Show and is pictured here, faithfully paying homage to the original and long lost Car No.8 on the ’74 event.

The second photo was taken on the first day of the actual rally 50 years ago this May, where the original Marina V8 was parked up behind another car you can also see at Gaydon next weekend, the Team Dunton Ford Capri 2.8V6 of David Skittrall and co-driver Brian Peacock, which ran as Car No.2 on the rally and which, despite near-death in the Sahara whilst lost for three days, made it to the Olympic Stadium on 25th May 1974 to be awarded a Certificate of Performance.

We had some FANTASTIC news about our recent Historic Marathon Rally Show and 1974 UDT London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally……

Jim Reddiex, who with Ken Tubman and André Welinski WON the 17000km rally in their privately entered Citroen DS23 flew in from Australia to join us on 21st April as we brought together cars, competitors and personalities from 50 years ago.

Jim is one of several characters who made long trips to be at the Reunion and if you met them and heard their incredible stories, we’ve filmed their interviews throughout the day in a special conference room within the British Motor Museum and will be producing a film of the day and releasing it online once the huge task of editing is completed.

If you didn’t manage to buy your own full-colour 52 page Programme on the day, you can still order a copy by sending your contact details to ‘[email protected]’ and we’ll do the rest! Scroll down to other Posts here for more information…..

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

16000 miles in just five weeks from Wembley Stadium in London, England to the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City. Just the European leg alone was more demanding than any of us who weren’t there could possibly imagine.

Ford Great Britain masterminded their assault on the 1970 World Cup Rally with such planning that every member of the Works Team, from Managers to Mechanics, Transmission Guru to Transporter Driver, was issued with a set of Confidential ‘Team Ford Instructions’ that set out who would do what, when and where.

Here’s an extract from an original 1970 Instruction book that gives a glimpse of the thought and preparation that went into Servicing and Parts logistics between London and Lisbon, from before the cars left Wembley and until they set sail for Rio de Janeiro to continue their assault on the punishing South American turf.