The home of the Historic Marathon Rally Group. The Historic Marathon Rally Group (HMRG) is a friendly UK-based network of enthusiasts dedicated to reuniting historic rally cars, competitors, service crews, and supporters from around the world. Our mission is to celebrate and promote the legendary Marathon Rallies and Classic Car Endurance events of the past while fostering a shared passion for motorsport history.
Here is a gallery of photographs that taken at the start of the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon Rally on 24 November 1968 and at Warwick Farm Sydney on 17 December 1968. The images are scans of Agfa 35mm slides and come from a flickr gallery uploaded by Archie Hall.
The Event Organising Committee will be meeting tomorrow to review the status of activity of what is turning out to be one of the largest Historical Rally Tours for many years. The Organising Committee approved an increase in Entries and we are pleased to confirm that within 3 days all places were taken. The event now has 80 confirmed entries and it is all steam ahead to deliver the event as outlined.
The Committee will release an Event Update following tomorrows meeting with updates also being published on the Historic Rally Club NSW and ACT Group.
President of the Historic Rally Club NSW and ACT Michael Batten has kindly agreed to join the Organising Committee.
Thank you to all Entrants and also to those entries on the Reserves List.
Kind regards,
Laurie Mason – Event Director.
If you want to know more about this event you can contact Laurie via the Perth to Sydney Marathon Rerun 2021 facebook group
You can read an earlier post about the Perth to Sydney Marathon Rerun here.
30th-31st May 1970 50 years ago. Timeline: Mexico City – England
Daily Mirror London-Mexico WCR Tish and Bron’s last adventure
At last we were ready to go home, so onto the pre-booked flight to England with British Caledonia. British Caledonia served real food in those days. I remember a lovely fillet steak as one of the meals it was absolutely delicious after so many weeks of bananas and biscuits. But it had been a great weight loss campaign. We had to fly via Montreal – very long-haul flights were not available back then.
After the last drop-off in Lima the aircraft, sometimes called “Brownings Bomber” returned to UK. After the finish in Mexico City the crews and mechanics were due to travel home in the Britannia.However, inboard to USA the aircraft suffered a bird-strike damaging the wind-screen and was diverted to Montreal.All those due to fly were now booked on a Brannif DC8 to Montreal to connect with the Britannia which was having a new windscreen fitted.
Bill Price, Comps Manager for BL recalled:
My memory was that we were delayed in Montreal and had to sit in the aircraft for some time while the repairs were going on. At last, onto England, arriving in Gatwick (a very simple airport then – just a tin shed really) at about 8 in the morning. Rob came to meet me and had borrowed a DB5 from a friend – well he wanted to impress after our fabulous adventure, but I was just thrilled to see him again. I remember, when coming in to land and on the way home, thinking just how wonderfully “green” England looked after all the hot and dry countryside we had been travelling in. Said a very emotional farewell to my travel companion Tish, what adventures we had together, with promises that we would catch up soon, and off we went….home at last.
Back to Hindhead and my family safely with so many stories to tell. I had spoken to them back in Buenos Aires when we were out of the rally (with no mobile phones in those days – you had to rely on the transatlantic cable and operators), and as far as they knew then we were ‘missing’. I hadn’t been able to speak to them again until safely arriving in Mexico City. In those days, no news was “good news”.
Went for a meal that night at one of my then favourite places, the Duke of Cumberland pub at Henley near Fernhurst. I could not wait. I wanted a fresh trout, followed by a medium rare steak and then would decide what pudding to have. But oh dear!!! Once I had finished the trout that had been caught in their little pond, I started the steak and just could not finish it. Sacrilege. It was wonderful, but my stomach had shrunk over the past 6 or so weeks and I just could not eat it all, let alone the chips. And there are friends who know how awful that would be for me today!!!
Footnote – I believe when Puff finally arrived back at the docks at Harwich in September, having been delayed by yet another of the 70’s dock strikes, Peter Baldwin went to collect her and, knowing the problem, fitted a new rotor arm. Puff, bless her, fired up on the first turn of the starter motor and ran as sweetly as ever! Sadly, I was not to see her again until August in 2013, nor indeed Tina. That is another story.
Later that year, whilst in Harrogate on the 1970 RAC Rally of Great Britain, someone told me that there was a film showing of the World Cup Rally and that I was in it, but I have never seen this ‘film’ if it still exists.
It was all such an amazing and fantastic adventure, though, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. THE END!
This post is a part of a series of posts in which Bron Burrell recalls her 1970 World Cup Rally. See all Brons posts in this series.
Well, nearly at the end of the saga….a little bit more to say….just waffle really, but here goes
28-30th May 1970 50 years ago. Timeline: Mexico City
Daily Mirror London-Mexico World Cup Rally – Tish and Bron’s last adventure
The next few days were full of events, celebrations, a visit to the British Embassy for a reception with all the British drivers, and our first taste of empanadas – wow!
Tish and I did the cultural bit too, and visited the archaeological museum and the National library, did a little bit of shopping (well, we did not have much money left most certainly, and shopping per se has never been my ‘thing’). And boy, did we enjoy some lovely, lovely, delicious meals – proper food! All capped with a big celebration party in a nice Mexican restaurant. We were certainly making up for the time ‘lost’ on those difficult roads!
Our luggage from Rio turned up safely, although I know now that Tina lost her luggage somewhere on the way and was never to retrieve it – so sad to lose our ‘lovely’ catsuits and all the stuff we had been given in Rio.
There was a great rooftop swimming pool at the hotel, and we managed to find time to use it a couple of times. Such a treat. And best of all, we did manage to sleep in those beautifully soft sheets and beds when we eventually got to our room each night.
Now all we had to do was relax – only the flight home on 30-31 May to come!!!
This post is a part of a series of posts in which Bron Burrell recalls her 1970 World Cup Rally. See all Brons posts in this series.
27th May 1970 50 years ago. Timeline: Mexico City – our goal
Daily Mirror London-Mexico WCR Tish and Bron’s adventures
We had to drive slowly into Mexico city amongst so much traffic – what a noisy sprawling place it was after all our adventures on the open roads of Latin America. It was early evening and we had missed the Aztec Stadium celebrations. We finally found our way to the Rally HQ in the Hotel Isabella-Sheraton and said our goodbyes to Victor who was going on to stay somewhere else with some of his team.
Tish and I were overjoyed that we had finally made it, in spite of our tribulations, and hugged each other and little Victor too. After all he was instrumental in getting us there! We were not to see him again (not sure Tish minded that). We checked into the hotel and finally slumped into our room. Sheer luxury a static bed! We had made it to Mexico – even if not still in the rally – and we were temporarily shattered! We were quite sad that we didn’t have Tina or Puff, but we had finally, finally done it!
In Mexico City that night there were huge celebrations for the eventual winners, our new good friends Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm. According to all thoughts before the rally, Hannu had been considered an unknown, sensationally fast but slightly short of self control. Would he last the distance? But the wily Gunnar read him the riot act after one slight mishap, and they finished first in one of the epic drives in motor sport history. They had completed this rally nearly 1 hour and 25 mins faster than anyone else – an extraordinary time. What a well deserved win, albeit Ford after careful planning had pretty well rebuilt their Escorts several times on the trip.
And fellow Maxi drivers, Rosemary Smith and her girls, a fantastic overall 10th place plus the Ladies Prize. The Red Arrows team’s overall 22nd had done a great job for the reputation of the very new Maxi – 2 out of 4 of the Maxis entered had finished! A high percentage for the marque.
Jean Denton and her team did brilliantly in the BL sister car, a Landcrab, getting 18th overall.. In fact 6 of the 12 women who entered the rally finished – 50%. More than could be said of the men!
John Sprinzel was heard to say that he had one regret – that they could not schedule any Prime at a target average of 100mph, albeit several teams had achieved more than that on Primes in Argentina and Uruguay! Tough indeed! And Stuart Turner is reputed to have said, “After this little lot, the London-Sydney Marathon becomes just another rally!”
Tish and I just looked at each other and grinned, like Cheshire cats. We were sooo happy that night.
(But not much more, folks. Thanks for your patience…..just 4 days now to get home again)
This post is a part of a series of posts in which Bron Burrell recalls her 1970 World Cup Rally. See all Brons posts in this series.