1968 London–Sydney Marathon Explained

1968 London-Sydney Marathon
Native Name:Daily Express-Daily Telegraph London-Sydney Marathon
Rallybase:London
Sydney
Startdate:24 November
Enddate:17 December 1968
Stages:31
Overallkm:16694
Surface:Tarmac and Gravel
Driver1: Andrew Cowan
Colin Malkin
Brian Coyle
Team1: Rootes Motor Group
Teamsstart:98
Teamsfinish:56

The 1968 London–Sydney Marathon, officially Daily Express-Daily Telegraph London-Sydney Marathon was the first running of the London-Sydney Marathon. The rally took place between the 24th of November and the 17th of December 1968. The event covered 10,373 miles (16,694 km) through Europe, Asia and Australia. It was won by Andrew Cowan, Colin Malkin and Brian Coyle, driving a Hillman Hunter.

Background

The original Marathon was the result of a lunch in late 1967, during a period of despondency in Britain caused by the devaluation of the British pound.[1] [2] Sir Max Aitken, proprietor of the Daily Express, and two of his editorial executives, Jocelyn Stevens and Tommy Sopwith, decided to create an event which their newspaper could sponsor, and which would serve to raise the country's spirits. Such an event would, it was felt, act as a showcase for British engineering and would boost export sales in the countries through which it passed.

The initial UK£10,000 winner's prize offered by the Daily Express was soon joined by a £3,000 runners-up award and two £2,000 prizes for the third-placed team and for the highest-placed Australians, all of which were underwritten by the Daily Telegraph newspaper and its proprietor Sir Frank Packer, who was eager to promote the Antipodean leg of the rally.[1]

The route

An eight-man organising committee was established to create a suitably challenging but navigable route. Jack Sears, organising secretary and himself a former racing driver, plotted a 7,000-mile course covering eleven countries in as many days, and arranged that the P&O liner SS Chusan would ferry the first 72 cars and their crews on the nine-day voyage from India, before the final 2,900 miles across Australia:[3] [4]

Europe and Asia
LegDateStartFinishAllowed timeDescription
124–25 NovemberLondonParis12h 32m2300hrs depart Crystal Palace, London; 0400hrs depart England at Dover on the cross-channel ferry to France; 1132hrs arrive Le Bourget Airport, Paris.
225–26 NovemberParisTurin13h 32mTo Italy via the Mont Blanc Tunnel; 0052hrs arrive Turin.
326 NovemberTurinBelgrade21h 12mAutostrada towards Venice before crossing into Yugoslavia; 2204hrs arrive Belgrade.
426–27 NovemberBelgradeIstanbul15h 31mThrough Bulgaria by night into Turkey; 1335hrs arrive Istanbul.
527–28 NovemberIstanbulSivas12h 25mCrossing the Bosphorus by ferry, through Ankara and the Bolu Pass; 0300hrs arrive Sivas.
628 NovemberSivasErzincan2h 45mHeading east across unsurfaced roads; 0445hrs Erzincan.
728–29 NovemberErzincanTehran22h 01mCross border into Iran; 0246hrs arrive Tehran.
829–30 NovemberTehranKabul23h 33mFollow one of two routes to Islam Qala in Afghanistan, either the northerly route across the Alburz Mountains skirting the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, or the shorter but more treacherous route along the north edge of the Great Salt Desert;[5] 0219hrs arrive Kabul, where timeous crews can enjoy a 6.5 hour rest before the Khyber Pass opens.
930 NovemberKabulSarobi1h 00m0842hrs depart Kabul across an obsolete, loose-surfaced road through the Lataband Pass; 0942hrs arrive Sarobi.
1030 November – 1 DecemberSarobiDelhi17h 55mCross Pakistan in a day into India; 0337hrs arrive Delhi.
111–2 DecemberDelhiBombay22h 51mPass through Agra and Indore; 0228hrs arrive Bombay.
The remaining crews departed Bombay at 3 am on Thursday 5 December, arriving in Fremantle at 10 am on Friday 13 December before they restarted in Perth the following evening. Any repairs attempted on the car during the voyage would lead to the crew's exclusion.[6]
Australia
LegDateStartFinishAllowed timeDescription
1214–15 DecemberPerthYouanmi7h 00mDepart 1800hrs from Gloucester Park, traversing smooth but unsurfaced road; 0100hrs arrive deserted mining town of Youanmi.
1315 DecemberYouanmiMarvel Loch4h 03mThrough semi-desert via Diemal to asphalt road at Bullfinch; 0503hrs arrive Marvel Loch.
1415 DecemberMarvel LochLake King1h 59mInto the Nullarbor Desert; 0702hrs arrive Lake King (crossroads).
15 15 December Lake King Ceduna 14h 52m 2154hrs arrive Ceduna.
16 15–16 December Ceduna Quorn 6h 18m 0412hrs arrive Quorn.
1716 DecemberQuornMoralana Creek1h 17m0529hrs arrive Moralana Creek.
1816 DecemberMoralana CreekBrachina1h 30m0659hrs arrive Brachina.
1916 DecemberBrachinaMingary4h 10m1109hrs arrive Mingary.
20 16 December Mingary Menindee 2h 12m 1329hrs arrive Menindee.
21 16 December Menindee Gunbar 5h 18m 1839hrs arrive Gunbar.
2216 DecemberGunbarEdi4h 26m2305hrs arrive Edi.
2316–17 DecemberEdiBrookside1h 00m0005hrs arrive Brookside.
2417 DecemberBrooksideOmeo1h 55m0200hrs arrive Omeo.
2517 DecemberOmeoMurrindal2h 06m0406hrs arrive Murrindal.
2617 DecemberMurrindalIngebyra1h 31m0537hrs arrive Ingebyra.
2717 DecemberIngebyraNumeralla1h 29m0706hrs arrive Numeralla.
2817 DecemberNumerallaHindmarsh Station0h 42m0748hrs arrive Hindmarsh Station.
2917 DecemberHindmarsh StationNowra2h 01m0949hrs arrive Nowra.
3017 DecemberNowraWarwick Farm3h 30m1319hrs arrive Warwick Farm.
3118 DecemberWarwick FarmSydneyArrive in procession, Sydney.

Rally summary

Roger Clark established an early lead through the first genuinely treacherous leg, from Sivas to Erzincan in Turkey, averaging almost 60 mph in his Lotus Cortina for the 170-mile stage. Despite losing time in Pakistan and India, he maintained his lead to the end of the Asian section in Bombay, with Simo Lampinen's Ford Taunus second and Lucien Bianchi's DS21 in third.[2]

However, once into Australia, Clark suffered several setbacks. A piston failure dropped him to third, and would have cost him a finish had he not been able to cannibalise fellow Ford Motor Company driver Eric Jackson's car for parts. After repairs were effected, he suffered what should have been a terminal rear differential failure. Encountering a Cortina by the roadside, he persuaded the initially reluctant owner to sell his rear axle and resumed once more, although at the cost of 80 minutes' delay while it was replaced.[2]

This left Lucien Bianchi and co-driver Jean-Claude Ogier in the Citroën DS in the lead ahead of Gilbert Staepelaere/Simo Lampinen in the German Ford Taunus, with Andrew Cowan in the Hillman Hunter 3rd. Then Staepelaere's Taunus hit a gate post, breaking a track rod. This left Cowan in second position and Paddy Hopkirk's Austin 1800 in third place.[7] [8]

Approaching the Nowra checkpoint at the end of the penultimate stage with only 980NaN0 to Sydney, the leading Frenchmen were involved in a head-on collision with a motorist who mistakenly entered a closed course, wrecking their Citroën DS and hospitalising the pair.[9]

Hopkirk, the first driver on the scene (ahead of Cowan on the road, but behind on penalties) stopped to tend to the injured and extinguish the flames in the burning cars. Andrew Cowan, next on the scene, also slowed but was waved through with the message that everything was under control. Hopkirk rejoined the rally, and neither he nor Cowan lost penalties in this stage. So Andrew Cowan, who had requested "a car to come last" from the Chrysler factory on the assumption that only half a dozen drivers would even reach Sydney,[10] took victory in his Hillman Hunter and claimed the £10,000 prize. Hopkirk finished second, while Australian Ian Vaughan was third in a factory-entered Ford XT Falcon GT. Ford Australia won the Teams' Prize with their three Falcons GTs,[11] placing 3rd, 6th and 8th.[12]

Results

EntrantDriversCarPenalties (Points)
175 Rootes Motors Group Andrew Cowan
Colin Malkin
Brian Coyle
Hillman Hunter50
251 Paddy Hopkirk
Tony Nash
Alec Poole
BMC Austin 180056
324 Ian Vaughan
Robert Forsyth
Jack Ellis
Ford Falcon XT GT62
458 Sobiesław Zasada Sobiesław Zasada
Marek Wachowski
Porsche 911S63
561 British Leyland Cars Rauno Aaltonen
Henry Liddon
Paul Easter
BMC Austin 1800 68
629 Ford Motor Company of Australia Bruce Hodgson
Doug Rutherford
Ford Falcon XT GT 70
792 Herbert Kleint
Günther Klapproth
Ford Taunus 20M RS91
82 Ford Motor Company of Australia Harry Firth
Graham Hoinville
Gary Chapman
Ford Falcon XT GT 114
974 Robert Neyret
Citroën DS 21123
1048 Roger Clark
Ove Andersson
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II144
1112 Ken Tubman
Jack Forrest
Volvo 144S146
1276 Barry Ferguson
Doug Chivas
Dave Johnson
Holden Monaro HK GTS 327169
1343 Andre Welinski
Gerry Lister
Volvo 144S171
1468 Sydney Telegraph-Holden Dealer Rally Team Doug Whiteford
Eddie Perkins
Jim Hawker
Holden Monaro HK GTS 327 173
1555 E.G. Herrmann Edgar Herrmann
Hans Schüller
Porsche 911T195
1657 Ford Werke Deutschland AG
Simo Lampinen
Ford Taunus 20M RS206
1730 Dutch National Team Rob Slotemaker
Rob Janssen
DAF 55208
1832 Captain F. Barker Capt. Fred Barker
Capt. David Dollar
Capt. John Lewis
Mercedes-Benz 280S264
1964 Red Arrows-Evan Cook Limited Flight Lt. Terry Kingsley
Flight Lt. Derek Bell
Flight Lt. Peter Evans
BMC Austin 1800266
2019 Avtoexport
Valentin Kislyh
Moskvitch 408269
2131 Evan Green
Jack 'Gelignite' Murray
George Shepheard
BMC Austin 1800332
2298 Avtoexport Uno Aava
Jurij Lesovski
Moskvitch 408358
231 RTS Motorway Remoulds Bill Bengry
Arthur Brick
John Preddy
Ford Cortina GT Mark II360
244 British Leyland Cars Tony Fall
Mike Wood
Brian Culcheth
BMC Austin 1800 430
2556 A.J. Percy Alister Percy
Jeremy Delmar-Morgan
438
2662 Desmond Praznovsky Desmond Praznovsky
Stan Zovko
Ian Inglis
Mercedes-Benz 200D455
2783 Kentredder (Ireland) Limited John Cotton
Sylvia Kay
Paddy McClintock
Peugeot 404470
2871 Vantona Eyeware Limited Brian Field
Des Tilley
David Jones
BMC Austin 1800 570
2972 Ernie McMillen Ernie McMillen
John L'Amie
Ian Drysdale
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II587
3090 Capt. David Harrison
Lt. Martin Proudlock
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II623
3117 Capt. James Hans Hamilton
Capt. Ian Lees-Spalding
Cmdr. Philip Stearns
BMC Austin 1800656
3245 RAF Motorsport Association-Rootes Motors Flight Lt. David Carrington
Squadron Ldr. Anthony King
Flight Lt. John Jones
Hillman Hunter715
337 Avtoexport
Alexander Terehin
Eduard Bazhenov
Moskvitch 408776
3470 Wilson's Motor Caravan Centre Anthony Wilson
Francis McDonnell
Colin Taylor
BMC Austin 1800816
3560 Terry-Thomas Team Peter Capelin
Antony Pargeter
Tim Baker
Ford Cortina 1600E Mark II873
3677 Big 'N' Cash & Carry Group Robert Eaves
John Vipond
Frank Bainbridge
BMC Austin 1800873
3754 British Army Motoring Association Maj. John Hemsley
WO1 Frank Webber
Rover 2000 TC894
3820 Avtoexport Victor Schavelev
Emmanuil 'Misha' Lifshits
Valerij Shirotchenkov
Moskvitch 408942
3918 M.A. Colvill Mike Greenwood
Dave Aldridge
Ford Cortina Mark I1,075
4046 Bernard Heu
Jean-Claude Syda
Simca 11001,658
4133 Miss Elsie Gadd Elsie Gadd
Jenny Tudor-Owen
Sheila Kemp
Anthea Castell
Volvo 145S Estate2,399
4247 Nova Magazine Jean Denton
Tom Boyce
MG MGB2,408
4311 Blick Racing Team Fritz Reust
P. Grazter
Axel Béguin
Renault 16 TS2,491
4444 British Army Motoring Association Maj. Mike Bailey
Maj. Freddie Preston
Rover 2000 TC2,848
4578 Supersport Engines Limited Jim Gavin
John Maclay
Martin Maudling
Ford Escort GT3,665
4653 S.H. Dickson Sidney Dickson
John Saladin
Jerry Sims
Rambler American3,746
4742 P.G. Graham Peter Graham
Leslie Morrish
Michael Wooley
Ford Cortina Savage V65,925
4893 Rosemary Smith
Lucette Pointet
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II6,139
4999 Lt. Gavin Thompson
Lt. Christopher Marriott
Cpl. Charles Skelton
Tpr. Melvin Lewis
Land Rover 2WD6,787
5041 Sydney Telegraph Eileen Westley
Marion 'Minny' Macdonald
Jenny Gates
Morris 1100 S8,111
5179 P.A. Downs Pat Downs
Anthony Downs
Volkswagen 12009,603
5240 David Walker
Brian Jones
Doug Morris
Vauxhall Ventora9,775
5382 D.G. Bray Duncan Bray
Simon Sladen
Peter Sugden
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II11,465
5491 Maitland Motors Bert Madden
Jack 'Milko' Murray
John Bryson
Holden HK Belmont Automatic11,646
558 AMOCO Australia Limited Max Winkless
John Keran
Volvo 144S13,350
5669 Dutch National Team David van Lennep
Peter Hissink
DAF 5513,790
DNF87 Citroën Cars Lucien Bianchi
Citroën DS 21Retired-TC29 Nowra
DNF89 Longlife Group Robin Clark
Martin Pearson
Peter Hall
Ford Cortina Mark IIRetired-TC28 Hindmarsh
DNF52 John Sprinzel
Roy Fidler
MG MidgetRetired-TC21 Gunbar
DNF36 Sydney Telegraph-Holden Dealer Rally Team David McKay
George Reynolds
David Liddle
Holden Monaro HK GTS 327 Retired-TC20 Menindee
DNF94 Jean-Louis Lemerle
Olivier Turcat
Patrick Vanson
Citroën DS 21Retired-TC19 Mingary
DNF10 George Yannaghas
Lt. Jack Dill
Porsche 911TRetired-TC19 Mingary
DNF3 First Officer Nigel Coleman
Flight Lt. Allan Dalgleish
Flight Lt. Sean Moloney
Ford Cortina GT Mark IIRetired-TC19 Mingary
DNF95 Nobuo Koga Nobuo Koga
Yojiro Terada
Kazuhiko Mitsumoto
Vauxhall Viva GTRetired-TC18 Brachina
DNF28 A.N. Gorshenin Alec Gorshenin
Ian Bryson
Mercedes-Benz 280SLRetired-TC18 Brachina
DNF100 Simca Motors Pierre Boucher
Georges Houel
Simca 1100Retired-TC17 Moralana
DNF27 Frank Goulden Frank Goulden
Barry Goulden
Geoffrey Goulden
Triumph 2000 Mark IRetired-TC17 Moralana
DNF73 Ford Motor Company Limited Eric Jackson
Ken Chambers
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC16 Quorn
DNF26 Michael Taylor
Innes Ireland
Andrew Hedges
Mercedes-Benz 280SERetired-TC16 Quorn
DNF13 J.G. Tallis John Tallis
Paul Coltelloni
Volvo 123GTRetired-TC14 Lake King
DNF25 Chesson Lydden Circuit-La Trobe Brafield Stadium John La Trobe
William Chesson
G. Warner
Volvo 122SRetired-TC14 Lake King
DNF6 Clyde Hodgins
Don Wait
Brian Lawler
Ford Fairmont XPRetired-TC14 Lake King
DNF88 Simca Motors Roger Masson
Jean Py
Simca 1100Retired-TC11 Bombay
DNF9 A.A. Bombelli Alfredo 'Freddy' Bombelli
Tom Belsø
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC11 Bombay
DNF34 Keith Brierley Keith Brierley
Dave Skittrall
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC11 Bombay
DNF63 AMOCO Australia Limited Bob Holden
Laurie Graham
Volvo 142SRetired-TC10 Delhi
DNF96 Ronald Rogers Ronald Rogers
Alec Sheppard
Ford Cortina 1600E Mark IIRetired-TC10 Delhi
DNF66 T.E. Buckingham T. Buckingham
J. Lloyd
D. Hackleton
Ford Cortina GT Mark IIRetired-TC9 Sarobi
DNF14 Ford Werke Deutschland AG Dieter Glemser
Martin Braungart
Ford Taunus 20M RSRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF39 Addison Motors Stewart McLeod
Jack Lock
Tony Theiler
Alfa Romeo 1750 BerlinaRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF59 Porsche Cars GB Limited Terry Hunter
John Davenport
Porsche 911SRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF22 Giancarlo Baghetti Giancarlo Baghetti
Giorgio Bassi
Lancia Fulvia Rallye 1.3 HFRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF21 Hillcrest Motor Company Berwyn Williams
Martin Thomas
Barry Hughes
BMC Austin 1800Retired-TC8 Kabul
DNF86 Pan Australian Unit Trust-Southern Cross Management Colin Forsyth
Robbie Uniacke
James Rich
BMW 2000Retired-TC8 Kabul
DNF23 P.R.H. Wilson Peter Wilson
Ian Mackelden
Keith Dwyer
D. Maxwell
Ford Corsair 2000ERetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF35 R.A. Buchanan-Michaelson Robert 'Bobby' Buchanan-Michaelson
David Seigle-Morris
Max Stahl
Mercedes-Benz 280SERetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF81 Dr. Bomsi Wadia Bomsi Wadia
K. Tarmaster
F. Kaka
Ford Cortina GT Mark IIRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF50 Ford Motor Company Limited Nick Brittan
Jenny Brittan
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC8 Kabul
DNF97 Lunwin Products Pty. Ltd. Reg Lunn
Clive Tippett
Jack Hall
Ford Falcon XT GT Retired-TC7 Tehran
DNF15 G.P. Franklin Geoffrey Franklin
Kim Brassington
Retired-TC7 Tehran
DNF65 Hydraulic Machinery (GB) Limited Graham White
John Jeffcoat
David Dunnell
BMC Austin 1800 Retired-TC7 Tehran
DNF84 C.K.W. Schellenberg Keith Schellenberg
Norman Barclay
Hon. Patrick Lindsay
Retired-TC6 Erzincan
DNF5 Redge Lewis Peter Lumsden
Peter Sargent
Redge Lewis
John Fenton
Retired-TC5 Sivas
DNF37 W.D. Cresdee Dennis Cresdee
Bob Freeborough
Johnstone Syer
Retired-TC5 Sivas
DNF38 Ford Motor Company Limited
Gunnar Palm
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC5 Sivas
DNF85 Peter Harper
David Pollard
Ford Cortina Lotus Mark IIRetired-TC5 Sivas
DNF16 D.A. Corbett David Corbett
Geoffrey Mabbs
Tom Fisk
BMC Austin 1800 Retired-TC3 Belgrade
DNF67 C.J. Woodley Cecil Woodley
Steven Green
Richard Cullingford
Vauxhall Ventora Retired-TC3 Belgrade
Source:

References

Bibliography

. Andrew Cowan. Why Finish Last? The story behind the London-Sydney Marathon. 1969. Queen Anne Press. London. 0362000522.

. Paddy Hopkirk. The Longest Drive of All: Paddy Hopkirk's story of the London - Sydney motor rally. 1969. G. Chapman. London. 0225488604.

. Innes Ireland. Marathon in the Dust. 1970. Kimber. London. 0718300726.

Notes and References

  1. http://marathon68.homestead.com/Page3.html "How It All Began"
  2. http://www.citroen.mb.ca/cItROeNeT/sport/london-sydney-marathon-68.html "The great adventure of the decade"
  3. http://marathon68.homestead.com/Page15.html "Timetable of the Marathon"
  4. http://marathon68.homestead.com/Page6.html "The Route"
  5. http://marathon68.homestead.com/jacksears.html "10,000 Miles of Road Hazards"
  6. http://marathon68.homestead.com/Page14.html "Rules that give everyone a chance to win"
  7. Daily Express London-Sydney Marathon report, 1969, pp. 43–45, (David Benson, Beaverbrook Press)
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXO84oYJv10&list=PLDFAEF53606032C88 YouTube
  9. Web site: 1968 London - Sydney Marathon. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080721043450/http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/london_sydney_marathon.htm. 2008-07-21.
  10. http://marathon68.homestead.com/Page8.html "Evan Green's Story"
  11. http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_ford_falcon_xt_gt.htm Ford Falcon XT GT at www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au
  12. http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_ford_falcon_xt.htm Ford Falcon XT at www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au