1968 London–Sydney Marathon

1968 London-Sydney Marathon Daily Express-Daily Telegraph London-Sydney Marathon
Host country	United Kingdom Australia
Rally base	London Sydney
Dates run	24 November – 17 December 1968
Stages	31
Stage surface	Tarmac and Gravel
Overall distance	16,000 km (9,900 miles)
Results
Overall winner	Andrew Cowan Colin Malkin Brian Coyle Rootes Motor Group
Crews	98 at start, 56 at finish

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 9,900 miles (16,000 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 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 S.S. 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]

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]

Results

Pos	No	Entrant	Drivers	Car	Penalties (Points)
1	75	Rootes Motors Group	Andrew Cowan Colin Malkin Brian Coyle	Hillman Hunter	50
2	51	British Leyland Cars	Paddy Hopkirk Tony Nash Alec Poole	BMC 1800	56
3	24	Ford Motor Company of Australia	Ian Vaughan Robert Forsyth Jack Ellis	Ford Falcon XT GT	62
4	58	Sobiesław Zasada	Sobiesław Zasada Marek Wachowski	Porsche 911S	63
5	61	British Leyland Cars	Rauno Aaltonen Henry Liddon Paul Easter	BMC 1800	68
6	29	Ford Motor Company of Australia	Bruce Hodgson Doug Rutherford	Ford Falcon XT GT	70
7	92	Ford Werke Deutschland AG	Herbert Kleint Günther Klapproth	Ford Taunus 20M RS	91
8	2	Ford Motor Company of Australia	Harry Firth Graham Hoinville Gary Chapman	Ford Falcon XT GT	114
9	74	Citroën Cars	Robert Neyret Jacques Terramorsi	Citroën DS 21	123
10	48	Ford Motor Company Limited	Roger Clark Ove Andersson	Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II	144
11	12	TVW-7, Daily News, Perth	Ken Tubman Jack Forrest	Volvo 144S	146
12	76	Sydney Telegraph-Holden Dealer Rally Team	Barry Ferguson Doug Chivas Dave Johnson	Holden Monaro HK GTS 327	169
13	43	AMOCO Australia Limited	Gerry Lister Andre Welinski	Volvo 144S	171
14	68	Sydney Telegraph-Holden Dealer Rally Team	Doug Whiteford Eddie Perkins Jim Hawker	Holden Monaro HK GTS 327	173
15	55	E.G. Herrmann	Edgar Herrmann Hans Schüller	Porsche 911S	195
16	57	Ford Werke Deutschland AG	Gilbert Staepelaere Simo Lampinen	Ford Taunus 20M RS	206
17	30	Dutch National Team	Rob Slotemaker Rob Janssen	DAF 55	208
18	32	Captain F. Barker	Capt. Fred Barker Capt. David Dollar Capt. John Lewis	Mercedes-Benz 280S	264
19	64	Evan Cook	Flight Lt. Terry Kingsley Flight Lt. Derek Bell Flight Lt. Peter Evans	BMC 1800	266
20	19	Avtoexport	Sergei Tenichev Valentin Kislykh	Moskvitch 408	269
21	31	BMC Australia	Evan Green Jack 'Gelignite' Murray George Shepheard	BMC 1800	332
22	98	Avtoexport	Uno Aaava Jurij Lesovski	Moskvitch 408	358
23	1	RTS Motorway Remoulds	Bill Bengry Arthur Brick John Preddy	Ford Cortina GT Mark II	360
24	4	British Leyland Cars	Tony Fall Mike Wood Brian Culcheth	BMC 1800	430
25	56	A.J. Percy	Alister Percy Jeremy Delmar-Morgan	Saab 95 V4 Estate	438
26	62	Desmond Praznovsky	Desmond Praznovsky Stan Zovko Ian Inglis	Mercedes-Benz 280S	455
27	83	Kentredder (Ireland) Limited	John Cotton Sylvia Kay Paddy McClintock	Peugeot 404	470
28	71	Vantona Eyeware Limited	Brian Field Des Tilley David Jones	BMC 1800	570
29	72	Ernie McMillen	Ernie McMillen John L'Amie Ian Drysdale	Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II	587
30	90	British Army Motoring Association-Ford Motor Co.	Capt. David Harrison Lt. Martin Proudlock	Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II	623
31	17	Royal Navy	Capt. James Hans Hamilton Capt. Ian Lees-Spalding Cmdr. Philip Stearns	BMC 1800	656
32	45	RAF Motorsport Association-Rootes Motors	Flight Lt. David Carrington Squadron Ldr. Anthony King Flight Lt. John Jones	Hillman Hunter	715
33	7	Avtoexport	Alexander Ipantenko Alexander Terehin Eduard Bazhenov	Moskvitch 408	776
34	70	Wilson's Motor Caravan Center	Anthony Wilson Francis McDonald Colin Taylor	BMC 1800	816
35	60	Terry Thomas	Peter Capelin Antony Pargeter Tim Baker	Ford Cortina 1600E Mark II	873
36	77	Big 'N' Cash & Carry Group	Robert Eaves John Vipond Frank Bainbridge	BMC 1800	873
37	54	British Army Motoring Association	Maj. John Hemsley WO1 Frank Webber	Rover 2000 TC	894
38	20	Avtoexport	Victor Scavelev Emmanuil 'Misha' Lifshitz Valerij Shirotchenkiv	Moskvitch 408	942
39	18	M.A. Colvill	Mike Greenwood Dave Aldridge	Ford Cortina Mark II	1,075
40	46	Simca Motors	Bernard Heu Jean-Claude Syda	Simca 1100	1,658
41	33	Elsie Gadd	Elsie Gadd Jenny Tudor-Owen Sheila Kemp Anthea Castell	Volvo 145S	2,399
42	47	Nova Magazine	Jean Denton Tom Boyce	MG MGB	2,408
43	11	Blick Racing Team	Frizt Reust P. Grazter Axel Béguin	Renault 16 TS	2,491
44	44	British Army Motoring Association	Maj. Mike Bailey Maj. Freddie Preston	Rover 2000 TC	2,848
45	78	Super Sport Engines Limited	Jim Gavin John Maclay Martin Maudling	Ford Escort GT	3,665
46	53	S.H. Dickson	Sidney Dickson John Saladin Jerry Sims	Rambler American	3,746
47	42	P.G. Graham	Peter Graham Leslie Morrish Michael Woolley	Ford Cortina Savage V6	5,925
48	93	Henry Ford and Son	Rosemary Smith Lucette Pointet	Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II	6,139
49	99	17th/21st Lancers	Lt. Gavin Thompson Lt. C. Marriott Cpl. C. Skelton Tpr. Melvin Lewis	Land Rover 2WD	6,787
50	41	Sydney Telegraph	Eileen Westley Marion 'Minny' Macdonald Jenny Gates	Morris 1100 S	8,111
51	79	P.A. Downs	Pat Downs Anthony Downs	Volkswagen 1200	9,603
52	40	Jim Russell I.R. Driving School	David Walker Brian Jones Doug Morris	Vauxhall Ventora	9,775
53	82	D.G. Bray	Duncan Bray Simon Sladen Peter Sugden	Ford Cortina Lotus Mark II	11,465
54	91	Maitland Motors	Bert Madden Jack 'Milko' Murray John Bryson	Holden HK Belmont	11,646
55	8	AMOCO Australia Limited	Max Winkless John Keran	Volvo 144S	13,350
56	69	Dutch National Team	David van Lennep Peter Hissink	DAF 55	13,790
Source:[7][8]

References