There had been motoring rallies and marathon events since before the First World War, but these were often more like survival challenges than outright competitive events.
All that changed in November 1968 with the staging of the 10,000-mile London to Sydney Marathon, an unprecedented test of drivers and machines in searing heat and dust. This was then succeeded by a series of ever more challenging competitions, with perhaps the most famous (and the most grueling of them all) being the London-to-Mexico World Cup Rally of 1970.
The Historic Marathon Rally Group is staging a celebration of the London-Sydney in this its golden jubilee year, along with all the other endurance rallies and marathons that followed in its wake through the 1960s and 1970s. It is all taking place at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon (CV35 0BJ) on Sunday 29th July where there will be many historic rally cars from this era on display, plus driver and celebrity interviews, a parade of historic marathon cars and a road run arriving at 11am.
Indoors the group will be showing various films of the Marathon, including official footage from Rootes, Volvo Australia and Castrol. They also hope to have a film taken on the event by one of the teams, but this has not been confirmed as yet.
Entry to the show is free, and gates open at 10am. Discounted entry to the British Motor Museum is also available.
There is no need to pre-book, but if you have any questions, then email either ted.taylor@bigfoot.com or andrewjbradbury@aol.com. Clubs who wish to have a display space should contact davidscothorn@hotmail.com
