BMC Information Sheets
ISSUED BY THE BMC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
BMC PRESS INFORMATION
November, 1968
"THE MEN BEHIND THE SCENES"
How would you like the responsibility for preparing "Gelignite" Jack Murray's Austin 1800 for the London - Sydney Marathon? Mechanics at the famous B.M.C. Competitions Department at Abingdon, U.K., are now assembling the four "works" 1800's that will be driven by some of the world's best and toughest drivers.
The four teams, three European and one Australian, are:-
Paddy Hopkirk, Tony Nash, Alec Poole
Rauno Aaltonen, Henry Liddon, Paul Easter
Tony Fall, Mike Wood, Brian Culceth
Jack Murray, Evan Green, George Shepheard
More than two thousand parts will be assembled into each car. These include the following special rally equipment:-
Halda navigational computers, long range quartz iodine driving
lights, extra instrumentation, special fuse circuits, larger fuel tanks and even an intercom between navigator and driver.
It is a big responsibility for any mechanic, knowing that if any problem occurs with the car over 10,000 miles of the world's roughest roads it is his fault.
Code BL
THE BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION [AUSTRALIA] PTY.LIMITED
SOUTH DOWLING STREET, WATERLOO, N.S.W. 2017. TELEPHONE: 663-0321. CABLES 'BRITCORP' SYDNEY TELEX 20222
Sheet 1
Sheet 2
ISSUED BY THE BMC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
BMC PRESS INFORMATION
November, 1968.
BRITISH LEYLANDS ENTRY IN THE LONDON TO SYDNEY MARATHON
by PETER BROWNING
COMPETITIONS MANAGER OF BRITISH LEYLAND,
The London to Sydney Marathon is an event without precedent, so my choice of car and crew for this event certainly has not been an easy one.
I felt that it was essential to have a car with as much rally mileage, behind it as possible. If there is a weakness or a basic fault in a car it is going to show up with the very exacting demands of rough road rallying. And there is no doubt that the Marathon is going to be the toughest motoring test of all time.
And so the field was narrowed to those British Leyland models which had been used in competition - the Mini Cooper 'S', the BMC 1800, the Rover and Triumph 2000's and the Rover 3500 VS. In the sports car range we had the MGB, MGC, Midget and Spitfire.
For reasons of space alone, I had to exclude the sports cars. Reluctantly the Mini Cooper 'S' was put aside on the same grounds, although there were many who felt that a Mini Cooper 'S' could well be the winner over the Australian leg, but no one was wildly enthusiastic over the thought of 8000 'Mini' miles three-up to Bombay. And so my choice was narrowed to the larger saloons.
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THE BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION [AUSTRALIA] PTY. LIMITED
SOUTH DOWLING STREET, WATERLOO, N.S.W. 2017. TELEPHONE: 663-0321. CABLES 'BRITCORP' SYDNEY TELEX 20222
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Of these the BMC 1800 stood out as the car for the job, because it was the model with more successful rallying miles behind it than the others.
Our BMC 1800's will not be the fastest cars to start the Marathon but they will be amongst the strongest cars on the starting grid. They will also offer our crews exceptional space and comfort, Particularly over the roughest sections where the hydrolastic suspension will allow the team to maintain high average speeds.
All of our four team drivers decided on three man crews. Paddy Hopkirk will be going with his new regular co-driver Tony Nash and Alec Poole, who has driven in long distance races such as Le Mans, Sebring and the Marathon 84 hours at the Nurburgring.
Our Flying Finn, Rauno Aaltonen, will be partnered by his regular rallying partner Henry Liddon. Their third man will be Paul Easter.
The third team car will be driven by Tony Fall and Mike Wood. Their third crew member will be Brian Culcheth who has driven the 1800 to success on the Monte, Alpine and Acropolis Rallies.
Our Australian crew is led by Evan Green who is one of Australia's most experienced rally drivers - He will be partnered by George Shepheard and Jack 'Gelignite' Murray, a veteran of round Australia rallies. I am not the only member of the British Leyland team who has tipped them for an outright win.
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Sheet 3
ISSUED BY THE BMC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
BMC PRESS INFORMATION
November, 1968.
CAR MARATHON WILL BE WON IN AUSTRALIA
The London - Sydney Marathon, being hailed as the greatest motoring event of the age, will be decided in the final stages across Australia. This is the opinion of top European rally drivers Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon.
The 10,000 mile trial will start in London on November 24 and is scheduled to finish in Sydney on December 17.
There are two distinct phases to this event. The first is a 7,000 mile section from London to Bombay and the second a 3,300 mile stretch between Perth and Sydney.
One hundred of the world's top drivers will compete in the event.
Hopkirk and Liddon, who together won the Monte Carlo Rally in a BMC Mini Cooper in 1964, have each completed separate surveys of the Australian course. Each man firmly believes that the winner of this gruelling event will be decided on performance through three regions in Australia.
These are:-
Two sections east of Perth, between Youanmi and Lake King Crossroads in Western Australia.
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THE BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION [AUSTRALIA] PTY. LIMITED
SOUTH DOWLING STREET, WATERLOO, N.S.W. 2017. TELEPHONE: 663-0321. CABLES 'BRITCORP' SYDNEY TELEX 20222
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Three sections through the Flinders Ranges, north of Port Augusta in South Australia.
A brief section in the Australian Alps, beginning near Wangaratta in Victoria and finishing near Braidwood in Southern N.S.W..
Henry Liddon, senior co-driver and navigator for the BMC Competitions Department, was the first man to survey the entire course from London to Sydney.
He mapped the route on behalf of the four official BMC "works" entries. All the "works" crews will be driving the new BMC 1800 Mark II.
Three of these cars will be driven by overseas crews and the fourth, entered by BMC Australia, will be manned by the top Australian combination of "Gelignite" Jack Murray, Evan Green and George Shepheard.
Liddon believes that the 7,000 miles run from London to Bombay will be less severe than the 3,300 miles across Australia.
Because of this he suggested that Paddy Hopkirk, one of the overseas stars of the BMC team, should come to Australia to see the most difficult sections for himself.
Immediately he arrived, Hopkirk drove to South Australia to make pace notes of the critical stages through the Flinders Ranges. The pace note system is used by European rally drivers to enable them to cover special stages in the best possible time. With pace notes, the driver grades every hazard and corner. During the event his co-driver reads these notes back to him so that he knows the correct speed and line to take every bend and is forewarned of approaching hazards such as creek crossings or rock outcrops.
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Hopkirk also made pace notes through the Australian Alps for two sections in Victoria and one in southern N.S.W. These were to cover winding mountain roads for which difficult average speeds have been set.
Because of a shortage of time, Hopkirk was not able to travel to Western Australia to try the two "horror sections" in that State.
Hopkirk said:
"There seems little doubt that the Marathon is going to be decided in Australia.
"As I see it London to Bombay, with 7,000 miles to be covered in eight days, will be mainly a test of endurance.
"However, there are problems on this section that have never been experienced by most of the drivers.
These include border formalities, the difficulty of obtaining food and petrol, and even bandits.
And then there is the notorious Lataban Pass. This Pass, between Kabul and Sarobi in Afghanistan, is a special section so rough that no one will complete it in the allowed time without destroying their car.
"Professional drivers will need to employ every skill they possess on the Australian section of the Rally.
With over 3,000 miles to be covered non-stop in only 67 hours, endurance will again be important. But the main problem will be that the cars have already run 7,000 tough miles and the Australian roads are generally worse than in Europe and Asia.
"Local knowledge of Australian rally driving conditions will definitely give Australian crews an advantage.
"I've been driving with the BMC "works" team for five years and I'm sure this is going to be the toughest event of my career."
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Sheet 4
ISSUED BY THE BMC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
BMC PRESS INFORMATION
November, 1968.
TOP AUSTRALIAN CREW LEAVES FOR EUROPE
With only a few weeks remaining before the start of the London - Sydney car trial, the BMC Australia team of "Gelignite" Jack Murray, Evan Green and George Shepheard have left for London.
First stop will be Bombay where the team will collect a survey car and drive the 7,000 miles to London.
Jack Murray and Evan Green, renowned for their motoring adventures around Australia, will be driving a "works" Austin 1800 Mark II specially prepared for this hazardous event.
Because of the non-stop nature of this trial, the three man crew will have to drive, navigate, sleep and eat in their car. The car has been modified to provide maximum comfort for the crew and resembles a cross between the cockpit of a Boeing 707 jet and a bedroom.
The photograph shows the team with an Austin 1800 identical to the ono they will be driving in the event. From left they are "Gelignite" Jack Murray, George Shepheard and Evan Green.
Code BL
THE BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION [AUSTRALIA] PTY. LIMITED
SOUTH DOWLING STREET, WATERLOO, N.S.W. 2017. TELEPHONE: 663-0321. CABLES 'BRITCORP' SYDNEY TELEX 20222
Sheet 5
ISSUED BY THE BMC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
BMC PRESS INFORMATION
November, 1968.
WEIGHT - THE BIG DECISION
One of the most difficult problems facing contestants in the 10,000 mile London - Sydney Marathon will be weight.
Because this event uses some of the world's roughest roads it will be necessary to reduce the car's internal weight to it's barest functional minimum as excess weight could lead to body and suspension fatigue.
The Marathon will be virtually non-stop and it is obvious that the cars must be self contained as crews must eat, sleep and live within its confines for almost ten days. Therefore, the choice will have to be made between the inclusion of non-essential equipment and its weight penalties.
The wrong decision will take a heavy toll as mechanical failure rates equally with crew fatigue in an event of this type.
Before leaving for London, the BMC Australia team of Gelignite" Jack
Murray, Evan Green and George Shepheard listed the equipment they will be carrying in this Austin 1800
Food Tools
ToolsMaps Assorted spare partsSpare wheels Dunlop tyresTorchesCastrol oilWarning trianglesPetrol - Water Shovel/axe De-ditching equipment
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THE BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION [AUSTRALIA] PTY. LIMITED
SOUTH DOWLING STREET, WATERLOO, N.S.W. 2017. TELEPHONE: 663-0321. CABLES 'BRITCORP' SYDNEY TELEX 20222
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