THE LONDON-SYDNEY Marathon has posed a million dollar problem to the 100 crews taking part.
An event like the Marathon has never been held before and the crack crews have found new - costly - problems.
Most of the works teams have budgeted well into the six figures to prepare their cars.
The seven-day, 7,000 mile run from London to Bombay and the equally tough 3,800 mile trip from Perth to Sydney must test each car past the limit of its endurance.
Service crews are stretched out across 11 countries to repair their cars as they break under the strain of long-distance driving.
But one of the biggest problems the Marathon poses cannot be fixed with tools and spare parts.
This is the personality problem - a situation every crew will face as they live together under outstanding stress.
"The crew that will win this rally will be the one that can remain an untroubled team for the full trip," Australian BMC works driver Evan Green said.
They have taken razors, toothbrushes, body powder and after shave lotion with them in their BMC 1800 Mk II.
"It sounds stupid - but after seven days in a car you stink!" Green said.
"And that makes you even more unbearable to your team mates."
Crews will face severe food and water problems. In many parts of Asia, the water will be unsafe to drink and many crews have fitted special drinking containers to their cars.
Most crews have worked out special diets to keep fit and stave off exhaustion as long as possible.
Petrol varies in quality and is often unobtainable for stretches of hundred of miles.
Experts reckon on a minimum 500 mile range for competing cars - so extra fuel and oil tanks have had to be fitted to the Marathon vehicles.
Drivers will have to make provisions to drive through varying weather conditions from the 130 degree heat of outback Australia, to the bitter cold of the Afghanistan mountains.
In some cases the load of the cars will be eased by the provision of tyre dumps along the route.
Dunlop, who are servicing more than 70% of the Marathon cars, have arranged for more than 600 tyres to be deposited at the ten control points between London and Bombay. A similar number of tyres will be available at the seven Dunlop service points in Australia.
But despite the availability of tyres, the cars will still be vastly overloaded.
Suspensions will have to be stiffened and special guards will have to be fitted beneath the car to protect the engine, gearbox and fuel tanks from rocks along some of the terrain.
Even works-backed teams are going to find servicing difficult as the competitors will be moving non-stop and difficult to catch.
Special tools will have to be carried in the cars and drivers must be prepared to carry out major mechanical repairs themselves in remote areas.
Provision will also have to be made for sleeping - in a three man crew, one man will be sleeping at all times.
This in itself poses a problem - the crew captain will have a difficult time plotting who in his team will sleep through special stages of the Marathon.
Two-man crews may prefer to change only when they get tired.
But according to experts, this could be as often as once every ten minutes as the cars reach Bombay after seven days on the road.
- John Smailes
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~ WHEN EVEN YOUR BEST FRIENDS WILL TELL YOU ~
by John Smailes
John Smailes
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