The Ford Lotus Cortina's in the Marathon
Car 82 D.G. Bray Gt. Britain Ford Lotus Cortina

Simon Sladen, a 25 year old interior decorator, talked two friends into leaving their jobs and coming with him. They were Duncan Bray and Peter Sugden.

Between them, they raked together $6,000 to buy and fit out a second-hand  Lotus Cortina. Entered as car no. 82.

The once Oxford rowing blue, Duncan Bray, lost several hours in Iran having a half shaft replaced on his Ford Lotus Cortina, car no. 82. Only two miles further along, the car was hit by a bus coming out of a side street. Bray commandeered a heavy lorry to pull out the battered front of the car so that he could get on his way again.
Alan Sawyer

Duncan was gaoled after his car collided with a red London bus on the way out of Teheran. After a day's wait, Bray was released to appear in court where the bus driver was found guilty of careless driving - and he was thrown in gaol. Bray's car was repaired roughly by the local Ford dealer.

"The chassis was straightened simply by wrapping a chain around it and on to an iron pillar," Bray said, "Another chain was attached to a large truck with the instructions: 'Go Now'." Bray found the track on both sides of the Lotus was different but decided to continue to Bombay.
John Smailes story and photo
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars based in Hethel, Norfolk, formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by the engineer Colin Chapman in 1952. Lotus was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994.

Information provided by answers.com

Colin Chapman died in 1982, leaving behind the failed De Lorean project, from which he was never able to redeem himself.

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (born 9 May 1928 in London - died 16 December 1982) was an influential designer and inventor in the car industry. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. He studied structural engineering at University College, London where he joined the University Air Squadron and learned to fly. After graduating in 1948, he briefly joined the Royal Air Force. His knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques would later prove useful in several of his major technical advances in cars. He died of a heart attack.

Career
Chapman started with the Mk1, a small soap box on wheels, which he entered privately into local racing events. With the prize money he developed the Mk2, Mk3 each with growing success, and as such he could begin to sell kits of these cars. It was with the Mk7 that things really took off, and indeed Caterham still make that car today, and several copy-cat makes are also available.

Chapman progressed through the motor racing formulae, until he arrived in Formula 1. He, along with John Cooper, revolutionised the sport. Their small, lightweight vehicles gave away much in terms of power, but superior handling meant they could take on and beat the all-conquering Ferraris and Maseratis. With his beloved driver Jim Clark at the wheel, they could win races almost as they pleased, and Jim Clark would surely have won many more titles where it not for his untimely death in 1968 behind the wheel of a Formula 2 Lotus.

Chapman was also a businessman who introduced sponsorship into Formula 1, beginning the process of raising the sport from gentlemen's entertainment to a multi-million pound enterprise. Shortly before his death, he became involved in John De Lorean's De Lorean Motor Company venture to manufacture sports cars. The full extent of his involvement has never been made public, but it is believed he would have been prosecuted for his involvement of inveigling government funds.

Innovations
Many of his ideas can still be seen in Formula 1 and other top levels of motor sport (such as Indycars) today.

He pioneered the use of struts as a rear suspension device. Even today, struts used in the rear of a vehicle are known as Chapman struts.

His next major innovation was to adopt the use of monocoque (stressed-skin) unibodies (i.e. it replaced both the body and frame, which until then had been separate components) for cars. This was the first major advance in which he introduced aeroplane technology to cars. The resultant body was both lighter, stronger (i.e. stiffer), and also provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. The first Lotus to feature this technology was the Lotus Elite, in 1958. Amazingly, the body of the car was made out of fibreglass, making it also the first car made out of composites.

In 1962 he extended this innovation to racing cars, with the revolutionary Lotus 25 Formula 1 car. This technique fairly quickly replaced what had been for many decades the standard in racing-cars, the tube-frame chassis. Although the material has changed from sheet aluminium to carbon fibre, this remains today the standard technique for building top-level racing cars.

It was he who really brought aerodynamics into being a first-rank influence on car engineering. He popularized the concept of positive aerodynamic downforce, through the addition of front and rear wings. Early efforts were mounted 3 feet or so above the car, in order to operate in 'clean air' (i.e. air that would not otherwise be disturbed by the passage of the car).

However the thin supporting struts failed regularly, forcing the FIA to require the wings to be attached directly to the bodywork. He also pioneered the movement of radiators away from the front of the car, to decrease air resistance at speed. Both of these concepts also remain features of high performance racing cars today.

Another concept of Chapman's was "ground effect", whereby a partial vacuum was created under the car by use of venturis, generating "downforce" which held it securely to the road whilst cornering, etc. (Modern racing cars generate enough downforce that they could theoretically be driven on the ceiling once they are up to speed, although the fuel system and other parts of the car rely on gravity and so a Formula One car could not in reality be driven upside down.)

Initially this technique utilized sliding "skirts" which made contact with the ground to keep the area of low pressure isolated. The skirts were also banned, for if during cornering the car went over a curb, and the skirt were damaged, downforce was lost, and the car could become extremely unstable. Downforce remains a critical part of racing car technology, and modern designers, aided by extensive wind tunnel testing, have regained most of what was lost through the banning of skirts.

His last major technical innovation was the creation of the dual-chassis car design, in which different parts of the vehicle were given different suspension. The banning of this by the FIA really upset him, and may have precipitated ill health, which was to dog him for the final few years of his life. However, it inspired active suspension, pioneered by Lotus.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ford Cortina Mk II (19661969)
Again, a Lotus version was produced (this time done in-house at Ford) but the most admired was the 1600E that came out in late 1967.

The engines were at first carried over, but for 1967, they received a new crossflow cylinder head design, making them more efficient. At this time, they became 1.3 L and 1.6 L in size, with the Lotus Cortina continuing with its own unique engine. A stripped out 1.2 L version running the engine of the Ford Anglia Super was also available for some tax conscious markets.

Again, 2 and 4-door saloons and a 4-door estate were offered with base, Deluxe, Super, GT and later 1600E trims available, but again, not across all body styles and engine options.

The 1600E was a particularly sought after car, combining the lowered Lotus Cortina's suspension with the high tune GT 1600 Kent engine and luxury trim featuring a woodgrain-trimmed dashboard and door cappings, bucket seating, sports steering wheel and full instrumentation inside, while a black grille, tail panel, front fog lights, a vinyl roof and plated Rostyle wheels featured outside.
There were twelve Ford Lotus Cortina's entered in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon.
They were:

Car 9 A.A. Bombelli from Switzerland.
Car 34 K. Brierley from Gt. Britain.
Car 38 Ford Motor Co., Gt. Britain, Bengt. Soderstrom.
Car 48 Ford Motor Co., Gt. Britain, Roger Clark.
Car 50 Ford Motor Co., Gt. Britain, Nick Brittan.
Car 72 E. McMillen from  Gt. Britain.
Car 73 Ford Motor Co., Gt. Britain, Eric Jackson.
Car 81 Dr. B. Wadia from India.
Car 82 D.G. Bray from Gt. Britain, Duncan Bray.
Car 85 Tecalemit Ltd., Gt. Britain, (twin cam), Peter Harper.
Car 90 British Army Motoring, Gt. Britain, Capt. David Harrison.
Car 93 Henry Ford and Son, Ireland, Miss Rosemary Smith.
Bengt Soderstrom                       Roger Clark                        Nick and Jenny Brittan               Rosemary Smith               Peter Harper                     Eric Jackson
View of the victory celebrations in Sydney from Duncan Bray's car.
         Photo courtesy John Smailes and David McKay

Marathon organiser Tommy Sopwith conferred with P. & O. officials when the cars reached Bombay to get two more cars on to the S.S. Chusan. We'll get these two cars on if we have to hang them from the yardarm," Sopwith said.

One of the cars was the Lotus Cortina, crewed by Duncan Bray, a London engineer; Peter Sudgen, an advertising executive; and Simon Sladen, an interior decorator. So the two extra cars were to tackle the Australian section.
Alan Sawyer

They finished in 53rd place with the loss of 11,465 points.
Roger Clark and Ove Andersson travelling through Australia
Photo courtesy John Smailes and David McKay
Roger Clark nearing Norseman in Western Australia
Photo courtesy Alan Sawyer
Roger Clark at Brachina
Photo courtesy Alan Sawyer
Car 73 Eric Jackson and Keith Chambers
Photo courtesy Daily Express Magazine
Roger Clark at the control Brachina
Photo courtesy Alan Sawyer
At Turin, big Swede, Bengt Soderstrom, an ex-truck driver, was an irate man. A timing chain tensioner in his Ford Lotus Cortina, car no. 38, broke and a frantic search in Turin failed to find a spare.

Only three Lotus Cortinas were known to be registered in the Turin area. Minutes went by, every one of them bringing closer the possibility that Soderstrom, a fancied entrant, would have to withdraw because of the failure of a part worth 35 shillings in England.

Used car lots were checked and eventually a spare was found. But the owner of the back street used car lot, sensing a good business deal, demanded the equivalent of $100 for the part. Soderstrom was furious and officials had to keep the peace. There were angry words but Soderstrom was forced to pay.

"I'd rather pay than to drop out so soon," he said.

Bengt Sodertsrom who paid dearly for a vital cog at Turin was first into Istanbul in his Ford Lotus Cortina, car no. 38. He had made a remarkable recovery after being the last car out of Turin. Eleven hours behind, Soderstrom had put his foot down heavily and covered the 750 miles to Belgrade in just nine hours, despite rain, fog and gale force winds, then, took eight hours for the 586 miles to Istanbul.

But Soderstrom's valiant efforts were to be in vain as he was forced to retire from the Marathon at Sivas, with a burnt out piston, a culmination of the breakdown at Turin and poor fuel.

The Daily Express aircraft following the Marathon took him the rest of the way to Bombay.
Alan Sawyer
Roger Clark's Ford Lotus Cortina, no. 48, roared down the 900 mile super highway into Kabul. Clark was determined not to give up his place as leader on points. "Everything's going like a dream. A glorious run, no problems at all," he said. Clark was going like a dream with only six points lost.

Closest to him was a German Ford 20 MRS driven by Gilbert Staepelaere with 14 points; then came Lucien Bianchi in a Citroen, 16 points; and Paddy Hopkirk in a BMC 1800, 17 points. Some rivals looked sceptically at Clark's high speed driving. It was still a long way to the plum pudding, they said.

The leaders were in Bombay in good time. Roger Clark and his Swedish co-driver Ove Anderssen arrived at Bombay to find themselves £2,000 ($4,286) richer - the prize for being the points leader at Bombay. With it went the Carreras trophy, presented by a cigarette company. Clark had not added to his total loss of 11 points at Sarobi control in Afghanistan.

Indian children mobbed Clark for autographs, and he was presented with pink and white flowers. With the temperature in the 90's Clark said the first thing he wanted to do was to have a swim.

Talking to reporters, he plugged his Ford Lotus Cortina. "The car has been fabulous. The sum total of our repairs has been two punctures, and she only used three and a half pints of oil. And the Ford organisation has made everything so much easier." Clark said that he made a point, where possible, of getting to controls early enough to take a shower, have a meal, and, perhaps a sleep.

How did Clark's Cortina escape the piston trouble which plagued the other Cortinas? Clark said he was careful to keep the revs down when using low-grade fuel.

Co-driver Anderssen, 30, runner-up to Clark in the Tulip Rally, had taken up driving when he bought a SAAB after serving with the United Nations Force in the Gaza Strip. Ford termed Clark and Anderssen, the Greyhound of their team. The company had spent $80,000 on the Marathon attempt and it looked as though Clark would pull it off.
Alan Sawyer
Rivals did not see Clark on the way to Youanmi (WA). He was well in front and arrived 74 minutes ahead of time after averaging speeds of well over 70 miles an hour. Fifteen minutes behind him at the Youanmi checkpoint, comprising marked bricks and a painted oil drum, was Harry Firth in a Falcon GT. A collision with a kangaroo had not caused him any great inconvenience. Then came Staepalaere, Cowan, Aaltonen and Eric Jackson.
Alan Sawyer
Nick and Jenny Brittan survey the damage in Sivas, Turkey after hitting a horse.
Photo courtesy John Smailes and David McKay
Rosemary Smith
Roger Clark and Rosemary Smith admire the Guards Trophy.
Roger and Ove Anderssen's prize for being points leader at Bombay, India
Photo courtesy Daily Express
Travelling at almost 100 miles an hour, Nick Brittan and his wife Jenny, driving car no. 50, a British entered Ford Lotus Cortina, hit a horse in Turkey. The impact smashed the windscreen and pieces of glass showered everywhere. Nick, who was at the wheel, jammed on the brakes with the horse on the roof of the car. A close inspection showed the kangaroo bars wrenched off and the driving lights shattered.

The owner of the horse appeared and wanted Brittan arrested. An Irish team helped pull the horse off the road, and the Brittan's got away to stop three miles further on for a clean up. With no windscreen the husband and wife team wore goggles for the 150 miles to Sivas, where they withdrew from the field. They never did get to Sydney where Jenny, a former Australian model, hoped to see her mother.
Alan Sawyer

Nick Brittan, fighting back after his collision with a horse, blew a tyre and tore off the highway with no damage at all, but when a truck towed Brittan back onto the road, the recently refitted windscreen popped out and shattered on the roadway.

"The diciest part of the whole trip happened when a huge owl flew in the front window on a slow corner," Brittan said. "After the horse and now this, I'm ready for anything."
Nick and Jenny Brittan, who had had bad luck at just about every stage of the rally were finally forced out when their Lotus Cortina hit a truck. "Neither of us was hurt until I leapt out of the car, slipped on a patch of ice and hit my head on the ground," Nick said.

The couple spent $150 and 36 hours trying to clear themselves and get their passports back after they had been taken into custody by local police. "The accident happened in Aberlee where there was no public sympathy for the Marathon," Nick said. "I was told it could take upwards of a week to have our case heard and get our passports back. Jenny and I went to seven different offices and left money at five of them before we finally managed to escape with our passports." The couple flew on to Bombay to join the Marathon ship SS Chusan.
John Smailes
Henry Ford and Son Ltd., of County Cork, Ireland, imported a Lotus Cortina and engaged Miss Rosemary Smith, a dress designer turned rally driver, as driver. Her co-driver was Mme. Lucette Pointet, who had driven successfully on the continent for both Renault and Citroen.

Miss Smith's greatest success was in the 1966 Dutch Tulip Rally when she beat a field of 173 to become the second woman, after Mrs. Pat Moss Carlsson to win a major international rally outright. The Marathon was to be her first drive for Ford.

Miss Rosemary Smith, in her Ford Lotus Cortina car no. 93, limped into Kabul three hours late with a burnt out piston. Mechanics whipped out the offender and Rosemary continued to Bombay on three cylinders.

Rosemary Smith had a tense battle against time at Bombay. She arrived in early, but didn't check the Ford Lotus Cortina into control. Mechanics worked to replace the piston which had burnt out in Afghanistan. She went into the control just before it closed and chalked up a total of 4,253 penalty points to put her in 64th place.

The Marathon cars, cleaned and polished, were driven in a proud convoy from Fremantle to Perth's Gloucester Park trotting track. The 12 mile trip worried Rosemary Smith, as her Ford Lotus Cortina, repaired in Bombay, was still giving trouble. The engine overheated badly on the short run.

"I don't know what to do," Rosemary said. "I've been driving Hillman Imps for years and know all about them but Fords are new to me."

She added that the thermostat controlling the cooling fan which had not been working properly before Bombay could have been causing the overheating. Whatever it was, it was not a good omen for the drive across Australia.
Alan Sawyer
Constant water pump problems put Peter Harper's twin-cam Ford Lotus Cortina, car no. 85 out.

All was lost when a mechanic bringing a replacement from Turin, Italy, broke down on the way.
Alan Sawyer
Australian drivers predicted the 119 miles from Marvel Loch to Lake King would be among the toughest of the Marathon, particularly for the European entrants.

An average speed of 60 miles an hour had been set for the challenge of the gravel and earth road.

Ironically, the only drivers to come through on time were Europeans - Clark in a Lotus Ford, Simo Lampinen in a Taunus, and Lucien Bianchi in a Citroen. Clark was five minutes early, Lampinen four minutes early and Bianchi, right on time.

Evan Green and "Gelignite" Jack Murray's BMC 1800 Mk II, who knew the track as well as their backyard, were the first Australians into Lake King, arriving only two minutes late. This made them share fifth place with Andrew Cowan in the Hillman Hunter who came in three minutes later.

Ian Vaughan in the Australian works Ford Falcon GT was also five minutes late, and Paddy Hopkirk 14 minutes behind, after two punctures and steering trouble. This put Hopkirk back from fourth to eighth position.

Experienced Australian drivers in the Marathon told John Smailes, of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, that the Marvel Loch - Lake King stretch was the worst they had ever encountered.

At the prosperous northern Victorian farming town of Wangaratta, 6,000 people packed the streets late at night to see Roger Clark lead the intrepid field through the town at approximately 10 pm. As he was two hours early, he rested there before going on to the next control at Edi, 25 miles away.

Bianchi's Citroën was half an hour behind Clark.

The Marathon was developing into a battle royal between the Englishman, Clark, and the Belgian, Bianchi.
Alan Sawyer
Co-driver Andersson was at the wheel when Roger Clark's Lotus arrived fourth into Ceduna in South Australia. Clark who had been asleep was covered with dust. "We had no trouble but the dust. The crossing was fine," he said.

Clark was 14 minutes late into Quorn, giving him a total penalty of 25 points. Jackson and Chambers were left at Port Augusta with the remains of their car. They had given up a Marathon chance so that their Ford team mate could continue, and perhaps win. Jackson and Chambers who once drove around the world in 42 days, arrived in Sydney by plane. Later, after troubles had plagued Clark the rest of the way, they reflected on the wisdom of the swap. They had lost only 47 points and the Lotus was going well. Clark's car was playing up and its Marathon future was uncertain. Clark finished 10th in Sydney with a loss of 144 points. Jackson and Chambers could not be blamed for thinking that they may have done better than 10th if they had stayed in the Marathon.

But rallies are unpredictable at the best of times. Clark, as he headed out from Quorn for Moralana Creek to the north, was third behind Staepelaere and Bianchi, and there was no reason why he should not win the Marathon.

Drivers had 1 hour 59 minutes to make Moralana Creek. Clark made it 14 minutes late after being five minutes behind at Quorn, which would give an indication of Clark's out-to-win determination.
Alan Sawyer
No one really expected trouble on the first stage to Quorn. It was bitumen for the 211 miles and the allowed time was six hours 11 minutes, an average speed of 49 miles an hour. Yet it was here that Roger Clark struck problems which put him out of the running for the big money.

There was bitter disappointment for the English driver as mechanics at Port Augusta pulled the head off his Ford Lotus to find two burnt out valves. Another British Ford entry pulled in. Its crew, Eric Jackson and Keith Chambers, who were fancied strongly in pre-Marathon betting, gave the cylinder head of their own car to Clark. The mechanics cannibalised Jackson - Chambers, car no. 73 of every worthwile part, and transferred them to Clark's no. 48.
Alan Sawyer
Lucette Pointet
Oil check on Roger Clark's car no.48 at Perth
Photo courtesy Brian Lemon
On show at Glouscester Park in Perth
Photo courtesy Brian Lemon
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Car 73 Eric Jackson and Keith Chambers at the start of the Marathon
Photo courtesy Ian Monastyrski