London to Sydney rally
The 911 has an amazing motorsport pedigree, but a rally to Australia took things to a whole new level – and one man attempted it twice…
It’s the most gruelling race on earth, but how has Porsche fared in this ultimate endurance race down the years?
Almost 60 years since its inception, the Porsche 911 has nothing left to prove in motorsport. The 2+2 Coupe with a flat six engine flung out the back has demonstrated its legendary abilities by winning on the world’s most famous race circuits and rally stages. But back in 1968 it was about to face an especially tough challenge, one involving a journey of more than 10,000 miles from London to Sydney, Australia. This fascinating event has entered competition folklore, so it’s only right that we should recount the Neunelfer’s involvement, but we begin with a reminder of what was involved.
The event was the idea of Daily Express proprietor, Sir Max Aitken, one devised in 1967 over a lengthy lunch at the Savoy Hotel with Tommy Sopwith and Jocelyn Stevens. Great Britain was going through a tough time at the end of the 1960s and Aitken believed that this would be the perfect way to both lift its spirits and show what the country was made of when it came to thinking big. There was also support (and prize money) from the proprietor of The Daily Telegraph, Sir Frank Packer, who was naturally keen to promote the Australian leg of the rally. The task of devising a suitable route was given to racing driver, Jack Sears.
At 11pm on 24 November 1968, the 98 starters were flagged away from Crystal Palace, heading for Dover where the Maid of Kent ferry was waiting to take the cars and crews to Calais. Heading into Italy through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, the teams then made their way onwards across the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran. Having crossed Afghanistan and Pakistan the 72 remaining competitors arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 1 December. Loaded aboard the P&O liner, the SS Chusan, the cars reached Fremantle on 13 December, heading for the re-start of the rally in Perth and the final push to the finish line in Sydney. 56 cars would make that finish, the epic event won by the British team of Andrew Cowan/colin Malkin/brian Coyle driving a Hillman Hunter; they would collect a prize of £10,000.
Of course, what we are interested in is the
Porsche contingent that was made up of four specially prepared 911s. The only official entry was the 911S driven by Polish rally ace, Sobieslaw Zasada, with co-driver Marek Wachowski. They would be joined by the three private entries of
Edgar Hermann/hans Schüller, Terry Hunter/john Davenport, and the other British pairing of George Yannaghas and Lt. Jack Dill whose car was entered by the British Army’s Royal Green Jackets Regiment. Neither Zasada nor Hermann were strangers to tough rallies, having piloted our favourite Porsche in the East African Safari, the former finishing 6th in 1969. And Hunter also had plenty of experience, being a regular competitor in Porsches throughout the 1960s; he would also drive a 911S in the 1970 London to Mexico Rally.
But despite the 911’s reputation for strength and reliability the Marathon was going to be extremely challenging, the cars having to survive the combined effects of gruelling weather and terrain and hard driving. Careful preparation was paramount and each of the cars would receive extensive modification, starting with a shell that was seam-welded for durability in the punishing conditions. Along with a larger main fuel tank and underbody protection, there was stronger suspension, a close-ratio gearbox and a limited-slip differential. The 2.0-litre engines were detuned from 130hp to 120hp to help cope with the use of lower-quality fuel, and while there would have been a performance penalty it was endurance that mattered here rather than outright pace. Externally, the most obvious change was the huge ‘roo bar – a vital element of protection given the likely collisions with errant marsupials, it was designed by Porsche themselves, reputedly Huschke von Hanstein being responsible for its substantial specification. It was
“Externally, the most obvious change was the huge ‘roo bar – a vital element of protection given the likely collisions with errant marsupials”
also a suitable place to mount the four spare wheels and tyres and three plastic tanks, one holding oil and the others extra fuel. And observers couldn’t miss the unusual exhaust pipe sections that were attached for when the 911s encountered deep water. It was a typically thorough approach by Porsche, giving the cars the best chance possible of reaching Sydney.
That thoroughness ultimately paid off when it came to the final results. Three weeks after leaving London and the thousands of spectators who cheered them away, Zasada and Wachowski reached Sydney in an impressive 4th place. They had clocked up just 63 penalty points (13 more than the winners) and might well have finished in the top three had they not suffered issues with both brakes and timings.
The crew of Hermann and Schüller also completed the gruelling event, managing 15th place, but the other two 911s weren’t so successful. Both retired, the challenge of Hunter and Davenport ending on Leg
8 in Kabul when their engine failed after ingesting an excess of sand. Yannaghas and Dill made it to Australia but could only reach Mingary on Leg 19 before their rally was over. But despite those disappointments the 911 had once again proved its mettle in competition, so perhaps it’s no surprise that it would be back almost a decade later.
The publicity generated by the first event was always likely to prove tempting, and so it was in
1977. This time it was Australian, Wylton Dickson, who was behind the second London to Sydney Marathon, and it was to be the longest rally in history. Sponsored by Singapore Airlines (using the event as a way to promote their 30th anniversary), it would cover an astounding 19,000 miles with 69 competitors tackling a route across Europe, from India to
Malaysia, and then Singapore and Australia. Overseen by Jim Gavin from the Rally HQ in London’s Belgravia, the organisers were able to celebrate 47 cars reaching the finishing line. But this time there was to be just the one 911 amongst the entrants, and it was that man Zasada again accompanied on this occasion by Wojciech Schramm. Chassis number 9117600881 was a 3.0 Carrera prepared for them by Jürgen Barth’s Competition Department, the work including a body shell that was both lighter and stiffer, additional lighting and a more effective oil cooler arrangement. Protection from Australian wildlife was once again fitted and although it was noticeably less elaborate than that seen on the 1968 cars, it was no less effective.
The team made a promising start and by the time they reached Madras they were in 3rd place, making it up to 2nd by Singapore, but things then started to unravel. As the rally headed into Australia (below) they were delayed by a problem with both the steering and the rear suspension, the former not fixed until Barth and the mechanics were able to effect a proper repair at the next service halt. Zasada and Schramm then found themselves bogged down in sand, losing yet more time, and they would reach the finish in 13th position, having clocked up almost ten hours in penalties. After 19,000 miles of driving some would consider that a reasonable result, but not Zasada – the tough competitor expected better and he made no effort to hide his disappointment.
That’s not the end of the 911’s involvement, though, as it would also play a role in subsequent versions of the event. The first of those was in 1993 when the 25th anniversary was being celebrated, the organisers aiming to use as much of the original route as possible given political developments. A key difference was that cars were flown rather than shipped to Australia, but the eventual winner was the 911 driven by Francis Tuthill (1968 competitor, Terry Hunter, would also compete in a 911 shared with Peter Bowden). Tuthill would be involved again for the re-run in 2000, this time acting as co-driver in the Neunelfer driven by French Rally ace, Michele Mouton. The pair finished a close 2nd behind the winning Ford of Stig Blomqvist.
While outright victory on the original event wasn’t to be, Zasada’s top-four finish in 1968 was an impressive showing nonetheless, and was further proof of the 911’s rallying credentials. Plenty of wins would follow, of course, but if you needed to race half way across the world it seems our favourite sports car was a pretty sound choice.