OK, we can’t drive from London to Sydney in 2021 but we can do the next best thing – retrace the steps of the game-changing, gruelling Perth to Sydney Australian leg. Back in the day, the first car to finish took an eye-watering 67 hours and 22 minutes non-stop – we will not attempt to replicate that feat.
The 2021 Perth-Sydney Marathon will celebrate the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon by following the original route of the event across Australia from Perth to Warwick Farm in Sydney. Starting in Perth on the 29th October 2021 and finishing ten days later with a function at Warwick Farm in Sydney on the 7th November.
This will be the only event since the original 1968 Marathon to follow the entire route of that race across Australia and will use many of the original time and passage controls. No other event has retraced the route in the 53 years since the 1968 Marathon and it is highly likely that this experience will be the very last opportunity to join entrants, participants and vehicles from the 1968 Marathon on such an historic journey.
Though non-competitive, there will be ample opportunity for some seriously spirited driving and it still promises to be a real test of both crews and machines. We will cover some of Australia’s best gravel and tarmac rally roads, including the SA outback cattle stations of Wirrealpa, Curnamona and Kalabity, the alpine mountain tracks from Edi to Brookside and down to Omeo, all in the company of well-known legends in Australian rallying and with some of Australia’s most important rally cars. The event will traverse the Nullarbor Plain, the Flinders Ranges, Outback WA, SA and NSW, then cross the Victorian and NSW Alps to finish in Sydney some 5700 km later, with half the route being on unsealed tracks and roads.
Around ten original 1968 competitors as well as a similar number of ’68 competition vehicles are committed to running. The 2021 Marathon is shaping up to be one of the largest Historic Rally events of its kind ever to be held in Australia. It has attracted both rallying and racing enthusiasts, all keen to taste what it may have been like to run in the greatest marathon of them all, alongside those who did.
The Entry Fee for the Event is $AUD5685 for a crew of two in the nominated vehicle and includes all meals but excludes accommodation. An invitation to participate in the Event will require a $AUD250 deposit followed by the payment schedule outlined in the Event Supplementary Regulations. Entries are limited to 85.
Expressions of interest should be made to the Event Director, Laurie Mason:
Mobile: 0438 445 024 or email: events@vogueautomotive.com.au
