News

Date: 26 October 2000
For immediate release

London - Lisbon Classic Rally: Last minute drama for Gold claimants

Out of a field of 87 starters in the Classic Relibility Trial section, nine crews battled it through to Gold at the end of the HERO - organised 1,600 mile London - Lisbon Classic Rally, which ended at the Portuguese capital on Monday 23 October. Another 38 cars took part in the parallel non-competitive Touring Rally.

From the start at London's historic Hampton Court Palace by the Thames, the rally headed for Hampshire to cross by ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, then embarked upon a route which would take another 8 days to reach the finish ramp on the waterfront at Lisbon. Through days driving mountain pass after mountain pass, MGs held sway at first. Crews on lowest penalties featured four MGs out of five by the end of Day 3, though Portuguese crew João Marques and Carlos Costa (Ford Escort) held the distinction of fewest overall penalties at this stage. Behind them, Pengilly / Cave (MGB), Saunders / Saunders (MGB), Pryor / Stockwell (MGA), Hunt-Cooke / Kirkham (MGB) were all laying claim to the heights of the leader board.

Day 4, though, saw the beginning of the real shakeout. A major last-minute reroute, roadbooked overnight, gave crews plenty to think about as the rally crossed from Spain into Portugal, following the morning's restart from historic Santiago de Compostela. Many crews lost their chances of Gold or other medal status on the morning's Regularity, where the revised roadbook was handed out as crews arrived at the regularity start control, and Marques / Costa slipped behind on points in their home country.

A damp misty day into and through the spectacular Douro valley on Day 5 was the undoing of others, with one or two "offs" in tricky visibility and on difficult surfaces. The Ferrari 250 GTO of Christine Laidlaw was a victim, though amazingly she was back on the road again with only superficial damage and able to make the next Time Control without penalty.

Roads including part of the Arganil Stages of the Rally of Portugal were the highlight of Day 6. Clear dry weather gave an exciting drive against timings that were just achievable by the majority of crews.

By Sunday there were just 10 crews surviving in contention for Gold. The competitive finale came at motorsport venues past and present: Sunday evening's challenge in the wheeltracks of the racing greats was a lap consistency test at Estoril Grand Prix circuit, followed the next day by a visit to Monsanto Park, home of the Grands Prix of the 1950s. A second's error on either of these tests could cause instant grief. A handful of crews lost their chances of silver or bronze medals at Estoril, but Gold Medallists escaped unscathed. 

For the final leg at Monsanto, a 1.27 mile section of the park was closed off for a handling and manoeuvrability test. And so in the dying moments of the first London - Lisbon Classic Rally, one more Gold medal was lost - that of Malcolm Pickering / Simon Rossiter (Sunbeam Tiger), who set the slowest time in their class after all those miles of seconds-perfect effort, and were demoted to Silver for this last-minute lapse.

Nine Gold medals were awarded at the evening's awards ceremony at Lisbon’s exotic Botanical Gardens, together with 23 Silvers and 27 Bronzes. Another 15 finishers also received Blue or Red Ribands for their achievement in reaching the end of this new endurance rally for classic cars. The lowest number of penalties was tied in the end, honours being shared between Angus Laird / Tom Bishop (Austin Healey 100/6) and Anthony and Carolyn Ward (Mercedes Benz 280SL). 13 Red Ribands and 19 Blue Ribands wer awarded to finishers in the Touring Rally, with the Charity Shield awarded to female crew Joyce Acher and Sue Cruikshank, who drove their 1953 Bristol 403 on their first distance event to raise over £5,000 for the NSPCC.

Classic Reliability Trial Gold Medallists: