Hillman Hunter wins longest rally ever

July 7, 2014

Forty historic cars have survived the longest rally ever, completing the 21,000-mile Around the World in 80 Days event in July. Victors Freddie and Janet Giles drove a Hillman Hunter of similar spec to the 1968 London-Sydney winner, finishing 26min ahead of Nigel and Paula Broderick’s Mercedes 250SL.

The rally took competitors through Istanbul, Azerbaijan, Samarkand and the Gobi desert across China, before jumping to Alaska, Canada, and New York. An Antonov air-freighter carried cars and crews to Morocco for the last leg north.

Barry Weir’s Aston Martin DB2/4 headed the historic sportscars, while pre-war honours went to a Packard.

Organiser Philip Young plans another epic in two years time, from London to Katmandu; meanwhile the 12th Classic Marathon leaves Ypres for San Remo on 14 September. CC

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Gordon Cruickshank

Deputy editor

Bravely ignoring his degree in industrial design after discovering night rallies in a Renault 8, GC joined Motor Sport by accident, in the Teesdale days around 1982 when Jenks and WB were office regulars and Mr Tee ruled with a rod of cardboard. He took part in some of the early historic rallies, winning one of the Pirelli Marathons, and regularly runs his Mk2 Jaguar in road events.

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