The Longest Drive Of All - Paddy Hopkirk's Story Of The London-Sydney Marathon

Author: Paddy Hopkirk, Hardbound, 47 Pages, ISBN: 9780225488609, First Published, 1969 - **Second-Hand book in excellent condition !

It all began with a telephone call. "Would you like to drive 10,000 miles across the world from London to Sydney, Australia?" said the voice at the other end.

Yes, I would. I knew what such an invitation meant: a chance to enter the greatest motor rally of them all, the London to Sydney Marathon. From the first news of the rally, I had been wondering how I was going to take part, and how much it would cost me. Now I was being asked to drive an Austin 1800 on behalf of British Leyland, the giant motor manufacturers—and it would cost me nothing.

Taking part in this rally would mean a lot of hard work, discomfort and adventures. You may wonder why I looked forward so eagerly to it.

The answer is that rallying, racing, anything to do with cars, is my job. I have been driving cars since I was nine (yes I know that's an early age, but I'll explain later how it happened). This marathon promised to be one of the most exciting things I had ever done. It would take me on a longer rally journey than anyone had yet attempted.

Difficult stretches of road would be met, presenting a real challenge to my skill as a driver.

Most of all, it would take me to fascinating places, to meet new, interesting people. I began to plan . . .