Motoring
| Date | 01 February 1964 |
| Published date | 01 February 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6403700211 |
| Author | John Gott |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JOHN
GOTT,
M.B.E.,
G.M.,
B.A. (Oxon.)
Chief Constable
of
Northamptonshire
Our Motoring Correspondent recounts his experiences in the Liege-
Sofia-Liege, the most strenuous event in motor sport.
MOTORING
For
me,
the"
Liege ", otherwise known as Liege-Rome-Liege, or,
more recently, Liege-Sofia-Liege, has always been the greatest rally
of them all. Why?
Firstly, it is recognized as being the most strenuous motoring
event of all, the supreme test of car and crew.
Secondly, the atmosphere
of
sportsmanship, because all the crews
realizethat they are fighting not so much against eachotherbut against
fatigue, hunger, thirst and an impossible schedule for four nights and
four days over 3,500 miles
of
Europe's worst roads.
Thirdly, the fact that this is really a road race, not unlike the great
town-to-town races early in the century over roads which would
cause a flood of protests if included in the milder affairs known as
" circus rallies" in this country. Finally, of all events, the Liege
offers the most opportunity
for"
head"
driving and so appeals to
a driver like myself, who is not now as fast as he was.
This perhaps explains why, although I have retired from serious
international rallying, I just cannot resist the challenge which the
Liege offers, and have not missed a Liege since 1954.
Planning and Preparation
For
1963, I accepted a double
challenge-not
only to finish, but
to finish on a Mini, which no-one has yet succeeded in doing. My
partner in this ambitious exercise was to have been Bill Bennett, who
has numerous international rally successes to his credit, and together
we spent many hours planning how to achieve what many people
thought was impossible. Realizing that this would be a serious
effort, Stuart Turner, B.M.C.'s brilliant competition manager, gave
us every assistance and our
Cooper"
S " went to the line with all
possible improvements based upon a most successful season with
the"
works"
cars.
The end-product was a beautiful little car which would do 7,400
r.p.m. (or well over 100 m.p.h.) in top gear, but which weighed
almost a hundred-weight more than a standard Mini, with the
sumpguard, long range tanks, additional spare wheel, extra lights,
instrumentation and special seats, so vital in a long rally like this.
February 1964 89
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