In 2010 Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson conquered the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge in a 1964 EH Holden. It was an event Gerry had tried to win on two previous occasions, in 1997 with rally legend John Bryson in the same EH Holden (finishing 5th) and in 2007 with John’s son Matt in a 1940 Buick Straight Eight (finishing 29th) after breaking the diff in half.
Gerry and John also took part in the 2002 Trial to the Nile Rally in the EH. After the 2010 Peking to Paris it was decided to retire the old EH and build something faster and stronger - enter the Leyland P76. John Bryson knew the attributes of the P76 well and convinced Gerry that this was the way to go. The ultimate goal was the 2013 Peking to Paris.
Matt Bryson took charge of the build and the first event for the three of them was the 2012 Trans America Challenge, essentially a shakedown event for the Peking to Paris the following year. The result was an equal second place just 38 seconds behind the winning Jaguar. The P76 ran faultlessly and with a little fine tuning would be ready for the Peking to Paris. Twelve months later Gerry, Matt and the P76 were despatched to China and 33 days after leaving Beijing (Peking), Gerry and Matt took out their second Peking to Paris victory.
Time passed and the decision was made to do the 2016 Peking to Paris again in the P76 but new rules were set out for the event restricting some modifications to the cars, primarily the banning of fuel injection and remote canister shock absorbers. The P76 was rejigged with the new rules in mind and the 2015 Road To Mandalay Rally was chosen as the event for the shakedown run. This was seen to be a good test as a number of the other competitors in the event were also entered for the 2016 Peking to Paris including the Peter and Zoe Lovett Porsche 911 that chased Gerry and Matt across Asia and Europe two years before.
The Road To Mandalay Rally was different to the Trans America and Peking to Paris. The Trans America was all Regularity Trial and the Peking to Paris is basically all special stage. The Road To Mandalay was to be a combination of both with the common thread being the navigation across hundreds of kilometres every day. The rally departed from the world famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore on the morning of Sunday February 1. 66 classic and vintageant rally cars ranging from a 1907 Itala 40 to Ford Mustangs, Datsun 240Zs and Porsche 911s including 1 Leyland P76, Car No.66.
Gerry Crown is an experienced long distance rally driver.No sooner had the field crossed the border into Malaysia that the first Time Trial took place. Although this time trial was only short at around 8km, it was very tight and twisty with a high degree of navigation to get the correct route through the plantation Coupled with this it was very slippery and the big P76 was quite a handful. Gerry and Matt were up to the task though and managed to win the special stage by 4 seconds to the Peter and Zoe Lovett Porsche 911 and the Grant Tromans and Simon Russell Datsun 240Z.
This was to set the tone for the whole rally as these three crews were consistently in the top group trading fastest times. The first five days of time trials was designated as The Malaysian Cup and although the 240Z was the fastest over two of the four time trials, the P76 was fastest overall and led the rally at the first rest day in Georgetown, Malaysia. Many cars were already experiencing problems including the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle which required a clutch change.
The only problem with the P76 was the exhaust flange bolts had come loose and blew the gasket. Matt dropped the sump guard, replaced the gaskets, nuts and bolts, everything else was OK. Gerry Crown was the fastest driver to this point and he was also the oldest at 82. You‘ve got to respect those octogenarians.
On day 7 the rally crossed the border from Malaysia to Thailand but before leaving Malaysia there was one more time trial which Gerry and Matt won by 11 seconds to the Tromans 240Z and Lovett Porsche.
The quote of the day came from Phillip Lunnon who drives the 1938 Jaguar SS 100 #11 who asked Matt after seeing the P76s time “is that a car or a time machine?" The run through Thailand took the rally past some of the worst hit areas from 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. It was on day 8 that the regularity tests started. Up to this point Gerry and Matt in the P76 were on top but with a good result in the regularity tests the Lovett Porsche moved past the Tromans 240Z. Day 9 was another rest day in the tsunami ravaged town of Khao Lak and a wander through the car park told many stories of woe.
The Greenhalgh/Slowe 1939 Alvis had taken a tooth off the crown wheel in their diff and weren’t expected to get much further. The Heather and Jo Worth 1968 Volvo Amazon had their throttle jam wide open resulting in a dropped valve, holed piston and damaged head. The pushrod was removed and car continued on three cylinders. The Malaysian crew of the Jamalullails holed a piston in their Jaguar XK150. Gerry and Matt used the time to rest as the P76 was fine and there was still a long way to go.
Day 12 after leaving Hellfire Pass and into a couple of regularity tests was where Gerry and Matt made their one and only slip up. From Matt "Today wasn't our best day in terms of competition, but it was bound to happen somewhere. We made a navigational mistake on the first regularity and lost a minute. They put in a deliberate bit of trickery and we just misjudged it.
I am told only 10 cars got the turn. A shame the Porsche was one of them.” It was at this point the 46 second lead that Gerry and Matt had built up disappeared and became an 11 second deficit to the now leading Lovett Porsche and the Tromans 240Z just 46 seconds behind the P76. It was day 15 that the P76 struck its only other problem. While waiting for the start of one of the time trials the o-ring on the oil filter let go depositing engine oil all over the engine bay and the road.
Thankfully there was no fire and due to the generosity of fellow Aussie Rob Garnsworthy, who was competing in the #68 Ford Mustang, Matt was able to quickly borrow a Z9 oil filter, swap them and refill the oil before starting.
Day 16 was another rest day and the last before heading into Myanmar (Burma). This again is a good opportunity to check over or “spanner” the car. No problems to report, just a lot of oil everywhere. Matts only complaint at this point was that there was too much regularity and not enough time trials as more time trials would have given them the opportunity to apply more pressure to the leading Porsche.
Day 19 was designated as a rest day as crews and officials navigated their way through the processes of exiting Thailand and entering Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Myanmar has been effectively closed to most foreigners for around 60 years with only some Chinese being let in for cultural events, so this was quite a big deal and testament to the work put in by Phillip Young and the team at the Endurance Rally Association. Gerry, Matt and the P76 were now only 2 seconds behind the Lovett Porsche and time was running out.
Every time trial they take huge chunks of time off the Porsche only to lose some of it in the regularities. Peter and Zoe Lovett are accomplished regularity runners.
As the last days wound down with only three regularity test over days 22, 23 and 24 the pressure was on between the Lovett’s and Gerry and Matt. The Tromans 240Z was close but not close enough to pounce unless the Porsche or P76 fouled up. Neither did. On Day 22 all top three lost only 2 seconds. No one was giving an inch.
Day 23 saw the 240Z best and drop 5 seconds, Gerry and Matt dropped 7 seconds and the Lovett Porsche dropped 10 so now Gerry, Matt and the P76 were back in front by 1 second and only one day, one regularity test to go. Day 24 saw the finish in the ancient Capital City of then Burma, the city of Bagan but all eyes were now on the last regularity as the result here will determine the winner. Two of the top three cars did best dropping just 2 seconds.
Unfortunately Gerry and Matt weren’t one of them, they dropped 4 seconds leaving them 1 second behind the Lovett Porsche for second place. 4 countries, 24 days, 7,600 kms and only 1 second separated the top two cars. It just doesn’t get any closer.
Peter and Zoe Lovett deserved the win. They were very quick winning two of the ten time trials but they were excellent in the regularity tests. Gerry and Matt have some heart to take away.
They won The Malaysian Cup and was clearly the fastest special stage car there winning four out of the ten time trials. In hind sight that one 60 second navigation mistake on day 12 cost them the rally. Despite that deficit they clawed their way back to be in a position to challenge for the lead by the end of the rally. A truly magnificent effort.
The Grant Tromans/Simon Russell 240Z was a serious threat throughout the event. They also won four of the 10 time trials but lost out in regularity. You can read Gerry and Matt’s blog from the rally at http://mandalayroadp76.blogspot.com.au/
The final results are:
1st Peter and Zoe Lovett, 1965 Porsche 911, 1h 11m 20s
2nd Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson, 1974 Leyland P76, 1h 11m 21s
3rd Grant Tromans and Simon Russell, 1973 Datsun 240Z, 1h 13m 04s
4th Ludovic Bois and Julia Colman, 1969 Volvo Amazon, 1h 18m 24s
5th Paul and Sandra Merryweather, 1967 Mercedes Benz 300SE, 1h 18m 44s
The Vintageant Category was dominated by three late 1930s Chevrolet Fangio Coupes. The US crew of Bill Shields and Scott Herbstman won by 45 seconds to Phil Garratt and Kieron Brown who in turn finished nearly 5 minutes in front of the Daniel Day/Ronald Doyle entry.
What Gerry and Matt brought away from this rally was the knowledge that the change in regulations for the 2016 Peking to Paris hasn’t hurt the P76 too much. A bigger carburettor and some fine-tuning to the shocks are all that’s required.
Australian Rally Hall of Fame inductee John Bryson has always said the Leyland P76 is the best long distance rally car he has ever seen. A second place in the 2012 Trans America, a win in the 2013 Peking to Paris and another second in the 2015 Road to Mandalay, some 40 years after the great result in the 1974 UDT World Cup Rally all go to reinforce John Bryson’s statement.
Gerry and Matt obviously did a brilliant job themselves. Matt prepares the car and navigates; Gerry at 82 was the oldest driver in the rally and clearly showed his class as a rally driver. One wonders what history would show if Gerry had pursued a career in rally driving instead of his business interests a half a century ago.
Congratulations to Gerry Crown, Matt Bryson and the Leyland P76. You are all “Anything but average”.
- Story Steve Maher, photos Gerard Brown
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