Rod McElrea at Bathurst

[Bryan]

If anyone is in contact with Rod, can they ask him if there is any truth to this story I heard a few years ago...

While discussing unusual cars we'd raced, a friend dropped in a comment that Rod had been contracted to drive a Leyland Marina Six at Bathurst.

Now, I'd be inclined to treat that as BS, except that it was made by a well respected, long time administrator, and long-time friend of Rod's. Of course, my memory could be faulty (just ask SWMBO).

But there are several facts, rumours, and supposition that suggest Leyland were going to have a tilt at the '75 race, with a twin-carb Marina in the 3-litre class, and 5-litre P76 or Force 7 Coupes in the open class. Unfortunately, when David Abell pulled the pin on Leyland Australia in October 1974, most of their records were destroyed, so it's difficult to know how much is just urban legend.

A Leyland Marina Six did race in the 1974 Hardie Ferodo, finishing 25th. That was a private entry - story here.

Evan Green had entered a P76 in the 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, winning the Targa Florio stage. That prompted Leyland to build the "Targa Florio" special, but it had no performance upgrades apart from a LSD.

Of course, Leyland had a history at Bathurst, with so many wins for the Mini Coopers in the 1960s. But were they serious about Bathurst, and would they have chosen a New Zealand driver?