The MG that Beat a Ferrari

Old Faithful

Marathon de la Route; An endurance race to end all endurance races. Run at the famed Nurburgring  Nordschleife, this grueling event lasted 84 hours and was billed as the world's longest race. And in 1966, it was won (overall) by a humble MGB.

The factory supported MG (registered GRX 307D and called Old Faithful) was driven by works drivers Andrew Hedges and Julien Vernaeve. The team won against incredible odds including two major 'offs' in the opening laps and extended pit stays to repair the damage. The MG was as far down the order as 34th in the race that covered 5,000 miles.

Not only did the MGB beat the Belgian-entered Ferrari 275GTB, it outlasted Porsche 911s and hotted-up Ford Cortinas.

A great article about the race can be found here.  Another fine article is here.