At the beginning of the 1960s, international rallies such as the Monte Carlo and RAC Rally frequently made national headlines in the popular newspapers. Much of the interest was due to the close association of the competing cars to their road-going counterparts; the general public could understand the connection with the cars as opposed to the hugely modified specialist rally cars of the modern era.
One of the most successful sports cars was the Austin Healey 3000 that, despite appearances, proved to be a reliable and sufficiently quick car for rallying, rather than the race track. Much of its success was due to the twin brothers, Don and Erle Morley, who quickly established a rapport with themselves and the big Healey. They came from a long line of Suffolk farmers and took up rally driving as a hobby but Don’s driving skills and Erle’s talent for navigating came to the attention of the BMC Competition Department and they were signed to drive for the team from the 1960 season until the end of 1965. After a couple of rallies in a Mini, the pair switched to the Healey and came home in fourth place and 1st in class in the RAC Rally. This was the start of a memorable partnership as the brothers went on to compete in 23 international rallies around Europe and Scandinavia with their Healey, along with an occasional outing in an MGA and MGB. The photograph shows Don and Erle taking precious time away from their farm to pose for a publicity photograph with their works Austin Healey 3000 at the 1961 London Motor Show. They had recently won the Coupes des Alpes so a display stand was built to recreate a section of an Alpine road as a background for the winning team.
From the book ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate
