Rally newcomers Peter and Louise Morton won an epic South-East Asian adventure in a hitherto unsung historic rally car, a 1972 Rover P6 3500
Words James Elliott Photography Gerard Brown / Rally the Globe
I am a terrible driver!’ says Peter ‘Morty’ Morton, before a wince of regret flashes across his face. Not regret for his assessment of his abilities as a wheelman, but the remorse of a man who has spoken to the press enough to know that such a lighthearted comment will definitely be the opening to this story. He was right! Morty cannot be a terrible driver, though, having recently secured his maiden long-distance rally victory on Rally the Globe’s Road to Hanoi Marathon, a four-week dash around the spectacular Indochina Peninsula from 27 January to 23 February. Though you could perhaps McRae your way through a couple of special stages and get away with it in a fortes fortuna adiuvat manner, over that sort of distance destiny will overcome providence every time. Besides, Morty is already known to be pretty useful behind the wheel, albeit a rather larger-diameter one. His sailing CV is as long as an anchor chain, but a handful of the highlights are six times World Champion in different classes, part of the Admiral’s Cup British team seven times, winning the Admiral’s Cup in 1989, 12 Fastnet Races, two wins.
His rally co-pilot is wife Louise, barely less accomplished on water, having campaigned a Quarter Tonner with an all-girl crew and won the Quarter Ton Cup three times, raced offshore in two transatlantic races, three Fastnets and the China Sea Race. She’s also run the J Class Association for ten years. Sounds like perfect co-driver material. Of course, none of this guarantees success. Are such skills even transferable; how well would the pair work together when on water they compete against each other internationally in the 5.5m Class?
Morty explains: ‘We’d seen a series on TV with Noel Edmonds and Martin Kemp [Eight Go Rallying – The Road to Saigon], and not long after we were in New York for the America’s Cup and met someone who had just done the East African Safari Classic Rally and we were so intrugued that we signed up for the HERO-ERA Silver Fern rally in New Zealand in 2020.
‘We had a Porsche 912 built for New Zealand, but I didn’t quite realise the difference between getting a car restored and getting it rally-prepared so it just wasn’t suitable. We rented a BMW 2002 that served us so well we bought one. It’s perfect for short rallies, but less so for longer events, so we needed another car.’ Indeed, another
