7th April, 2003
50th
anniversary re-run of Redex Reliability Trial
PEUGEOTS of all
shapes and sizes had been on Australian roads for many years prior to
1953, but it was then the French marque became a household name in this
country, with a stunning victory in the very first Redex Trial.
To
celebrate the 50th anniversary of that first Redex win, a plan was
conceived to rerun the original event in a meaningful, enjoyable and
responsible way. The
‘Peugeot Redex Reliability Trial’ will start from Sydney on June 22
and follow the original route of the 1953 event, with 100 or so expected
competitor travelling over 11,000 kilometres. Their
route will take them around much of Australia, albeit at a much more
leisurely pace than was the case 50 years ago, and the convoy will
return to Sydney on July 20. In
partnership with Peugeot Automobiles Australia, the Peugeot Car Club of
Victoria is organising the event with the assistance of their sister
clubs from the other states. The field includes more than 80 pre-1970
Peugeots as well as a group of representative cars of other marques from
the early 1950s. Participants
and cars from the original events will also form part of the rerun,
adding greatly to the nostalgic appeal of the event. The
Peugeot Redex Rerun will be highly visible as the convoy makes its way
around the country. Receptions and displays have been organised in the
towns and cities along the way, and the public will be given many
opportunities to view this historic event. The
field will begin its journey from the original location at Moore Park,
now occupied by Fox Studios. It was here that 50,000 people waved off
the original fleet in 1953, with a further 150,000 lining the Sydney
streets to see them head north on their arduous adventure.
Eleven
Peugeot 203s were entered, the third largest representation (after Ford
and Holden), and the crews’ optimism was rewarded when Ken Tubman and
John Marshall won outright - all eleven 203s finished. The
Redex trial captured enormous media and public interest, and in 1954 it
was run again, this time going right around the continent but allowing
only four extra days for the trip. It
was won by a six-year-old Ford and the driver, "Gelignite"
Jack Murray became a household name for his habit of carrying gelignite
to get rid of obstacles! Peugeot however, was still up there, with Bill
Patterson placed second outright in a 203, one of many that competed. In
the 1955 Redex, Peugeot was again credited with the victory, and had the
largest percentage of undamaged cars at the finish, but was relegated to
fifth after a successful protest by Volkswagen against the penalties
awarded to its cars due to cracks in the bodies. This was to be the last
Redex. The
following year Wilf Murrell and Alan Taylor won the incredibly tough
Ampol Trial in the newly released 403, a model that carried on the 203
tradition of rugged reliability. 2003
Redex Rerun Itinerary
|
Ken
Tubman and John Marshall not only came home ahead of far bigger and more
powerful cars, but amazingly their Peugeot 203 was in stock condition. 
That
first Redex reliability trial was run over 6,500 miles in two weeks,
from Sydney north to Townsville, across to Darwin, down to Port Augusta,
then back to Sydney via Adelaide and Melbourne. 