Rallies
It would be impossible to describe in any detail all the rallies in which Eric Jackson has competed over the years. He did his first rally in 1954. His final rally was the World Cup Rally in 1974, by which time he was fifty years old and the press were referring to him as ‘the great granddaddy of rallying’.
International rallies have included:
- The Monte Carlo Rally
- The Tulip Rally
- The East African Safari Rally
- The Spanish Firestone Rally
- The Trans-Canadian Rally
- The Monte Carlo Challenge
- The World Cup Rally
- The London to Sydney Marathon
This is in addition to the many rallies within the British Isles. Probably the most memorable of these was the Chieftain Rally in 1973, but not for the best of reasons.
In Petrol in My Blood, Eric writes:
“I entered the Chieftain Rally with Don Barrow as my navigator. Don was the best. The driver, on the other hand was old and daft, with 230bhp under his right trotter. We were on a special stage and doing 120 mph on a very dangerous, loose gravel road. Well, it had to happen one day … the old fart lost it and the car went end over end over end over end… Don, thank goodness was unhurt, but I was taken to Odstock Hospital with multiple injuries. Don’t worry though, now I’m as good as any 120 year-old. “
The car though, was a write-off.