MOTORSPORT
		Left: British Leyland International works driver Brian Culcheth and BBC presenter Willy Cave drive the Marina 1.3 Rally car to 1st in Class/18th overall position on it's debut RAC Rally in November 1971.
The story of the Morris Marina in motorsport is very much one of missed opportunities, caused mainly by inept management of a talented team of engineers. What was done with the Marina on a shoestring budget was astounding considering British Leyland had no official motorsports department after the closure of the Competitions Department in 1970. It also shows that beneath the fabric of the basic car was a very able rally weapon and with funding levels equivalent to Ford, BL would have had a car to seriously challenge the domineering Escorts. The fact is, the engines were available and have since been fitted, the 16v 2.0 Sprint engine in a Marina shell is a devastating piece of kit and the 3.5 V8 went in a treat, especially in an Army-driven machine on a safari rally.

Works Rally Programme
Results 1971 - 1975
1971	Date	Event	Car	Reg No	Driver/Navigator	Position	Car No
	November	RAC Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	AOX 705K	Brian Culcheth/ Willy Cave	1st in Class/ 18th Overall	23
1972
	September	Cyprus Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 786L	Brian Culcheth/ Johnstone Syer	2nd Overall	3
	November	RAC Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	AOH 609K	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	DNF: Engine big ends failure	28
1973
	May	Ypres 24hrs Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	1st in Class/ 10th Overall	?
		Semperit Rally	Morris Marina 1.8 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	3rd in Class/ 11th Overall	8
	August	1000 Lakes, Finland	Morris Marina 1 .3 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	2nd in Class/ 16th Overall	7
		Cyprus Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	1st in Class/ 6th Overall	3
1974
	August	1000 Lakes, Finland	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	1st in Class/ 24th Overall	21
	October	Rideau Lakes, Canada	Austin Marina 1.8 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	DNF: Gearbox failure	109
		POR Rally, USA	Austin Marina 1.8 Coupe	NBL 786L	B. Culcheth/ J. Syer	DNF: Gearbox Failure	15
	November	RAC Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 786L	P. Cooper/ E. Bamford	?	117
1975
	February	Mintex Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	1st in Class	33
	April	Granite City Rally, Scotland	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	1st in Class	23
	May	Welsh Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	1st in Class	38
		Scottish Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	DNF: Accident	30
	August	Burmah Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	Not placed	21
	October	Lindisfarne Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Ryan/ J. Gittins	1st in Class	?
	November	RAC Rally	Morris Marina 1.3 Coupe	NBL 782M	P. Cooper/ A. Marriott	4th in Class/ 43rd Overall	86

	One of the lesser-known actions of BL in the early years was to send four Works cars to New Zealand for international rally use. Thanks to Andrew Short and Barry Kirk-Burnnand, their story can be read here.