Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson won the fifth Peking to Paris Rally in their 1973 Leyland P76 on 28 June.
Crown, who is 81-years old, said: “I’ve competed in the Peking to Paris four times and this one was the most demanding and the most competitive.
“The victory is all down to the car. Every night Matt got under it checking and fixing everything to make sure we kept going hard. It’s the best rally machine I’ve ever driven!"
The Australian-built saloon’s outback origins suited the gruelling rally conditions.
The pair had been involved in an event-long tussle with the British duo of Peter Lovett and Tim Smith driving a 1965 Porsche 911.
They had to settle for second place taking the European Trophy – for the best effort from Kiev to Paris – in the process.
The 1974 World Cup Rally-winning Citroën DS23, crewed by Robbie Sherrard and Peter Washington, which had led the Rally’s early stages, took third.