Paddy Hopkirk was a racing driver who died at the age of 89 on July 21, 2022. He won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally with Henry Liddon in a Mini Cooper S with the number 37 and the licence plate 33 EJB. His victory made him a household name in Britain, and he even got a telegram and a signed photograph from the Beatles. All four Beatles signed the picture and added the note, “You’re one of us now Paddy!” in recognition of his giant-killing win and rallying number one status.

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Paddy’s stunning victory transformed the British auto industry forever and propelled both him and the little car to international fame. Even now, they are most recent all-British crew to win the competition. A few days after winning, he drove the car onto the London Palladium stage in front of 20 million live television viewers. And the then host of Strictly Come Dancing, Bruce Forsyth, was there to welcome him. Princess Grace of Monaco and her husband Prince Rainier gave Paddy and his co-driver Henry Liddon the winning trophy after Paddy won the rally.

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Years after winning the Monte Carlo, Hopkirk in an exclusive to the Daily Mirror said,” It’s difficult to explain to people now just how big it was to win the Monte Carlo rally in those days. Nobody gave the Mini any chance. It was up against the Mercedes, Porsche, Renault, Citroen and Saab and here was this little Mini – which was originally designed to take midwives and district nurses around Britain. But we did have a wonderful team of mechanics and we practised really hard. And it certainly wasn’t like nowadays with all the help the drivers get now like having a first class chef getting the diets right. We used to have Heinz self-heating soup for example. 

No one gave us a chance though but the victory was a truly iconic event in British motoring and cultural history.”  

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Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen, two other Mini drivers, finished fourth and seventh, respectively, while Hopkirk led BMC (British Motor Corporation) to the team victory. Hopkirk became well-known after the triumph and even got telegrams from the Beatles and the then-UK Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home. He was also honoured with the Freedom of the City of Belfast.