Holden Dealer Racing Team

McKay convinced his own editor David McNicoll and Telegraph owner Frank Packer to get involved in the event, which they did with co-sponsorship.

Contrary to popular belief at the time, the Monaros were actually prepared for the 7,000 mile marathon that would travel through eleven countries by Holden under the supervision of its Sales Director John Bagshaw and chief engineer Bill Steinhagen, and not by Scuderia Veloce.

While the team did not feature strongly in the results due to mechanical woes, the team's second car driven by leading Australian Rally Championship driver Barry Ferguson finished 12th outright, while the 3rd car driven by triple Australian Grand Prix winner Doug Whiteford finished 14th.

The day following the official launch of the Monaro on the Gold Coast, prominent Melbourne based Holden dealer and former racer Bill Patterson reportedly asked McKay (who was on the Gold Coast covering the cars launch) what it would cost to run three of the new Holden Monaro GTS327s in the 1968 Bathurst 500 at Mount Panorama for Group E Series Production Touring Cars.

The Monaros (not, as rumour had it, the London-Sydney cars) were delivered to the team's base in Wahroonga on Sydney's Upper North Shore where they were prepared by Scuderia Veloce chief mechanic Bob Atkins.