Au Revoir but not Goodbye

Well, what a year 2025 turned out to be for me and the team at HERO-ERA, there were 13 competitive events over 91 rally days, some 18,995 miles of route; I wouldn’t like to calculate how many tulip diagrams have been drawn and instructions have been written, map books and route books printed and bound, 2063 controls sited, pictures taken, GPS coordinates recorded not including test observers and venues packs sorted !

The competition team is just a part of the HERO-ERA organisation delivering the events; from the entries, media, hospitality teams, to all the outside people involved in results, chief marshals, marshals and motor clubs on the ground, the mechanical assistance teams and all those other people needed to deliver the events.

2025 saw a change in personnel with Seren Whyte  and Andy Pullan leaving for new challenges and Andy Darlington stepping back to concentrate on the mapping  elements of our business, but we have  seen new names appear in the team with Gethin Phillips and Julia Perry joining in 2025 and quickly being thrown into the events under the watchful eyes of myself , James Phillips and Chris Elkins, but as above, we delivered a significant calendar of successful events across the world.

The year started with The Pearl of India, a great challenge but an awesome  20 days around India, a place I have come to love and can’t wait to go back to in the future. Whilst part of the team were overseas, Andy P and the team ran a successful Novice Trial which was won by the Bob Rutherford Scholarship winner Miles Fieldhouse, who went on to achieve great success on events in 2025 including a near podium finish on RAC Rally of the Tests.

Not long back from India and we saw the first of the three Hero Challenge events of 2025, this year being run in the Peak District, then Bicester before finally in South Wales also featuring a round of the HRCR championship. These events continue to offer great value for money in the one day format and we have run over 80 cars on each one, with more on the split permit event.

The year saw the events coming thick and fast with the Flying Scotsman in early April before myself and some other team members headed off to Beijing for the rerun of the 2024 Peking to Paris, it should have been easier the second time in twelve months but as with all these events, it has its challenges all the time, chartering planes and ferries across the Caspian Sea, a border crossing in the middle of a Microsoft update, the Mayor of Paris refusing permission for the planned finish while we were mid-China, all made it the usual challenge it is.

Our feet did not really touch the ground once back, with the Rally for the Ages upon us, an event that keeps attracting youngsters and a great idea from Chairman Tomas, then 5 days later 80 cars were ready to start the Summer Trial in Shropshire. In most jobs, August is a quiet time, but not in HERO-ERA. We had the final recces for the Scottish Malts, then the Classic Marathon as well as trying to fit in RAC Rally of the Tests work.

The Last three months of the year passed in blur; firstly September started with the Malts in Scotland, then a 3 day turn around at home before heading out for the Classic Marathon in France with all the challenges and complications that the event threw at us before the last Hero Challenge event, and then onto the big ones; First up was RAC Rally of the Tests which I picked up again once Andy had moved back to being an engineer, so it was my 11^th time as Clerk of the Course, and with India and P2P to arrange, I came to it late and with changes in the availability of MOD sites, it meant we were compromised slightly, but we still had the most tests ever and some challenging regularities which I think went down well from the feedback received.

Planning around this time of the year is key and the run up to the Tests saw James and I do the final recce for Le Jog from Telford to John O Groats in the run up, before arriving in Kendal on the Wednesday from Scotland. So big praise to the rest of the team in pulling together the final preparations for the Tests.

Finally the first week of December arrived and I made the now all too familiar trip down the M5 and A30 to Land’s End for the start of the 15^th LeJog, two on the maps , 4 in an official capacity before taking over the Clerk of the Course role from Peter Nedin after the 20^th edition.

It was probably the wettest one I have seen, with numerous road closures and floods to deal with, 17 in all I think we counted, and those conditions made it challenging to say the least, with only seven medals issued, four gold and three silver. But that first beer in the Norseman bar was well received to say the least !   

So, in 2026, we have a full calendar of events across the world which you are all no doubt looking forward to. As for me, I am stepping down from my role as Competition Director at the end of the year, but as the title of this piece says it’s Au Revoir but not goodbye. I have agreed with Tomas and Patrick to organise some the events in 2026 and 2027, so I will be working on the Three Legs of Mann, RAC Rally of the Tests, the 30^th Le jog and Classic Marathon over the next two years as well as overseeing the HC3 event in York in 2025. I will be acting as CoC on the Flying Scotsman 2025 with others doing all the hard work!

I leave the Competition team in the capable hands of James Phillips in his new position as Head of Competition, ably assisted by Chris Elkins, Gethin Phillips, Julia Perry, Stanka Obermajerova and Gemma Bray, as well as our consultants and route designers George Mullins, John Spiller and Kim Bannister plus technical support from Nick Reeves, Andy Darlington and when needed, Andy Pullan.

With my new title and role as Competition Strategic Advisor, I have no doubt there will be challenges for me, as those who know me well, understand that delegation and not being in control, will irk, and I know I will also have a massive FOMO when events are on initially. However, I am planning to compete some more, spend time with my growing family, but also investigate other challenges and opportunities which have already presented themselves, whilst remaining committed to HERO-ERA as a member of the team and shareholder.

Please don’t be a stranger, if you have any points or questions you feel  I could answer but not the team, then please drop me a mail guy@hero-era.com. Au Revoir!