HERO-ERA Awards 2025

HERO-ERA’s annual award ceremony took place within the historic walls of the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, on Thursday evening (29^th Jan) to applaud the success of their competitors in 2025. The celebrated and historic venue is the traditional home of the awards, that offer an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of competitors in the previous calendar year and look ahead to the season to come.

During an on-stage interview with Classic Car Weekly’s Jesse Billington, HERO-ERA Chairman Tomas De Vargas Machuca reflected on the running of back-to-back Peking to Paris Motor Challenges, and the return of the event to Mongolia in 2028. It was also an opportunity for him to look forward to other adventure events, as HERO-ERA returns to South America in 2026 and has a double bill of events on the African continent in 2027, including the Sahara Challenge, running from Lisbon to Dakar.

The main focus of the awards is of course the winners of the HERO Cup for the best overall driver and Golden Roamer award for the best overall navigator, fought over the eligible HERO-ERA events across the season and always hotly contested. This year the HERO Cup was retained by Dick Baines, competing across the season in his familiar Mini and, new for 2025, a Porsche 911. Dick is famously a man of few words, and in continuation with tradition gave little away in his acceptance speech, except to pay tribute to son Harry and highlight winning the Rally of the Tests Lite a high point of his season.

The Golden Roamer Award for best navigational performance across the year is perhaps harder earned than the driver’s trophy, certainly most drivers would admit that the job in the maps seat is the more crucial. This year’s winner is Pete Johnson, collecting the award for the second time after competing in a variety of vehicles across the year, including picking up third place in the Flying Scotsman in a 1936 Riley Sprite and winning a Silver Medal on the infamous LeJog. With the Roamer heading back to the Isle of Man, Pete praised the various drivers he has sat with this year and offered thanks to the marshals who turn out on each event.

The top awards are of course always the most coveted, but for those without the time to commit to the longer rallies, there is the Challenge Championship, a mini championship for those involved in the one-day HERO Challenge events. These events are less of a demand on time, but no less enjoyable or challenging and the format continues to provide thrilling competition. The 2025 championship was no exception, with a brand-new driver’s winner in James Holt, a long-time campaigner in his BMW, with Mike Cochrane claiming the navigators prize, after twice finishing as runner up.

There was also recognition for Christopher and Claire Day, who are both regulars on the Challenge events, and who have been ruffling feathers on the more difficult rallies as well in recent times, especially with Chris’ flamboyant driving style and Claire’s unflappable presence in the maps seat. They deservedly won the Greatest Gain award, after a tremendous 2025.

It wasn’t just success in the main HERO-ERA categories that was celebrated either, with 2025 seeing the running of the ninth Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, the bucket list behemoth that tests competitors like no other event can. This was first, (and perhaps last) time this rally has run in consecutive seasons and as such threw the competition wide open, with many debutants taking part. Competitors from this rally won a slew of awards, including the rally winners, Aussies Tony Sutton and Andrew Lawson, who collected the Philip Young Award. Named in honour of the late, great Philip Young, without whom we probably wouldn’t have the sport we have, this recognises the greatest achievement on the endurance events, of which Peking to Paris is surely the pinnacle. 

Elsewhere another P2P veteran, Sabine Nots Catsiapis, was awarded the 2025 Major Achievement award, and, perhaps fittingly for Sabine, she sent a video acceptance from the exotic balcony of a far-off land, as she was unfortunately unable to attend on the evening. There was another award for one of our endurance competitors, as the Spirit of Competition Award was presented to Peter and Debbie Fitzcharles, who, despite a catalogue of mechanical catastrophes completed 2025’s Pearl of India Rally and now know almost everyone in India as a result.

As an organisation that protects the past, HERO-ERA also looks to the future, and celebrates youth involvement within the sport. The Bob Rutherford Scholarship for Young Navigators, a Motorsport UK endorsed scheme launched to propel young navigating talent to the forefront of the sport, enjoyed its second year in 2025, with 16-year-old Miles Fieldhouse enjoying the opportunity to compete in a set of specially selected rallies as part of the programme. He excelled, and found himself not only learning, but taking home trophies in the process and finished the year as a last-minute stand in on the mighty LeJog. Only right then, that Miles was awarded the Young Star Achiever Award, capping a stellar year for the burgeoning talent.

There was a moment of sadness on the announcement of the HERO-ERA Chairmans Award, presented posthumously to Jim Callahan, who passed away suddenly at the start of the year. Jim was a veteran of the Flying Scotsman and the 2025 Peking to Paris, competing alongside son Tucker and wife Dani. He was a lifelong petrolhead and had stories from a life obsessed with engines that could fill a book. All of our thoughts are very much with Jim’s friends and family at this time.

Finally, there was an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of former HERO-ERA Competition Director, Guy Woodcock, who is taking a step back from the role that he has made his own over more than a decade of involvement. He will still be about, in more of a consultancy basis, and leaves big shoes to fill for those picking up the mantle.

So, a celebration of current champions with a firm nod to the future of the sport. We all look forward to 2026 and beyond.