Rally for the Ages – 11th July 2026
*The rally attraction grows for the young with 80+ car entry
*’For the young for free’ concept brings youth and experience together to enjoy historic rallying
Run over an 80 mile route, 80 pre 1991 cars will tackle four tests and regularities for the fourth edition of Rally for the Ages, as the healthy entry of young people attests, there is a growing attraction amongst the young for historic motoring. In particular historic rallying with HERO-ERA has a lure with its easy timetable and key lessons, drawing younger competitors in to gently learn and help them appreciate older cars and the spirit of competition. The rally fee is refunded provided the combined age of the crew is under 70 years of age when they start the rally.
The tests and regularities are balanced for newcomers as much as experienced competitors to make sure no one is overwhelmed, but most importantly to help encourage young people into the sport and develop and hone their skills, so that they will come back for more.
An easy format is part of the attraction on Saturday morning with scrutineering and a briefing from the Clerk of the Course Gethin Phillips with action starting straight away as crews head to the first two tests at Bicester Motion before heading out into the countryside for two regularities. A short break at Banbury Hill Farm will give crews a chance to breathe and swap stories before they embark on two more regularities and two more tests at Bicester Motion. They can’t be complacent though as the tests are run in reverse direction in the afternoon!.
Following the last part of the competition at Bicester Motion, the teams will make their way back to the HERO-ERA HQ with time to chat with other crews and compare notes. This is always an exciting time as teams wait anxiously for the final results, and then get really excited when they hear their car number and names called out at the prize giving. What ever the result, most will have really enjoyed the experience.
The entry list reveals a great mix of cars from old Land Rovers, a 1965 Ford Galaxie to a 1930 2 litre Lagonda, but most importantly it shows the mix of ages and links with sons, daughters, fathers and mothers through to friends bringing in young rallyists, some for the first time.
There is a fantastic blend of experience along with the youth element. Serial Test Pilot Award winner for the fastest time over all tests, Escort man Nick Bloxham, is back to defend the 2025 RtfA crown won with daughter Beatrix Bloxham (14) after her fabulous navigational performance last year.
Father and son Peter and Kit Moore are splitting up to drive their 1936 Riley Special and 1959 Austin Healey Sprite to bring on navigators Roger Weatherby and Emily Docherty respectively.
Endurance and long distance rally crews are much in evidence too as seasoned competitors are entered alongside their family members. Tristan Judge has Pippa Judge with him in his Datsun 240Z, whilst 2025 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge survivor and finisher James Hall-Smith has Jack Hall- Smith with him in the warrior like Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF.
With further scrutiny of the entry there are champions too, Alistair Leckie a double HERO Challenge Championship winner who is as good in the navigator’s seat as he is driving, has Jess Simmons navigating in Alistair’s venerable Saab 900 Turbo. Suzanne Barker who is a top rally navigator and sometime HERO-ERA official, is paired with Bernadette Cawley from Ireland in their VW Golf.
It is also pleasing to see the lovely father and daughter pairings of Piers and Beatrice Barclay and Francesco and Serafina Valmarana, both crews back for more action in their Italian cars. Beatrice was fourth overall with her father and the under 18 award winner on this event a couple of years ago. Serafina’s sister Beatrice Valmarana was a finalist in the Bob Rutherford Scholarship for young navigators in 2025.
The entry is also international with crews from Ireland, Germany and Austria journeying to the HERO-ERA HQ to enjoy the experience and learn more about historic rallying. Julia Steinle (DE) and Stefan Arnreiter (AT) will be competing in a HERO-ERA Arrive and Drive car, as will James Pring and Simon Fisk in the Arrive Drive 1275 Mini Cooper S.
It is refreshing to note that top motoring journalist and historic car aficionado Henry Catchpole will be competing with Matthew Dereve in another HERO-ERA Arrive Drive car, so many will be watching to check his results.
Another regular competitor, usually in a Lancia Beta Monte Carlo, is Myles Castaldini. This time he has German Parbhjot Basra in the navigator’s seat in their Mini Cooper D.
There are plenty of Minis competing, but watch out for the ‘racy’ Lanfranchi name as Mimi and Antonia will pilot their 1971 Austin Cooper S in the hope of awards at the end of the competitive day.
However, the Minis will be dwarfed by the biggest car in the rally, Christopher Read’s 1965 Ford Galaxie 352 V8 with HERO-ERA Membership Coordinator Isabelle Rolston (26) alongside sampling an event product of the company where she works for the very first time. Isabelle commented; “The reason we're joining the rally is that me and my partner Chris have got a big interest in classic cars, but we haven't done a rally with HERO-ERA before, so we just want to see what it's like and participate.
“We've taken the Galaxie to events before but not to actual rallies, so it'll be the first time that we do this together. It will be a taster, a toe in the water so we are looking forward to it. We are excited, but hopefully nothing goes wrong with the car!”
In addition to the great entry, HERO-ERA are delighted to welcome their partners and Official Time Keepers, Tudor Watches, to such a significant youth-oriented event as Rally for the Ages. Tudor will be fielding three crews who represent a mixture of journalists, specialists and influencers in three HERO-ERA Arrive Drive rally cars. Julia Stienle, Stefan Arnreiter, Matt Dereve, Henry Catchpole, Evan Perrone and Jacob Hopkins will team up in an Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV, a Lancia Beta and an MGB, with exact crew and car partnerships to be decided. HERO-ERA are delighted to welcome them to their Bicester Motion HQ and also to sample a HERO-ERA rally for the very first time.
Many will be competing for the first time. Some, though still young, are coming back for more with a mind to scooping up an award. In Jack Harvey’s case more awards! He is navigating for Ben Jiggins in their MGB this year and will be very competitive. He not only won the first ever Rally for the Ages with his father John in 2023, but he was second with Tim Saywer in 2025. As a former Bob Rutherford Scholarship for Young Navigators finalist last year, Jack with Ben driving, should be on the pace.
However, they will have to be at their best to beat the favorites and winners from last year in their striking Ford Escort Mexico, Beatrix and Nick Bloxham.
HERO-ERA Head of Competition, James Phillips, looks forward to the rally and explains why he supports the programme to bring on the youngsters in the sport.:
“With all sports, bringing new people in is a big challenge but it’s one the team at HERO-ERA have embraced, the free entry for those under a combined age of 70 allows people to sample the sport at a very low cost, a tank of fuel and a bacon roll, it’s the cheapest rally you can do! And along side this event we run the 35% discount for those under 35 and the Bob Rutherford Scholarship which supports young navigator’s – there’s so much opportunity to be involved thanks to HERO-ERA.”