“Five, four, three, two, one… go!” The marshal clicks his stopwatch and gestures to the horizon. Ordinarily, this would be an open invitation to floor the throttle pedal and make what could euphemistically be called a ‘spirited start’ – particularly when you’re sitting in a Martini-liveried Lancia HF Delta Integrale.
Which, foolishly, is exactly what I decide to do. Misguided by old track-day and karting habits – as well as my own exuberance – I launch the Delta, wait for that old-school turbocharged four-banger to finally spool, and row through the first few ratios. “Remember, we’re under Regularity,” my navigator Sam Leatherland sagely intervenes. “Good point,” I concede as I sheepishly release the throttle pedal.
Unfortunately for my co-driver and I, the reward for joyously unrestrained throttle application during a Regularity section is a time penalty at the next Control (which is a manned checkpoint in rally parlance). A rocky start to my Historic rallying career, then – but we’re in good company. My navigator and I, along with many of our 64 rival crews, are complete novices. We’re taking part in HERO-ERA’s Rally for the Ages, a low-cost one-day event launched in 2023 to draw younger enthusiasts into this technical yet exhilarating form of motor sport. The 100-mile route starts and finishes at Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire and snakes through picturesque villages around Silverstone and the Whittlewood Forest area.
My navigator and I, along with many of our 64 rival crews, are complete novices
By virtue of sneaking under the combined age cut-off of 70 years old, our £250 entry fee is waived for the event. Sam and I are the same age (32) and are both diehard petrolheads. Thankfully, we’ve known each other since our school days, so my old friend and pathfinder for the day is completely unsurprised by my initial lack of restraint. “I was sort of egging you on a bit earlier to be fair,” he later admits with a laugh.
Another thing working against us is the fact that Sam only received the call to be my navigator a mere 48 hours before the rally was set to begin. Rising to the occasion, he jumped head-first into the arcane world of rally navigation, and took an online crash course in Tulip diagrams – the visual instructions that form the backbone of rally navigation – as well as the myriad tables and maps that would inevitably fill our Route Book. With modern GPS-based navigation tools such as sat-navs and smartphones strictly forbidden, Sam’s hastily acquired skills will be our only way of reaching the finish line. He certainly has the more difficult job – it’s no wonder good navigators are in such high demand.
Even so, Rally for the Ages was created with inclusiveness in mind, and this ethos extends further than the differing experience levels of the crews; it also welcomes an impressive diversity of vehicles. While HERO-ERA rallies typically require eligible cars to be registered before 1991, Rally for the Ages relaxes this rule in the spirit of accessibility.
The result is a paddock that resembles a journey through automotive history. Our 1990 Delta Integrale – borrowed from HERO-ERA’s Arrive and Drive fleet, is joined by the likes of pre-war Bentley and Alvis models, an esoteric Toyota Sera with its dihedral doors, MG Bs, Mini Coopers, a Lotus Elise and even a modern Hyundai i20 hatchback. And, unlike other forms of motor sport, each and every car has a chance of taking the outright victory.
The only proviso is that cars taking part must be road legal and not heavily modified in order to make it through scrutineering. Beneath its Group B-inspired Martini livery, our Delta Integrale remains largely stock, save for one crucial addition: a rally-spec trip meter mounted purposefully on the passenger side of the dashboard.
Despite piloting what resembles an eye-popping Group B rally car, Sam and I have set our sights on a more modest goal: a respectable mid-table finish. Easier said than done. Sitting between us and our objective are four Tests, which require crews to navigate a specific course as quickly and as accurately as possible, and four Regularities, which reward maintaining a precise average speed over a longer distance.
This eight-stage gauntlet is made somewhat trickier by the fact that our left-hand-drive Lancia’s speedometer reads in km/h rather than mph, which makes accurately gauging my speed during Regularity sections a challenge, to say the least. The reason for the car’s Euro-centric specification is the fact that this particular example was the first 16v Delta ever imported into the UK, and it originally served as Lancia’s press demonstrator before joining HERO-ERA’s Arrive and Drive fleet.
“The pedigree of the car speaks for itself,” Sam says. “They say don’t meet your heroes, but that isn’t the case this time; HERO-ERA has done a fantastic job of preserving this iconic car – although I think it would sound amazing with a nice exhaust system.”
During the first couple of Regularities I quickly abandon trying to mentally work out precisely how fast I am going, and instead I place my concentration on repeating Sam’s instructions back to him to ensure we are going in the right direction. Clear, calm and efficient communication with your navigator is paramount for success. With this in mind – and in spite of a smattering of mistakes – we begin to get into the swing of things.
Two Tests and two Regularities later, Sam and I stop for a well earned break at the Barley Mow pub in Paulerspury, while the marshals tot up the morning’s results. “The trickiest thing about navigating is managing my attention,” Sam reports.
“There is so much to manage: spotting waypoints, remembering to reset the trip meter and keeping track of our timings is definitely challenging. I think junctions throw me the most, though, because there is no allowance for waiting for a gap before pulling out. I also think our early enthusiasm with the car has cost us some time – we probably should have stayed behind that Morris Minor, but we were just having too much fun,” he continues.
Before we know it, we’re back in the Lancia’s retro cockpit, the day already half spent. Fuelled by Coca-Cola and hastily consumed bar snacks, we set out to apply what we learned in the morning. As we navigate the afternoon stages, we’re determined to soak up the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the rally – all while keeping one eye firmly on the Route Book and trip meter to achieve that mid-table finish.
To use a cliché, the morning has certainly been a baptism of fire – but it’s amazing what you can learn in just a matter of hours. Sam’s navigation is now almost flawless, and I am driving with as much precision and concentration as I can muster. As we fall into a rhythm, avoiding costly mistakes, the true joy of the event begins to unfold.
We start to notice the little things: families in their gardens, waving enthusiastically, refreshments in hand, cheering on the cavalcade of competitors. A well timed ‘pip’ of the horn and a wave through the Lancia’s sunroof become our instinctive response, and boost our morale as we continue to tack on the miles.
By the time we roll back into Bicester Heritage for the final two Tests, Sam and I have absolutely no idea where we are in the pecking order. All we know is that we won’t be anywhere near the podium. My early lead-footed enthusiasm, coupled with a few navigational miscues, have undoubtedly saddled us with more penalties than we would have liked. But there is still a chance of achieving our goal of a respectable finish.
As a driver, this means there is even more pressure on me to deliver in the final two Tests around Bicester’s short circuit. Unlike the first two Tests of the day, however, I am now familiar with the way the Lancia performs, and Sam and I are working brilliantly together as a crew. So there is hope.
The Tests take a similar format to Autocross, and involve flinging the car around a series of tight traffic-cone chicanes as quickly as possible. The goal for the first Test is to finish the lap in a bogey time of one minute 12 seconds or less, with penalties applied if you finish above that threshold or head the wrong way around any of the obstacles.
Here, the Lancia really comes into its own – the four-wheel-drive system provides plenty of grip for the tighter corners, and the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine’s 215bhp provides more than enough grunt for us to sprint down the back straight before I smash the brake pedal into the final series of bends and towards the finish line.
Embarrassingly, I manage to stop just short of the finish line before Sam realises what has happened, laughs and tells me to drive a few more metres and stop, wheels astride the finish line. Frustratingly, we had made exactly the same mistake in one of the morning Tests, when I finished above the bogey time. More penalties are not what we had been hoping for.
The final Test of the day brings a stroke of redemption, though, as I finally manage to navigate the course without making any mistakes, while completing it comfortably beneath the one-minute bogey time. A wave of joy and relief wash over me as we are greeted by the chequered flag fluttering at the finish. The only thing left to do is to find out where we have come.
Camaraderie shines bright as the sun begins to sink below the horizon, because almost every crew stays for the informal prize-giving. HERO-ERA chairman Tomas De Vargas Machuca then reveals the champions: Jonathan Shepherd and his daughter Imogen. The winning duo claim their victory after building on their impressive runner-up finish in the event’s 2023 debut.
For our part, Sam and I have finished 31st overall and sixth in class. To our surprise and delight, we even manage to head home with a trophy each, after discovering we are the top media team. While this small victory makes for a satisfying end to a fantastic day, the real stars have been the young crews that turned out in force, the marshals who have kept everything running smoothly and the indomitable Lancia that didn’t miss a beat.
“It was a great day out and a fantastic way to experience a new branch of car culture, and the Lancia was flawless,” Sam reflects as we head home. “But what stood out to me was the support HERO-ERA gave to young competitors, as well as how many people were on hand to offer advice. The community as a whole was very welcoming.”
Would we do it again? Without a doubt.
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