Search for Bob Rutherford Historic Rally Scholarship Young Navigator 2027 begins

The search has started for the 2027 Bob Rutherford Scholarship Young Navigator winner to follow in the wheel tracks of former winners, Danielle Pool (Dorset), Miles Fieldhouse (Ambleside) and Jocelyn Jones (Stockport),

to be crowned the fourth Bob Rutherford Scholarship prize winner. The victor will compete in three fully funded HERO-ERA rallies together with attendance at Motorsport UK selected Academy courses. The organisers promise to cast the net far and wide to encourage applicants for this coveted entry to a potential historic rally career.

Applications are open from the receipt of this release and close on December 11th 2026. (see link below). Following the success of the first Bob Rutherford Scholarship winner, Danielle Pool from Dorset who scored a worthy sixth overall, a class win and two further class podiums, to advance her navigational career, the programme has grown in stature.

The 2025 Bob Rutherford Scholarship winner, Miles Fieldhouse, went even further as a new recruit and scholarship winner in 2025, with an outright win, a third and two fourth places overall with several class wins. He was later parachuted in halfway through LeJog as a replacement navigator into a vintage Bentley for the first time, emerging with a second in class. Miles was then in demand, achieving more great results throughout 2026.

The current 2026 winner, Jocelyn ‘Joss’ Jones from Stockport, was thrown in at the deep end for her first rally on HERO Challenge Two alongside Dave Alcock in the fast Datsun 280 Z. This included Joss being thrown up on two wheels at one point, yet Jocelyn navigated Dave to fifth in class on her debut. She was fastest in class on the first four tests of HERO Challenge Three paired with ace navigator and driver Niall Frost, with several 2nd fastest in class test times. Joss bested the entire field (including Interclub) on regularity seven ending up second in class in the Volvo which had required repairs. Now she waits for her final event on the RAC Rally of the Tests LITE with serial RoTT winner Dan Willan.

Now the search is on to find the next in line to be trained for historic rally navigator stardom.

The scholarship winner’s prize represents a pathway that can lead to the top. Designed to help young navigators in the spirit of Bob Rutherford, who was always encouraging and helping youngsters into rallying,the winner will receive three free entries as a navigator into three fully funded HERO-ERA rallies, with full tuition and help from experienced staff at HERO-ERA.

The fourth scholarship winner will be sitting alongside an experienced rally driver on each event in 2027 after mentoring by HERO-ERA experts and attending selected Motorsport UK Academy courses to add to the benefits. Selected training and free entry into all HERO-ERA navigation classes and seminars are all part of the programme designed to either bring new navigators into the sport or help advance young rallyists in navigation.

HERO-ERA are looking for keen young people to develop or start developing their skill set in the art of historic rally navigation. The process isn’t just aimed at rally enthusiasts, but is eager to discover people from engineering organisations, motor clubs, or other award schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Scouting, Apprenticeships, work schemes and other leading practical movements. Applicants may just have an interest or experience in other relevant sports and wish to consider starting in rallying.

Applications are due in by or before December 11th 2026 via the link to the form with details highlighted at the foot of this release. They will close on the 12th December after which the HERO-ERA judging panel will sit to review them by 17th December. Following the review, the panel will produce a shortlist of candidates for an interview/test day at Bicester Motion in January 2027. Successful applicants through to this final stage will be announced on the 18th December. A date In January will be confirmed for the Shoot Out.

Six lucky candidates will make it through to the final, 'The Scholarship Shoot-Out', when the finalists will undergo navigational tests and interviews before practical navigational exercises on a regularity road section. Then they will try to navigate on a speed test, but all exercises will be run sitting alongside experienced drivers. The winner and runner up will be announced at the end of the day.

James Phillips, Head of Competition HERO-ERA, summed up the unique motorsport opportunity; “I’m delighted to help launch the scholarship for the fourth year, it doesn’t just highlight HERO-ERA’s commitment to bringing younger people into the sport, but it shows just how much talent and enthusiasm there is out there for Historic Motorsport of all types which can only be positive news for the future."