Final round of the 2024 HRCR Clubmans Championship
Saturday 30th November2024
Classic Lanes on OS Landrangers 127,137 & 138
Special tests to include:
RICHARD SOLARI FARMS LTD, APLEY ESTATE, DITTON PRIORS DEPOT, REN-NEW BRICKWORKS
Regularity, Special Tests and a classic road rally TC section in darkness…
for all your entry enquiries
HERE for your JBMR Beanie hat
HERE for the JBMR 2023 full report
HERE for the JBMR 2023 RallyRoots Results
HERE for the Telford Auto Club Facebook page
HERE for the Telford Auto Club web site
John Bloxham (foreword by Nick Bloxham)
Welcome to the second running of the John Bloxham Memorial Rally.
The idea behind the event is two-fold; firstly, to remember the life of my father, John Bloxham, and secondly to raise money for
two charities which are very close to my family’s heart, namely Prostate Cancer UK and Compton
Care, a hospice and cancer support charity based in Wolverhampton.
John Bloxham was a well-known rally driver who came to prominence in the late 1960s. In 1969, at a
time when road rallying was very much the pinnacle of motorsport in the UK, he won the much coveted triple-crown of:
RAC British Rally Championship
Motoring News Rally Championship
BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship
John’s rallying exploits took him to all corners of the globe, in varying styles of events. He competed
in a 3-man team in the 1970 London to Mexico Rally, which took in the capital cities of all the
countries that were taking part in that year’s football World Cup. Unfortunately, the team retired
somewhere outside of Rio De Janeiro with transmission issues on their JCB-backed Hillman Hunter.
John competed in numerous stage events, both as a privateer and as a works driver, including the
RAC Rally, Britain’s World Rally Championship round.
Road rallying at the time was thriving in the UK, and it was in this branch of the sport that John
achieved most of his success. Paired with his long-time navigator, Richard Harper, the duo was a
force to be reckoned with on the National Scene, achieving many Motoring News Championship
victories in a career spanning almost 2 decades.
John campaigned a variety of cars. His 1969 championships were won using a Twin-Cam Escort, one
of the first to be used in competition in the UK. He will perhaps, be best remembered for the Fiats
that he used in the late 1970s and early 1980s, to promote the family’s FIAT Dealership based in
Wolverhampton. His last FIAT 131 was certainly used to good effect and proved to be an Escort
beater in His and Richard’s hands, at a time when the MK2 Escort was the car to have.
Although he retired from top-level road rallying competition in the early 1980s, his passion and
enthusiasm for the sport never left him. He and my mother could be found marshalling for myself
and my brother, Jonty, when we were competing week in, week out on road events all over the
country. I was fortunate to be able to compete with Dad on several HRCR rounds, and Hero’s Rally of
the Tests.
As the saying goes, lanes certainly were in his veins.
We hope that this event will capture some of the
spirit of those Golden Years of Road Rallying. We
have put on a route that we think will be
challenging, but enjoyable, for all 3 crew members:
Driver, Navigator and Car.
We look forward to receiving your entry and wish
you an enjoyable day’s sport.
Our Charities
Prostate Cancer UK is a prostate cancer
research, awareness and support organisation
which is a registered charity in England, Wales
and Scotland. It’s the most common cancer in
men, but most men with early prostate
cancer don’t have symptoms. Prostate cancer
is not always life-threatening but when it is,
the earlier you catch it the more likely it is to be cured.
Compton Care provides high quality, accessible care and support
for the people in local communities living with life limiting conditions.
For over 40 years, they have been providing specialist palliative and
end of life care to patients, and support for their families, helping
them to navigate every aspect of life with a life limiting condition.
Their specialist care, whether delivered at their purpose-built
facilities or at home, is tailored to individual needs, helping patients
and their loved ones to feel safe and supported ensuring local people
living with or caring for someone with a palliative diagnosis have
access to the care and support they need remains our priority.
Tributes to John Bloxham
From HERO/ERA
All of us at HERO-ERA were shocked and saddened to hear
of the untimely passing of John Bloxham, who had an almost
lifelong association with road rallying, and more than a little
success along the way, as well as being a friend of HERO
throughout the years.
John’s driving career began just after turning seventeen, in a
treasure hunt driving a Renault Dauphine, and from humble
beginnings would go on to have a successful career,
competing in everything from Saabs, Mini’s, Fiats and of
course a Twin Cam Escort, often with co-driver Richard
Harper in the seat beside him.
Meticulously preparing cars at the family garage business in Wolverhampton, and a member of the
Owen Motor Club, John would compete at all echelons of the sport, including top level international
events. It was the domestic road rally scene where most success would come, including winning the
1969 Motoring News Rally Championship, a title also held by such luminaries as Bill Gwynne and
Gwyndaf Evans and in the same year won the notorious Cilwendeg rally. In fact 1969 was a real
bumper year, with John winning the ‘Triple Crown’, adding the BTRDA Gold Star and RAC British Rally
Championships to the Motoring News triumph. That year would also see John win on the national
stages, with victory in the Vales Rally and Bolton Rally, he would compete nationally and
internationally in stage rally events throughout the rest of the 60’s and the 70’s, as far afield as
Portugal and Italy.
In more recent years, HERO-ERA were always delighted to have John with them in various capacities,
driving the Arrive and Drive cars with the public at shows like Race Retro and marshalling on many
events, particularly if his son Nick was competing. These
days out rallying had become a real family affair, with wife
Sue and the grandkids often in tow and most recently John
marshalled on the PAAI event held just before Christmas.
From Peter Robinson
John Bloxham rallied through one of the most interesting and competitive periods in UK rally sport.
It was a time when rallying was affordable and most of the cars were variations of those that were available from High Street
motor dealers. The Motoring News Championship is of course a thing of the past. Looking back in
2023 the last MN rally was 36 years ago and John’s Championship year was 54 years ago.
However the memories of this Series are still almost as popular today as they were during these years.
John’s rally career commenced in 1961 and by its end he had driven at
least seventeen different types of car competitively (including a
Haflinger!) and will be remembered as one of the best by those who
were his closest competitors. He remains the ninth highest scorer of MN
championship points and he won a total of fourteen MN qualifying rounds from one hundred starts.
for all your entry enquiries
Host club: Telford Auto Club
Nick Bloxham (CoC), Karen Matthews (entries secretary), Phil Matthews (joint CoC), Ben Innes (chief marshal)
Margaret Derry (may a force be with her!), Stuart Derry (chief A-road directions officer)
All the marshals and associated Motor Clubs en-route, HRCR.
Raising funds for Charity: PROSTATE CANCER UK & Compton Care, Wolverhampton
