Simon Rossiter | An Appreciation

Simon Rossiter, a previous Gold medal winner on LeJog and Rally Organiser through his Classic Rally Tours Ltd, has sadly passed away. HERO-ERA deeply regret the loss of such a talented organiser and competitor in the Historic Motoring world and knows he will be sorely missed.

He was a regular top ten navigator in international historic events. His knowledge and experience combined with his infamous attention to detail made him, and his subsequent business formation, a real success.

Simon Rossiter always had a passion for classic cars; he started his rallying career in 1992. Having been involved with MG’s since learning to drive, he purchased an MG 1100 saloon which was stripped and rebuilt, Simon christened the car Basil after the episode of Fawlty Towers where John Cleese beat an 1100 over the bonnet with a small branch after it refused to start!

He campaigned throughout the 1990’s mostly as a driver in the HRCR Speedsports Design Championship. He notched up several class wins, and overall class championship wins for two years before then deciding to swap seats and become a Navigator.

In 1999 he joined Malcolm Pickering in his Sunbeam Rapier. Simon was clearly better suited to navigating as this team went on to regularly feature in the top ten winning multiple class awards in international rallies such as The Monte Carlo, Rallye des Alpes, Classic Marathons and, of course, the gruelling HERO Lands’ End to John O’ Groats Reliability Trial where in 2002 Simon and Malcolm achieved Gold medals, quite a feat in Europe’s toughest regularity rally.

Whilst competing Simon also took an active part in helping to run the Historic Rally Car Register, becoming its chairman in 2003 and building its membership from less than 400 to over 2000 during his tenure. His open policy that everyone with a classic car should be able to enjoy this wonderful sport found favour with many and it was this philosophy that became Classic Rally Tours as it is today.

It was typical of his organisational ability that when the 2023 Beaujolais Rally ran into dire weather through torrential rain and flooding, he did a fantastic job to totally re-route the rally and keep the event going.

We mourn his passing and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends in the rally world for the loss of such a fine and talented man.

Information & Image Source: Classic Rally Tours Ltd;