We are sorry to report the passing of Cornish motor sport’s “Local
Hero”, Roger Hearn, one of the West Country’s most popular and successful
drivers - two times winner of the Tour of Cornwall Rally. He died on 12th
February aged 52 following a terminal illness.
Born at Playing Place, near Truro, he was the son of a local dairyman and worked
as a car mechanic before setting up his own garage business at Carnon Downs in
1981.
Motor sport was his overwhelming passion from a very early age and he
successfully competed initially in autocross, sprint and hillclimb events during
the 1970’s and 1980’s. He drove a variety of cars ranging form Mini’s to Ford
Anglia’s and Escorts. He always struggled to finance his hobby, and all his cars
were totally self-prepared.
He started stage rallying at the end of the 1970’s initially competing on forest
rallies with Ford Escorts fitted with a variety of self prepared engines ranging
from Lotus Twin cams to a 3 litre Ford V6. He then moved on to a Rover SD1 and
this marked the beginning of his love affair with the Rover V8 engine and he
continued to achieve excellent results both on rallies and other speed events.
At the end of 1988, he took delivery of his now famous red Darrian T9 which he
again completed himself and fitted with yet another home built Rover V8 engine.
This was to herald the start of his rise to prominence as a force to be reckoned
with not just locally but also at National rallying level. Between 1987 and 1996
he finished in the top 10 on the Tour of Cornwall Rally a total of 8 times
including his famous wins in 1991 and 1994. In between he won countless smaller
rallies, both locally and further afield, as well as many awards at local sprint
and hill climb meetings. He won a number of these rallies for several years in
succession frequently with a substantial margin to spare. Apart from one
retirement due to component failure, “Roger’s Resin Rocket”, as it was always
known, never finished outside the top 10 in any rally for over six years. A
remarkable achievement in itself, but all the more remarkable considering that
almost all his early victories (including his first Tour of Cornwall win) were
achieved using second-hand part worn tyres. It was also a great tribute to his
engineering abilities and mechanical sympathy that he was able to maintain such
a level of consistency. His spectacular driving style and intuitive car control
thrilled spectators and earned the respect and admiration of other drivers.
When he won the Tour of Cornwall Rally for the first time in 1991, he was
indignant about his lowly seeding number and this, together with the fact that
at least one leading national competitor queried the times being set by car
number 56 during the first day, spurred him on even more. Afterwards, he vowed
to win the event again which he duly did 3 years later in 1994.
His performances elevated him to an almost cult status locally during the mid
1990’s and, whilst he was by no means shy, he always had difficulty
understanding all the attention that his performances attracted. Indeed, his
biggest concern at the finish of any event which he won would always be that he
might have to make a speech at the awards ceremony!
Almost 300 people attended his funeral service including many fellow competitors
and representatives from motor clubs and associations throughout the South West
and beyond as well as many friends and customers of his garage business ; a
testament to his widespread popularity.
Many fellow competitors have paid both verbal and written tributes to him but
probably the most fitting accolades were the headlines which appeared in the two
reports in “Motoring News” after each of his major rally victories - one read
simply -“Local Hero” and the other -“ A Star Turn”.
A Selection from the Many Tributes which fellow Competitors have made: -
“….when Roger was driving either at local Sprints or Rallies everyone just
stopped whatever they were doing and ran to watch him…..”
“……………Roger was an inspiration to me, and many many others who struggled to
compete on a shoestring budget. I will always remember him as I saw him last,
urging us on during last year’s Tour of Cornwall………...”
“….. during the mid-90’s Roger’s stage times on Rallies set the benchmark that I
and many others tried to match…..”
………one memory I will always have was watching Roger at a Sprint meeting at
Portreath back in the early 90’s. I was marshalling at the hairpin with my Dad
and brothers. We heard the Darrian’s V8 engine howling down the straight towards
us. Watching someone fighting with the car on the limit but still in control was
an absolutely lovely sight………..”
“…….to me he has always been the hero of Cornish Motorsport
and I will always remember him as a legend…………….”
“………..Roger was my inspiration to build a Darrian, in particular a V8. One of
the years that he won TOC I was navigating………..we were seeded about 25th that
year I think, and there was a big delay going into Predannack. It was one of
those fantastic hot Cornish days you (used to get) can get in Spring. I wandered
up to the start to see the top 10 go off, and I clearly remember all the 4x4
Cosworths & Metros struggling to get off the line. When Roger pulled up to the
line he gave the car a big rev, the whole car squirmed like it was ready to the
business. Then he “clunked” it into gear and, when the count got to zero, he lit
it up - there must have been 200 feet of black rubber and one very distant
Darrian. That's a bit of me I thought!…….”
“…….I didn’t manage to beat him very often but, when I did, I was really proud
because everyone knew it always took a good man to beat Roger Hearn……..”
