Everything prepared in the fishing village of Palamos for the celebration of eighteenth edition of the Rally Costa Brava Històric, one of the benchmark Open Road Regularity Rallies on a continental level.
The RallyClassics organization has worked hard to make this event, fully consolidated on the international calendar, an unforgettable experience for the participants.
Alex Romani, President of RallyClassics, explains that “the XVIII Rally Costa Brava Històric is in a very sweet moment. Palamós is the perfect epicenter for a rally like this, where competition, tourism and good gastronomy come together. Starting and finishing each stage from Platja Gran de Palamós is a privilege, and that is how the participants understand it. But of course, this rally would not be so appreciated without the most important thing, a demanding 3-day tour through many of the mythical sections of the Costa Brava Rally and the different regions through which it runs. We have a great rally ahead & rdquor ;.
1,000 kilometers of route and 23 sections of Regularity
The Costa Brava Històric Rally offers one of the longest Regularity courses in Europe, with approximately 1,000 kilometers of route and 23 sections of Regularity, to be carried out over three days, following speed averages always adapted to the limits of the road, with a maximum of 50 km / h. To equalize all participants, these itineraries are secret until shortly before the start of each stage, when the roadbooks are delivered to each team. The best classified of this rally will be able to participate in the FFinal of the FIA Trophy to be held at the Poland Historic Rally.
The test starts tomorrow Thursday, September 30 with a morning dedicated to the mandatory technical and administrative verifications, which will take place in the Palau Firal de Sant Antoni de Calonge. From there, the activity will move to Platja Gran de Palamós, from where the competition will begin at 5:00 p.m. Thursday’s stage, called “Calonge i Sant Antoni & rdquor ;, will be just an appetizer of what will await the teams in the next two days.
The Friday, October 1 the engines will roar again after 3 pm. It will be the moment when the real action will begin, since it is expected that the participants will invest approximately 12 hours to complete this stage, with a stop for dinner at the Restaurant Ca L’Enric de La Vall de Bianya (La Garrotxa).
Already on the day of Saturday, October 2, the rally will be decided after a stage that will start at 2:00 pm, which will regroup in Ripoll during the afternoon and will not end until midnight. It will be then when we will know the identity of the winners of the XVIII Rally Costa Brava Històric, who will receive their trophies at the podium ceremony scheduled for 11 am on Sunday, October 3.
65 cars and 16 motorcycles: a cast of high-flying contestants
The XVIII Rally Costa Brava Històric is presented as a new duel between the main specialists of Regularity at the national level, without forgetting the growing presence of international participants, all of them aboard authentic automotive gems.
Among the main favorites to win are Carles Fortuny / Carles Jiménez (Lancia Beta Coupé), winners of three of the last four editions of the Rally Costa Brava Històric. In the battle for the positions of honor, surely there will be no shortage of other pairs such as Carles Miró / Ivan Matavacas (Porsche 911 SC), Eduard Poveda / Joan Jordán (VW Golf GTI) or Juan Pedro García / Sergi Giralt (Autobianchi A112 Abarth).
Another of the teams to observe will be the one formed by Luis Climent / Víctor Buades (BMW 323i E21), since the 1996 Spanish Rally Champion will debut a vehicle for this test. Many local teams have not wanted to miss this new edition either. Among them, the four participants who have not missed any of the 18 editions disputed so far: Enric Clúa (Opel Corsa GSi), Alex rimbau (Seat 127), Francesc Costa (Honda XL600 LM) and Jordi Marti (BMW R80 GS).
Among the international teams we find participants from France, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, the United States and Uruguay. His will be some of the rally’s most special cars, like the Volvo Amazon from Jean Reboisson / Raphael Covet (the oldest vehicle in the test), the Saab 96-V4 from Gerhard Carlsson / Madeleine Denkert or the Lancia Delta of Marco Gandino / Carlo Merenda, a car used in the World Rally Championship by the Scuderia Jolly Club.
Thinking of those participants who want to enjoy all the magic of the Rally Costa Brava Històric without the requirement of completing the entire route, the organization has launched various initiatives. Some teams will opt for the modality “Rally & Party & rdquor;, in which the rally is followed until before the start of the night stages, while others will only carry out the Saturday stage, as a test of what could be a new category in the next editions of the rally, for teams that want to enjoy it as a one-day rally. This is the case of equipment such as Xavier Domingo / Marcel Domingo (Lancia Stratos), Lluis Vidal / Marc Vila (Renault 5 Turbo) or the Porsche 911 of Marc Onandia.
16 classic motorcycles, participating in pairs, will face this great challenge for fans of two wheels. Eyes will be on the Vilajuïga Rally Team, made up of Raimon Grifols and David Grifols on paths BMW R100GS. They are the current winners of the test and they also won last June in the first edition of the Navarra Classic Raid.
Daily activities in the Passeig del Mar de Palamós
The sports section of the rally will be complemented by the most complete program of activities organized so far in the fishing village.
The high point will be on Saturday, October 2 at noon, at which time the rally participants, as well as all those classic car owners who come to Platja Gran, will perform the Rúa of the XVIII Rally Costa Brava Històric through the streets of Palamós and Sant Antoni de Calonge. It will be a very special moment, designed to bring this event closer to the local public and for which a large influx of fans is expected.
On the same Saturday morning there will be a very special meeting. The pilot Antonio Zanini (1980 European Rally Champion and multi-time Spanish Rally Champion) and collectors Salvador Claret and Ramon Magriñà They will exhibit their respective vintage cars in Palamós. Zanini will attend the appointment with the Abadal-Buick Centella from the 20s, which he himself has been in charge of restoring and putting in order for the last few years, Claret will do so with the racing voiturette Sizaire & Naudin from 1908 and Magriñà with a Delahaye from the 30s. At 1 pm these vehicles will go on a route around Palamós to Romanyà de la Selva. It will be an essential date for fans.
These activities will be complemented by the Virtual Rally that will be held in the Kuruma Motorsport tent, which will make its driving simulators available to anyone who approaches. The three people who set the best time in the simulators will have a prize and will go up to the rally podium together with the winners of the event. The facility will open on Thursday afternoon and will remain in operation until Sunday.