24/11/2016

The first rally for classic cars organised by RACC

The 1st Rally Catalunya Històric Trofeu Dues Catalunyes will be staged in exactly three months. It will be the first regularity rally reserved for classic cars organised by the RACC, and in this first edition, the club wants to recall the six editions of the Rallye de les Dues Catalunyes, which was organised for the first time in 1965. This 1st Rally Catalunya Històric will be held on 24 and 25 February 2017 as a linear event that will include all ingredients, structure and guarantees that only the largest automobile club of the country can offer.

The 1st Rally Catalunya Històric Trofeu Dues Catalunyes will be a road trial of two days on closed roads and circuit, with start and finish in Barcelona, overnight stay in Santa Coloma de Farners and stop over in Perpignan (France). The event will have a length of approx. 700 km, 250 km on the first day and 450 km on the second, including a night stage in the first leg.

With this first edition of the Rally Catalunya Històric the RACC introduces itself as direct organiser of classic car events, with a proposal that will be recalling every year the initial path of Rally Catalunya on its way to becoming a scoring round towards the World Rally Championship, but also highlighting the great car racing events that the club has organised along its history. The event that will be recalled on this first edition of the Rally Catalunya Històric is the Rallye de les Dues Catalunyes, which was staged between 1960 and 1965 with start and/or finish in Barcelona and Perpignan.

The 1st Rally Catalunya Històric will include a feature that may become a new trend in strict regularity rallies: The stages will be raced on closed roads or with restricted traffic, and on a racetrack, with average speeds of up to 55 km/h and two types of averages to choose from.

Two legs: A trip to the North and back to the South
The first leg will start from Avenida de la Catedral in Barcelona at 15.00h on Friday, 24 February 2017 covering an itinerary that will combine day and night routes, with a short stop over in Viladrau and finish in Santa Coloma de Farners (Hotel Mas Solà). The second leg will start at 8.30h on Saturday 25, with an itinerary that will take participants to the French city of Perpignan, capital of the Roussillon region, where they will have lunch, to continue from 14.00h with destination Parque del Fórum in Barcelona, finish of the race, from 20.30h. The prize-giving ceremony will take place in Hotel SB Diagonal Zero, during the closure dinner, starting from 22.00h.

A total of 60 vehicles built between 1947 and 1984 will be eligible to take part, grouped in 6 different classes. The organiser reserves the right however, to allow the participation of cars manufactured in 1985 and 1986, although these vehicles would only be able to win a prize in their own class.

Entry with premium services
The entry fee includes premium services, all-included: Two nights hotel accommodation in a double room (Santa Coloma de Farners and Barcelona); all lunches and dinners in a restaurant, even those during the route; all breakfasts; welcome buffet in the area of the start podium before the start; luggage transport and many other services, presents and mementos. The total entry fee amounts to 1,150 (1,000 for RACC members). The entry period will close on Tuesday, 7 February 2017.

Aman Barfull, Director of the RACC Sports Area: The evolution of the different car racing events organised by the RACC makes it necessary to recall them, as there are so many mythic events that have designed a large part of our history. Recalling the beginnings of the Rally Catalunya will take us to recall other mythic rallies as well, and in this first edition it will be the Rallye de les Dues Catalunyes.

Rally Catalunya
The Rally Catalunya, currently known as RallyRACC, scoring round towards the FIA World Rally Championship, was staged for the first time in 1957 after merging with the Volta a Catalunya, an event that was also organised by the RACC since 1916. The Rally Catalunya-Volta a Catalunya remained in the calendar until 1964 and nine years later, in 1973, the Rally Catalunya started again as scoring round towards the Spanish Championship, to become part of the European Championship in 1980 and of the World Championship in 1991.

Rallye de les Dues Catalunyes
The Rallye de les Dues Catalunyes, organised by the RACC with the collaboration of the A.S. Automobile Club du Roussillon, was staged from 1960 to 1965, and most of its editions were scoring rounds towards the Spanish and French Rally Championships. It was a mixed speed and regularity event and the latest editions included a special stage on the Montjuïc circuit. This rally had the special feature that every year the route would change direction, meaning that one year it would start in Barcelona and the other in Perpignan. The winners of the six editions were:

1960 I: Víctor Sagi-Antonio Agramunt (BMW 700 Coupé)
1961 II: Estanislao Reverter-Oscar Caprotti (BMW 700 Coupé)
1962 III: Robert Wybo-Jean-François Serpentier (Dauphine 1093)
1963 IV: Estanislao Reverter-Oscar Caprotti (Ford Lotus Cortina)
1964 V: Jaime Juncosa-Artemi Eche (Fiat Abarth 1000 TC)
1965 VI: Mauro Bianchi-Jean-Claude Perramond (Alpine A-110)

Complete and updated information on the official website: www.rallycatalunyahistoric.com