FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies – XX Rally Costa Brava Històric

Belgians Yves Deflandre and Patrick Lienne (Porsche 911) have once again demonstrated their abilities and taken victory in the Rally Costa Brava Històric, their second consecutive triumph in the event, which in the case of Deflandre is also his fourth victory in the 20-year history of the rally.  With their victory they were also winners of the FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies for the first time.

Based in the fishing village of Palamós in northern Spain, 132 teams took the start of the three-day event (26-29 October), much of which is run in the hours of darkness.  The results could not have been tighter, with Deflandre and Lienne taking victory over the local team of Juan Pedro García/Sergi Giralt (Autobianchi A112 Abarth) by a mere five tenths of a second after more than 500kms of regularity sections on a route totalling some 1000kms.  In a scenario almost identical to that of the 2022 edition, it was in the last night section of the rally that the Belgians took the lead just two stages from the end.  After having led for most of the rally, it was the second time the Catalan crew has had to settle for the runner-up spot.  David Garrigolas and Sílvia March (VW Golf GTI) completed the overall podium in their best result so far in the event.

In the category reserved for classic motorcycles, Carles Fortuny and Carles Jiménez (Yamaha XT600) once again imposed their hegemony, revalidating last year’s victory and achieving an extraordinary sixth position overall in the rally.

One of the initiatives of event organiser Rallyclassics, is to encourage more women to take part, and each year they succeed in attracting more all-female teams, with, this year, 12 female drivers and 36 female co-drivers representing more than 25% of the total co-drivers.