The 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava will be bigger and better than ever

Presented in Girona, the 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava is once again beating its own record with 247 participating teams, more than 60% of which are foreigners, from 20 different countries.
The tributes to the Audi Quattro and Lancia Stratos, the female participation increase within the #MotorDona program and a list of competitors full of great names of motor racing: axes of the best historic rally in Europe.
From 14^th to 16^th March, Girona, Fornells de la Selva and the legendary stages will endear the whole atmosphere to the public, with the best drivers and cars.

It will be a historic edition. This has been the main message at the presentation of the 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava at the Pont de Pedra in Girona. With the presence of the authorities, federations and sponsors that make it possible, the oldest rally in Spain grows bigger and better than ever.

From 14th to 16th March, the seventy-second edition of the rally will offer the best show and atmosphere of the historic vehicles. To come straight to the point, the 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava will be one of the best editions ever and one of the biggest in its long history.

For the second consecutive year, the Rally Motul Costa Brava has beaten its own entry list record, reaching 240 teams in competition as well as 7 teams in the Legend exhibition category. Above all, the 160 vehicles participating in the Sporting category stand out, an extraordinary fact that reaffirms the status of the Costa Brava as a major event in the international field. In the Regularity category, about 80 vehicles will compete.

Another record is the increase in the participation of foreign teams. More than 150 teams, 63% of the total, will move to Girona from 20 different countries including places as far away as the United States, Argentina or Antigua and Barbuda, as well as fifteen European countries.

For Alex Romani, president of Club RallyClassics, “Rally Costa Brava is already a fully internationally consolidated brand. In addition to offering a unique show for motor racing fans and being the rally with the most participation of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship, it helps to promote tourism in low season in the province of Girona. We can’t be happier in the preview of this seventy-second edition”.

Regarding the female participation, the #MotorDona program continues to grow. Created by RallyClassics in 2022, it aims to give visibility to female talent and participation in the world of classic motor racing. This year, 70 women will participate in the 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava, including drivers and co-drivers. Thus, 15% of the total participants are women, which reach 28% of the total with the co-drivers. Besides, the #MotorDona program also promotes the involvement of women in other aspects of the rally, both within the organization and in the tasks of mechanics, engineers or team managers.

A museum in action

One of the most attractive aspects of the 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava is the spectacular variety and quality of the vehicles, which make the event a true living museum of the rally history.

It is already traditional for RallyClassics to dedicate each new edition of the Costa Brava to a key episode of its rich legacy. This year, the seventy-second edition recalls the historic victory of Michele Cinotto and Emilio Radaelli on the 1984 Rally Costa Brava driving an Audi Quattro A2. The Italian drivers will participate in the Legend category with a replica of that same car from 40 years ago.

Cinotto and Radaelli will be the stars of the tribute to the Audi Quattro, to be held on Thursday 14th on the podium in Girona. Ten units of this legendary vehicle, of all versions and evolutions that competed in the first half of the 1980s, will participate in the Costa Brava.

The Quattro will not be alone as in the same act there will also be a tribute to the Lancia Stratos on the 50th anniversary of its first World Rally Championship in 1974, with the presence of the four cars that will participate in this edition.

The 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava will also allow fans to enjoy an avalanche of legendary vehicles in action. For example, there will be two units of the Lancia Rally 037 (the successor of Stratos); more than twenty BMW M3; forty Porsche 911, twenty-five Ford Escort or five Renault 5 Turbo, among many more. All those will be Group 4, Group B and Group A historic vehicles and even Kit Car. From this last era there will be four cars, including the two Seat Ibiza Kit Car from the brand’s collection which this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of Seat Ibiza.

A program full of activities

The 72 Rally Motul Costa Brava will set up on Thursday 14th in the afternoon with the tribute to Audi Quattro and Lancia Stratos. This will be the starting point of the two legs, on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th. These two days, the Fornells de la Selva service park will be the setting for various activities for the public, who will also be able to see the teams closely.

The itinerary of the rally consists of three different stages every day, which will be driven twice. Els Àngels, Santa Pellaia Curt and Salions-Sant Grau Curt will be Friday’s stages; Osor, Collsaplana and Cladells will be Saturday’s stages. Altogether, 160 km against the clock. All these stages, except Salions-Sant Grau, were part of the Rally Costa Brava itinerary of 1984.

Legendary roads, with perfect tarmac and not excessively fast: the ideal roads to enjoy the driving and the show of historic vehicles. This is the key to success of the Rally Motul Costa Brava; this year, bigger and better than ever.