LBL Rallies

Enjoy the authentic feel of 1950s car rallying: Liège-Brescia-Liège, Mycenaean-Minoan, Craic + more!

Since 2008, Classic Rally Press has revived the spectactular 1958 Liège-Brescia-Liège microcar rally. Following very successful rallies in 2008 and subsequently, it's time for the Diamond Jubilee, in July 2018! Our provisional schedule will take you through all the splendid passes tackled by those early pioneers as they thrashed little engines for 2000 miles over mountain pass after mountain pass

in search of glory – but this time, instead of non-stop for 64 hours, you can enjoy the authentic route over 11 days, with luxury hotels, all meals, fun special tests, fascinating visits, mechanic back-up – and the chance for the competitive to win superb trophies! Every finisher will receive a special, exclusive, Diamond Jubilee replica of the original enamel plaque awarded to the finishers on that historic 1958 rally. The principal event will be for exactly the same cars and classes as in 1958 and the only cars eligible will be those of a type identical to cars that would have been eligible in 1958 - up to 500cc with classes for up to 250cc and up to 350cc - plus three-wheel versions if mechanically identical (due to the vagaries of international competition rules, in 1958 3-wheelers couldn't compete against 4-wheelers - well, they can in our events!). That's all Berkeleys other than B95/105s, Messerschmitt KR200s and Tigers, Isettas, Heinkels, Zundapp Januses, Friskies, suicide-door Fiat 500s, early 2CVs, Isard/Goggomobil 300s and 400s, and more

There will be a secondary event run alongside, but entirely separate with its own prizes, for microcars in the spirit of the original event but a bit later, or with larger engines up to 750cc - all later Fiat 500s and 600s, later Citroen 2CVs, Berkeley B95s/105s, BMW 600s and 700s, and many more. For any information about our events, please feel free to get in touch by messaging us here or through our website!

26/08/2026

It's 1am UK (2am France) and we can finally end the recce tale - we are safely home, with the Lotus Excel still running like a dream. Giving ourselves one last chance to fix it before resorting to time-consuming and complex AA Recovery proved to be a good call.
Up early Tuesday morning, we headed straight to the motor factors in the same town, recommended both by our recovery driver last night, and by friend Nick Poll who lives in France: Autodistribution in Chateauroux.
With no English spoken and my limited French, we had to first get over the "if you don't have the part number we can't help" - but once they saw the car and the predicament, they became much more helpful. "Bring me your shortest V-belts" was my best call - the shortest one was too short, but the next looked spot on. Except it had started pouring with rain! I politely begged permission to move the car to under their porch, and they were more than happy to help, the young lady assistant standing by to watch while cut off the cable ties that had kept the water pump turning to get us there, and then fitted the belt. I couldn't quite pull it over the water pump pulley (without the PAS pump to tension it, there's no adjustment), but got it near enough that a quick flick on the starter pulled it on. It was loose, but it was turning - there's not much resistance on a water pump so it doesn't need to be tight.
Relieved of 20 euros and with profuse thanks given, we headed for Caen - slowly at first, then gaining speed as we realised all was well and we might make the afternoon ferry instead of the overnight.
And we did! The journey home from Portsmouth was fraught by overnight roadworks through Salisbury and on the A303, but we made it. The Lotus Excel is a great all-rounder that has been a real pleasure to take on this recce - we only had the one problem (power steering pump outlet leaking) which could have been easily fixed if we'd been able to pause for long enough, but with the recce schedule hanging over us and limited tools on board, we had to improvise to keep going - which resulted in more problems when the PAS pump failed due to lack of lubrication. In spite of all, we made it home - big thanks to Helena for unfailing support, to Fifi for good humour and fun - and to the Excel, for getting us safely home against the odds.

24/08/2026

Well that didn't go quite to plan...
Driving 900km in a day in a car that had a known problem with the power steering pump was always going to be risky... We had passed the half-way point, popping a little oil in the PAS at every stop to give the pump some brief lubrication, and were daring to be optimistic - when suddenly a hot smell alerted us to the temperature gauge rapidly heading off the clock. It had been rock steady around 80-85C all trip, whatever the ambient temperatures, so I switched off and coasted - fortunately to a locked access road which allowed us to pull safely off the French autoroute.
I thought the drive belt might have snapped (an old-style vee-belt which also drives the water pump), but the belt was intact - however the pulley from the power steering pump was lying on the front crossmember! Now we needed a short belt to drive the water pump...
With no adjustment possible (the tensioning is normally handled by the PAS pump), it had to be something elasticated. I tried a length of screenwash pipe first - it worked, but after a few km it melted - we crawled off the autoroute and tried again, this time with a spare (and chunky) phone charger cable, tied and trimmed. Again, it worked - but after c10km the knot came undone.
Now too far from any exits and with nowhere safe to work, we had to resort to recovery. Full marks to the French motorway network - even on this non-toll section, they had a van with huge warning triangle in place to protect us within 10 minutes, then a second one, and within 30min we were safely aboard a recovery truck, which hauled us well off the autoroute to their depot for a reasonable 171 euros. I called my AA European Recovery, but all they could offer was to send another recovery truck in an hour or two, which would take us to a random hotel and the car to a random garage which might, or might not, be able to look at it tomorrow.
Not fancying that option, we booked a hotel about 7km away on the way to a big car spares shop that opens at 8am tomorrow, both recommended by our Autoroute saviour. My biggest cable ties were the next temporary fanbelt option - in haste I wasn't able to get them tight enough really, so the pump slipped a bit, but keeping revs down we were able to make it to the hotel. Time to sleep on it, and see what we can achieve in the morning to get us home... 🤞

23/08/2026

The final day of Rally Pyrenees and our full route recce again includes a great variety of superb driving roads and fascinating places to see.
Saying farewell to the gorgeous RR and Porsche in the foyer of Hotel Nordic in Andorra, we set off for the highest pass of the rally, the Port d'Envalira at 2408m, not far short of the Stelvio - though in this case we were starting from1710m at the hotel. Wide, sweeping roads whisked us to the summit (complete with incongruous fuel stations, supermarkets and even a kart circuit). Crossing to France, nature returned and we began to head west along the route travelled by Le train jaune, the famous tourist train of the Pyrenees.
Stunning towns and chateaux follow one after another, and we stopped in beautiful Villefranche le Conflent to admire the mediaeval walled streets and many shops.
Soon after, we left the popular tourist trail to pick up tinier roads and enjoy driving in peace again - seeing another car approx every 10 minutes! The astonishing Gorges de Galamus is a highlight on this route (thanks Helena for the video!) and was followed by the trek up to spectacular Chateau de Peyrepertuse - one of the finest Cathar fortresses.
Back on the road, more tiny twisting roads through forests and cols allowed the Lotus Excel to show its paces, before we finally reached our destination - the spectacular, restored mediaeval citadel of La Cite at Carcassonne - and the ultimate indulgence, https://www.facebook.com/hoteldelacitecarcassonne . Hotels really don't come much finer than this, and the service is equally superb. Where else do you get chauffeured from car park to hotel by a charming 25 year old Frenchman whose personal transport is a Jaguar Mk2?!

22/08/2026

Day 8 of Rally Pyrenees takes us back up to the Pyrenees proper, this time in Andorra. It's a day of meeting fellow enthusiasts and enjoying their museums, as well as driving some brilliant roads.
For us on the recce, it was a tough day as we were checking out new routes and finding locations for new passage controls along the way - but fun too, meeting friends old and new.
Rain had fallen heavily overnight in Tarragona, on the Mediterranean coast, and this would be a cooler day. We were soon out of the city onto smaller roads through farmland - looking more like England than anywhere else in Spain, with well-tended fields lined by hedges or walls, covering rolling hills.
The terrain never stays the same for long in Spain, and as we headed inland it gradually became more rocky and mountainous.
Our first stop was at Bassella, to meet our good friend Toni Tacho from the Classic Motor Club del Bages, with his son Toni. They introduced us to Estanis Soler, patron of the amazing motorcycle museum at Bassella. We were treated to a personal tour, and to hear the history of this family museum was both emotional and inspiring. Estanis's father personally restored at least 60 of the motorcycles in the museum, Estanis many more and his son and daughter are continuing the family tradition.
From Bassella we headed north towards Andorra, tackling a pass known to locals as Spain's Stelvio: with 18 hairpins following in quick succession it certainly has the feel of the Stelvio, without any of the traffic - all we saw were two bicycles! The pass continues on up and opens out to stunning views, with farmland, before we head on north into Andorra.
What an incredible contrast Andorra is - massively developed and always changing with new, stylish buildings popping up everywhere, this duty-free tax haven is certainly prospering. In its heart, we met with good friend Lluis Dejuan, President of the Andorran Association of Antique Vehicles, his wife Paloma and colleague Justin, at the superb National Automobile Museum of Andorra. It was hard to tear ourselves away, but the exceptional https://www.facebook.com/HotelNordic awaited. Where else do you find a Springfield Rolls-Royce and a Porsche 911 ice racer in the foyer?! Motoring details abound in this great hotel.

21/08/2026

Day 7 of Rally Pyrenees is another short day, but not short of great driving action! Driving the recce in our 1985 Lotus Excel, we've had a brilliant day.
We set off from Morella at 9am, a little later than the rally will start, heading out past the incredible Roman aqueduct that used to serve the town and is still largely intact. Soon onto the smaller roads, we enjoyed mile after mile of tight switchbacks through the mountains - smooth driving is key here, and knowing where to cut corners and where not - though we only saw one other car in about 20 miles...
Onto bigger roads for a while, speeds increased with a little more traffic, but still hardly any - then we were into the smaller, deserted roads again, passing a stunning castle at Miravet as we headed for the historic ferry across the River Ebro. At least 70 years old in its current form, this two-car ferry is as green as they come - no engine, just the river flow to propel it from side to side. Normally it's swift, but today our ferryman explained that the river flow was low, and the wind was fighting against him - but he steered us across nonetheless, and is looking forward to welcoming the rally proper in October.
Next stop was the superb Circuit Mora d'Ebre, where the rally will have its final Special Test - aiming to hit a target time set to be fun but achievable, with penalties for every second early or late.
Back on the road, first it was the big sweeping roads, then tiny lanes with some navigational challenges, before following our demon route into the centre of the city of Tarragona.
The Capital of the Western Roman Empire, Tarragona is a bustling city that still treasures near-intact Roman remains, including the Amphitheatre, Circus and Forum. Our amazing hotel, the https://www.facebook.com/H10ImperialTarraco holds a grandstand position looking out over the Amphitheatre and the Mediterranean - superb... Crews should be here around 2:30pm, leaving plenty of time to explore and to choose one of many great restaurants in the historic centre of Tarragona, just across the road from the hotel, for dinner...

20/08/2026

Day 6 of Rally Pyrenees is a half day to give time to explore the wonderful mediaeval walled town of Morella - but there's still plenty of interest on the road!
Heading out on our full route recce from the magnificent buildings and gardens of https://www.facebook.com/MonasteriodePiedra, we head first through mile after mile of dead straight road (surely Roman?!) through expansive farmland - mostly grass for hay, but also fields of yellow sunflowers. The extraordinary thing is you almost never see a farmhouse - the old ones are abandoned and there are no new ones. These must surely be huge ranches...
As we head on, we climb to 1000m altitude and the road gets more interesting, swooping and winding, before we turn off to find a now bypassed pass, and head into tiny, twisting roads through rocky mountain land - a spectacular route beloved of motorcyclists and known as The Silent Route.
We branch off, passing historic fortified farms and emerge into more populated lands, but still concentrated on compact settlements often grouped around a castle on top of a rocky outcrop, with little occupation in between. Everywhere the hillsides are terraced, centuries of hard labour to make this tough terrain as productive as possible. Sadly most of the narrow terraces are now abandoned, as unsuitable to machine labour...
Finally we round a corner and see the massive castle and fortified town of Morella - an incredible survivor of a bygone age - where we're lucky enough to have a hotel in the heart of the mediaeval city - https://www.facebook.com/hotelrestaurantereydonjaimemorella

19/08/2026

Day 5 of Rally Pyrenees is full of interest as we head across central northern Spain, on incredibly empty roads.
We first pass through the verdant vine-fields of La Rioja - the prosperity of this region clearly apparent from the massive, architect-designed, "mine's bigger than yours" bodegas lining the road and shouting from hilltops.
Soon, though, the vines are replaced by grasslands and orchards, the roads get twistier and less perfectly smooth, and mountains loom ahead. We turn off the main road onto a bumpy but delightful road twisting through scrub forest and then out into the open, climbing steeply and quickly to a remote pass. Vultures soar overhead and cattle are far more plentiful than people - the villages are far apart now. As we continue, we're into forested areas with miles and miles of countryside that hasn't seen human hands in centuries, or for ever.
At the top of another pass, we turn off onto a very smooth gravel road - this will be optional on the rally, we've previously recce'd a tarmac road that takes the same time, but we wanted to try out this gravel road - and it was great! Almost all super-smooth, though a lot of loose stones so only for those not worried about the odd stone chip. Needless to say, there was zero traffic as we rolled through the forests for c15km before rejoining tarmac roads.
Mile after mile of smooth sweeping roads ensued, now through fields and farm land stretching across rolling hills, taking us to the next highlight of inland Spain - castles!
We passed no less than five castles on this section - stopping at the first to eat the excellent picnic lunch from the Hotel Silken Villa de Laguardia, and walk up to enjoy the stunning views from the top.
Continuing south, we came to the big reservoir of La Tranquera - where we came to an abrupt halt as a screech from the engine announced the power steering pump - which has been running dry since it sprang a huge inaccessible leak - seized.
Fortunately it freed after 20min rest, so we limped at c1200rpm 10 miles to a petrol station, where I was able to add some power steering fluid and let it lubricate the pump. We made it safely to our hotel, though trailing a small white cloud...
Tonight we're at the superb Monasterio de Piedra - a fabulous restored monastery and grounds founded in 1194 and a National Monument.

18/08/2026

Day 4 of Rally Pyrenees sees a late start, with time to enjoy the vibrant city of San Sebastian, catch some rays on the stunning beaches, relax in the Hotel Monte Igueldo with its stunning views and spectacular breakfast - or fix the car if it's giving trouble!
For us on the recce today it was a bit of relaxing in the hotel and route plotting, as the Lotus has been behaving well despite running its power steering dry - it's a bit heavy on some hairpins and at parking speeds, but otherwise fine.
The route starts with a small road straight from the hotel along the cliffs above the Atlantic coast, before turning inland and winding through picturesque farmland, then mixed industrial areas and twisty forest climbs - the roads a little busier than before, but still remarkably quiet and great to drive.
As we head further inland, the industrial regions end and we're out into farmland then climbing, climbing up to the high plains - the passes not as high as in the Pyrenees but still topping 1km above sea level at times, with stunning views. The Lotus has really loved the roads and the mostly-sweeping bends are gently on my arms without power steering assistance!
We stopped at the impressive Monasterio de Iratxe - there's been a Benedictine Monastery here since the 8th century and it's well known for its vineyards too.
On the rally, crews will then tackle a circuit lap consistency test on the superb 4km Circuito de Navarra - set a lap time at your comfortable speed, then try to match it for the next two laps - with warm up and slow-down laps, that's almost five laps of this brilliant circuit to enjoy!
There was no need for us to visit the circuit, as all arrangements are made there already, so we headed on to the rally's next stop, in the heart of La Rioja - top Rioja winery Bodegas Eguren Ugarte. Here the rally will have wine tasting and a tour of the underground stores - we seized the opportunity to pop a case of Reserva in the Excel's spacious boot!
With time on our hands, we headed in to historic Logrono for some sightseeing and dinner, before returning to our hotel, the imposing Silken Villa de Laguardia, with terrific views over the seemingly endless Rioja vineyards. Not such great photos today as we couldn't stop on the more scenic roads, and we didn't visit the circuit - we'll do better tomorrow!

17/08/2026

Day 3 of our recce for Rally Pyrenees meant an earlier start for what is the longest day of the event, at just under 200 miles. It's a day of so many amazing and different views, different experiences, different cultures, different types of road to drive.
We started from the lovely Hotel le Montaigu in Luz St Sauveur, in the heart of the French Pyrenees - and finished at the Hotel Monte Igueldo, with panoramic views of the city of San Sebastian on the Atlantic coast of Spain.
En route, we experienced some of the most beautiful and most breathtaking, scenery that the French Pyrenees has to offer. We drove eight magnificent cols - all tremendous fun to drive, and astonishingly quiet for mid-August.
We stopped to buy delicious sheeps' cheese and local honey at the top of the Col de Pierre St Martin on the border between France and Spain - then joined the magnificent sweeping roads of the Spanish Pyrenees, a huge contrast with some of the tiny French passes, being heavily funded by the EU.
Wide, sweeping roads with barriers galore seem a bit out of place with so little traffic, but they did allow the Lotus Excel to stretch its legs some more, fifth gear featuring in our repertoire for the first time since we arrived in Toulouse three days ago! All the roads have suited the Excel, to be fair - light and agile, with plenty of torque, it copes well with small twisty roads too, cornering at far higher speeds than most other cars without ever feeling uncomfortable.
Our route to San Sebastian is contrived to avoid all motorways and major roads, and to give a fair taste of what Spanish roads were like before the EU funding - narrow, twisty, steep and made up of ancient concrete patched a hundred times is probably a fair description of the optional late afternoon navigational section - but what stunning scenery, and great fun when you find the right roads and it all falls into place!
Dinner looking out over San Sebastian, with a bottle of Rioja in anticipation of tomorrow's drive there, was the perfect way to finish the day...

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