London to Lisbon 2026 - Preview
* Biennial Rally to Begin from Brooklands Museum
The 2026 edition of the London to Lisbon rally begins on the 20th of May, occupying its usual early summer slot in the calendar. The first car will take to the start in front of the historic Brooklands Clubhouse at 9am, a somewhat leisurely start time for a cross-continent rally, easing the 48 crews into the 11-day event. Ahead of them are 10 days of competitive action taking place over 3000km and four countries before the checkered flag waves in Portugal.
Within the roster of hopefuls are current London Lisbon Champions Graham Platts and Neil Ripley, who won the last of these biennial events by just three seconds. The two friends will again be competing in Grahams beautiful Healey, but as usual the entry features a number of spectacular machines, with everything from a 1929 Chrysler right through to Porsche 911’s, Alfa Romeos, Mercedes Benz, Datsun’s, Lancia’s and BMWs, and even a Ferrari, all of which will look perfectly at home on the mountain roads and sun-kissed valleys of France, Spain and Portugal.
Whilst the route crosses countries, the entry is a fully international one, with no less than 16 different nations represented. There are competitors from all of the host nations, as well as across the globe, from as far north as Norway and as far away as New Zealand.
But what can they expect over the next 11 days? Well, some wonderful driving roads for starters and a nice mix of competition and fun. This year the route has been the responsibility of HERO-ERA’s new Head of Competition James Phillips, who’s taking the fun aspect of the rally very seriously. “The rally is pitched as an intermediate level event, so we want it to be reasonably tricky, but without any trickery. There is hopefully something for everyone on the road, but also time where both the driver and the navigator can relax and enjoy the drive as well.”
Nothing overly intense then, but still plenty of competitive sections with 35 regularities for the crews to pit themselves against over the rally. For those with an interest in speed, there are of course some brilliant tests to enjoy too, including the famous Caramulo Hillclimb, as well as a visit to Circuit Navarra in Spain and various other kart circuits along the way.
The rally includes a lot of brand-new elements this time, with James indicating that we only trace over old ground once inside Portugal, and even the run out of England is different this year, with the rally travelling to France via Eurotunnel for the first time. “Hopefully those that have done this rally before will see lots of new roads” says James, “We’ve tried hard to keep France interesting as well, so it doesn’t feel like we are just wishing the time away, before we hit the Pyrenees and the mountain roads of Spain.” Those Spanish mountains are of course one of the highlights of the trip, though on the final recce for the event they were still covered in Snow. “That’s nothing unusual” says James, “I’m sure they will be open, and there are some real treats in store for us, including the Col du Solour, where we will climb to 4800ft. We also travel through the highest point of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route later on the trip and some of the scenery and views are just stunning.”
There is plenty of high altitude driving then, which, along with the standout landscapes is always a real feature of this rally. James is hopeful that the variety of the route and competition will satisfy everyone’s interests though, telling me “We hope there is something for everyone, and the competition is a real mix of long and short regularities. Not just alpine driving either, we’ve tried to include things that are a little bit different, there are a few unique regs, there is one reg in particular that is 14km long that takes place on a piece of land that is about 4.5km squared, so that should prove interesting!”
What is James most looking forward to though? “Just the space and quiet roads. I really hope that people enjoy not having to fight for every inch of tarmac amongst endless traffic, and even some of the unavoidable transit sections are enjoyable in their own way. That’s one of the beauties of getting out of England and driving in Europe, the pleasure of the open road.”
So, an exciting and largely new route awaits, which, coupled with a stellar entry signals a dynamic and entertaining return for what is now undoubtedly one of the highlights in the HERO-ERA rallying calendar. All we need now, is the weather!!
