Francisco Carrion
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We already mentioned it last year: It seems that - fortunately - the decline of the Sitges Rally stopped in the previous edition and that since then it has been established in certain terms of quality and number of participants.
This year it took place between March 21 and 22 with the typical structure of recent years, that is, on Saturday a static meeting of the participants at the Illa Diagonal center in Barcelona and on Sunday the route itself between the Plaza de Barcelona's Sant Jaume and the Sitges promenade, with the occupants dressed in "period" clothes for the celebration of the subsequent elegance contest.
As for the veteran classics, this year there were almost 70 participants (68 vehicles specifically) and about 30 motorcycles. As a positive point, this 57th edition has had more participants from the very first decades of the XNUMXth century, which is what it is about here.
"Modern" temptations
The oldest was a 1900 Darracq that we had not seen in this test for years, followed by 7 other vehicles prior to 1910. Of the group immediately following it was the -for us- star of this year: the Hispano Suiza “B-1” It had been hibernating for years after some last sporadic appearance in the mid-90s. Although it was manufactured between 1910-1912, it is its original license plate, although it was inherited from another car that had its owner released years before.
A significant novelty was the "remanufacturing" of another Hispano-Suiza, in this case an Alfonso XIII, made from a few original components and that has turned out really well. On the other hand, a car that has not participated in years is the small and sporty Amilcar CGS from the mid-20s, originally registered in Barcelona.
As a counterpoint, note that this year foreign participation has been conspicuous by its absence. Only the interesting 1910 Peugeot “racing car” came from France, and that years ago those registered from the neighboring country accounted for up to 30% of the starting grid.
And is that the rise in the age limit is still noticeable. As has been the case for years, there have been too many cars from around 1930, a question that is not a problem for the general public but that has made fans of veteran classics lose the deep interest that the event had years ago.
This year there were, for example, no less than 8 different Ford Model A, manufactured between 1928 and 1931, a Nash from 1931, and they even participated - although supposedly "out of competition" - two Rolls Royce and Bentley from 1938 ... all nonsense if we take into account that until the 50th edition the limit was in 1925.
Let's hope that the organizers have some kind of specialized advice to re-attract participants with really old cars or cars from abroad for the next editions, since that has been the usual trend since the rally started back in 1958, and That will be the key to success for years to come.
* We thank Visitsitges.com the transfer of photos. If you are looking for something
in this beautiful town its website is the best starting point
