Let's head for the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2026!

With autumn back and winter on the horizon, the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne are once again the talk of the town! At its traditional first press conference on Tuesday, October 28, the Royal Automobile Club de Spa team lifted the veil a little. Some things will change, others will stay the same, and registration will open on Saturday, November 1.

For their first press conference, the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne usually visit an area where the competitors will race three months later. This time, Pierre Delettre and his team invited the media to Jamoigne, in the municipality of Chiny, in the enchanting setting of the Château du Faing! Simply superb...

Without revealing any details, as any ‘recce’ remains strictly prohibited, the route of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2026 (30 & 31/01 – 01/02) is adapting to current trends: a stable number of RTs, which are increasingly expensive to organize, but more kilometers!

“Competitors can rest assured that they will not lose out in any way, and certainly not be cheated, especially since the number of RTs is identical to 2025, comments Pierre Delettre on behalf of R.A.C. Spa. Four regularity tests – the Legend Boucles “special stages” – will be organized each day, for an increased mileage! A long straight section will be covered twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. As in February, Saturday will be a mixed day, with sections of good dirt in some RTs, while on Sunday, a test on asphalt will be mixed in with the usual RTs in the forest. It will be covered twice by competitors in ‘Legend’ and ‘Challenger’."

A Shakedown on Thursday evening!

While the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne festivities traditionally begin on Thursday at Place McAuliffe with technical and administrative checks, the 2026 edition will see the introduction of a Shakedown! This is an official test session, which is obviously optional, and will take place between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on a section representative of the rest of the weekend...

“Since the Legend Boucles are unique in that they don't count towards any championship, many teams enjoy participating once a year, or rent a car for the occasion, continues Pierre Delettre. We have often been asked to organize a real test session that is open to everyone. It's now official and scheduled! This Shakedown will allow some drivers to avoid starting Saturday's first RTs behind the wheel of a car they don't really know. We all stand to gain from this, especially in terms of safety..."

Please note that the Shakedown is reserved for competitors in the ‘Legend’ and ‘Challenger’ categories. It is therefore not open to those in the ‘Classic 65’ and ‘Classic 50’ categories.

More competitive Challenger category

Having become the preserve of regional teams over the years, the Challenger category, in which teams race at an average speed of 80 km/h, will become even more competitive in 2026! Two intermediate time checks will be introduced on each of the RTs, compared to just one at the finish line in the past. The location of these time checks will be mentioned in the roadbook and marked by signs along the route. The aim is to make the Challenger category even more challenging!

However, the introduction of these two intermediate time checks will not require competitors to regulate their speed or purchase expensive equipment. All they will need is a stopwatch...

No changes to ‘Classic 65’ and ‘Classic 50’

The two categories reserved for regularity enthusiasts with average speeds of 65 and 50 km/h are a source of great satisfaction for the organizers of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne. There are therefore no changes to report for these two categories, where the battle for victory is always intense...

Divisions and coefficients

One of the major features of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne is that it allows cars from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to compete for the overall victory in the “Legend” category! To make this possible, coefficients are applied and reviewed each year. The organizers have drawn conclusions from the fantastic 2025 edition and adjusted the coefficients for each car. Will a Ford Escort or a Porsche 911 come out on top? Will a BMW E30 burst onto the scene? Will a legend from the ‘nineties’ win everyone over? It's impossible to predict! That's what makes the Legend Boucles so exciting...

In addition, the cars are now divided into 11 separate divisions, based on the year of manufacture and the type of drive system. For the 1980s and 1990s, this will allow a distinction to be made between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.

The grid for the different divisions of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2026 is therefore as follows:

- Division 1: until 1961

- Division 2: from 1962 to 1971

- Division 3: from 1972 to 1981

- Division 4: from 1982 to 1986 2WD

- Division 5: from 1982 to 1986 4WD

- Division 6: from 1987 to 1990 2WD

- Division 7: from 1987 to 1990 4WD

- Division 8: from 1991 to 1995 2WD

- Division 9: from 1991 to 1995 4WD

- Division 10: from 1996 to 2000 2WD & modified cars

- Division 11: from 1996 to 2000 4WD

Two... weather coefficients!

When determining the coefficients for each division, many questions arise. Starting with the potential imbalance that could be caused by exceptionally mild weather conditions... or extremely harsh winter conditions!

The solution is to adjust these coefficients on the morning of each stage, depending on the conditions. Competitors in the ‘Legend’ categories with post-1982 cars will therefore see their coefficients change depending on whether the racing conditions are ‘normal’ or ‘extreme’. Once again, this is to avoid giving any one competitor a significant advantage over the others.

Coefficient grid for Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2026

- Division 1: 1.0 normal conditions / 1.0 extreme conditions (0.8 in 2025)

- Division 2: 1.0 normal conditions / 1.0 extreme conditions (1.0 in 2025)

- Division 3: 1.0 normal conditions / 1.0 extreme conditions (1.0 in 2025)

- Division 4: 1.0 normal conditions / 1.0 extreme conditions (1.0 in 2025)

- Division 5: 1.01 normal conditions / 1.03 extreme conditions (1.04 in 2025)

- Division 6: 1.01 normal conditions / 1.01 extreme conditions (1.04 in 2025)

- Division 7: 1.02 normal conditions / 1.04 extreme conditions (1.05 in 2025)

- Division 8: 1.03 normal conditions / 1.03 extreme conditions (1.05 in 2025)

- Division 9: 1.04 normal conditions / 1.05 extreme conditions (1.06 in 2025)

- Division 10: 1.04 normal conditions / 1.04 extreme conditions (1.05 in 2025)

- Division 11: 1.07 normal conditions / 1.09 extreme conditions (1.06 in 2025)

No increase in entry fees

Good news: the various entry fees for the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2025 will remain the same in 2026! Even though the cost of living continues to rise...

‘However, in order to limit as much as possible “late” or even “last-minute” entries, which complicate the life of any organiser when it comes to incurring costs, surcharges are planned depending on the time of entry,’ continues Pierre Delettre. The aim is not to annoy or penalise crews, but to limit the massive influx of registrations in mid-January, which can disrupt predefined timings, various orders, etc. These surcharges will begin one month after registration opens, leaving plenty of time to confirm your participation and take advantage of the 2025 rate. These surcharges will range from €50 to €250 including VAT at various milestones, namely 30 November, 15 December, 31 December and 16 January.

Registration opens

As is tradition, registration for the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne will open on 1 November at 00:01 via the official website www.racspa.be. This applies to all categories! No trophies will be awarded to the fastest entrants, but that shouldn't stop “early birds” from signing up right away...

Royalty-free pictures: J.F. & J. Fiasse & R.A.C. Spa

www.racspa.be