COMING UP…
Depending on your mores, this is either the season of snow or space-heaters
27 October
National Restoration Show Held at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, this show offers DIYers the chance to pick up project vehicles and hard-to-find parts as well as advice from clubs. restoration-show.co.uk
29 October – 2 November Rallye des Légendes Richard Mille
‘The region is the star’, says the organiser, whose route this year will show drivers some of southern Spain’s best tarmac. Onlookers might disagree, however, given that the field consists of 50 exceptional vintage and classic cars. richardmille.com
1-3 November Algarve Classic Festival Much loved by Brits seeking top-notch racing and sunshine during the gloomy late autumn months, the ACF is held at Portugal’s Portimão Circuit, a favourite of Walter Röhrl and Sir Stirling Moss. algarveclassicfestival.com 3 November Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Hundreds of pre-1905 cars puff and pop from London’s Hyde Park to the South Coast. Bonhams will offer a selection of eligible cars on 1 November, and the Regent Street Motor Show is on the 2nd. veterancarrun.com
7-10 November
RAC Rally of the Tests HERO’s revival of the RAC Rally is a suitably challenging event, with regularities, special tests and night stages keeping crews on their toes as they motor from Torquay to Chester. heroevents.eu
8-10 November
NEC Classic Motor Show The UK’s biggest indoor show returns to fill Birmingham’s cavernous NEC with cars of all kinds and many attractions besides. Club displays, trade stands, an autojumble, live demonstrations and special guests are all on the menu. necclassicmotorshow.com 10 November – 8 December Flight of the Condor Rally Starting in Cartagena (the Colombian one), this month-long adventure will take intrepid crews in pre-1977 cars south through Ecuador and Peru to the finish in Lima – a total distance of some 7200km. The drivers will have plenty of opportunities to stretch their legs, however, and the schedule includes a boat trip into the Amazon rainforest. rallyround.co.uk
13-17 November Classic Daytona
This is a great opportunity to see some of the old monsters of motorsport thundering around Florida’s most famous circuit, the legendary Daytona International Speedway. The icing on the cake at the event is an open paddock, which allows visitors to get up close and personal with the cars. hsrrace.com
15-17 November InterClassics Brussels
The InterClassics folks have given themselves the almighty task of distilling the collective creative output of Pininfarina, Bertone, Zagato, Touring and Ghia down to just 15 cars, and their picks will form the central feature of this year’s show. interclassics.be 4-8 December Classic Sebring
Hot on the heels of Classic Daytona comes this event at nearby (well, 150 miles away) Sebring International Raceway in Florida. The racing cars will be augmented by a large display of vintage aircraft. hsrrace.com
6-8 December
Retro Classics Bavaria
The organisers of Retro Classics Stuttgart bring their brand of entertainment two hours east to the exhibition centre in Nuremberg. Expect themed displays, a large club presence, good grub, and many opportunities to lighten the wallet: cars, parts and automobilia will all be on offer. retro-classics-bavaria.de
7-10 December
Le Jog
The Land’s End to John O’Groats Reliability Trial sees crews drive through the night on notoriously tricky regularity sections, usually in weather that is much less than helpful. It’s one of the toughest rallies Europe has to offer – but one of the most satisfying and addictive, too. heroevents.eu
1 January 2020 Brooklands
New Year’s Day Gathering Classic car owners and enthusiasts haul themselves off the sofa and head to Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, to kick off 2020. All manner of machinery will assemble on the circuit’s famous banking, and the museum will be open all day, too – so it’s worth going along even if the weather is less than friendly. brooklandsmuseum.com
9-12 January Autosport International
As Octane went to press, the sad demise of the print version of Autosport seemed imminent, but there were assurances that the show must go on. Here’s something for fans of just about every motorsport discipline at Birmingham’s NEC, and tyre-smoking antics indoors, too. autosportinternational.com
11 January
Historic Rally Car Register Open Day
The HRCR descends on the British Motor Museum at Gaydon for a free event aimed at would-be rallyists. Organisers, competitors and specialists will all be on hand to provide advice and encouragement to novices. hrcr.co.uk
16-19 January InterClassics Maastricht
Some 35,000 visitors are expected to attend the Dutch show, which has chosen ‘Forgotten Classics’ as its theme for 2020 – for clarity, that really means ‘Great Cars from Defunct Marques’. interclassicsmaastricht.nl
22-26 January Cavallino Classic
This Palm Beach event is chiefly known as a top-drawer gathering of Ferraris, but it also features a concours open to other marques and action at Palm Beach International Raceway. cavallinoclassic.com
26-31 January
The Winter Trial
As ever, organisers are keeping the precise route of the Winter Trial a closely guarded secret until shortly before the off, but what we do know is that it will start in Prague and finish in St Wolfgang in Austria, with plenty of snow promised in between. thewintertrial.nl
29 January – 5 February Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique Crews set out from cities across Europe to gather in the French
of Drôme, where the real fun begins. Over five days competitors will tackle regularity sections and 1000m-plus peaks as they slither towards Monaco’s Port Hercule. acm.mc
31 January – 2 February Bremen Classic Motor Show Drawing around 45,000 visitors and 650 exhibitors, the Bremen show is an inclusive affair, with all eras and most marques well represented. classicmotorshow.de