Duration and dates
Four days, from Friday morning to Monday afternoon around the last May weekend (Mother’s Day), except when it corresponds to Ascension, Pentecost or… election day: the rally is then moved to mid-May or early June.
Accepted vehicles
Automobiles prior to 1970.
Note :
Copies, special vehicles and more recent exceptional automobiles, subject to acceptance by the Selection Committee.
Routes
Different each year, with a fixed “ritual”: a commented presentation of crews to the public of Fougères or a nearby city.
Total distance of the four days:
from 250 to 400 kilometers, on departmental or local roads
(neither motorway, expressways nor national roads)
Large cities are avoided on Saturday afternoons.
Note :
a coach service is available to participants to bring them to the dining venues and bring them back to their hotel. 95% of participants chose this option which allows them to better enjoy the meal and choose quality sites that do not offer sufficient car parks.
Application
- By invitation: The organiser sends by electronic mail an application document and a program to automobile owners deemed eligible
- By receipt of the application document available on this website, after printing and filling out.
This document is published at the end of the year N-1. The application form for year N is available on this website in December of year N-1.
Warning :
the rally does not host more than 150 registered and a selection is necessary. Non-admitted participants will be notified by email (preferably) or by phone.
The application form allows to select the sequences one wishes to enter (the Rally de Fougères allows an “à la carte” choice) as well as the preferred hotel.
> Each application document, sent by post, must be accompanied by a photo of the vehicle.
In the case of clubs or groups planning to bring more than five cars, the coordination of the preparation of the rally is ensured by a correspondent of this club/group.
Since demand is traditionally superior to the offer (maximum of 150 cars), it is strongly recommended to apply as soon as possible. Priority is given to cars with a FIVA identity card. When demand is too high, the closing date for applications occurs prior to the closing date indicated on the application form.
Payment
Each participant pays in advance by cheque (in euros only) or by bank transfer:
- organisers’ fees
- the price of the selected meals
- bus journeys
He/she pays directly the hotels and the “open lunch(es)”. Some hotels claim a deposit.
Organisers’ fees are not refundable.
Meals and bus transfer fees may be kept if canceled less than three weeks before the start of the rally.
Some hotels may keep the deposit or require payment for cancellation of less than a month.
Acceptance
Participants are emailed of the acceptance of their application by the APPF.
Information after acceptance
The participants meet at the starting point of the rally (always located in an accessible site). Approximately ten days before the rally, they receive the road book and “last minute information” by email.
Those who arrive during the rally consult the program to find out where to join the event.
Participants who need a room the night(s) before the start or after the end of the event are required to book directly.
Accommodation and catering
For a full 4-day rally, the APPF strives to build a program that never requires more than 2 different hotels.
A complete list of suggested hotels is included in the application document. This list is very diverse (from gîte to luxury chateau-hotel).
The APPF tries to satisfy all requests indicated on the application document, but meals and hotel bookings are made on a “first come first served” basis. It may occur, because of strong demand, that a given meal or hotel is no longer available. Alternative solutions are then identified.
Firm hotel bookings are made by the APPF upon return and acceptance of the application form. Direct bookings are discouraged, to avoid mistakes or duplicates.
Regardless of the means of application (invitation or website), hotel allocations are based on the date of receipt of applications by the APPF.
Services
Breakdowns are most often resolved by the participants themselves, alone or with the help of fellow participants. In case of more serious problems, a rescue truck is available during the rally and the APPF tries to have a network of garages “on call” near the event’s venues.
Assistance to towns outings, car parks and escort of participants for the Sunday afternoon presentation are provided by APPF “bikers”.
Participants receive on arrival on the rally:
- a four-color rally plaque
- a road book
- a printed colour catalog of about fifty pages, describing the history of each make and each car present
- tourist brochures about the regions/towns visited
- a confirmation and reminder of the participant’s accommodation
- an order number for the Sunday afternoon presentation
- a bus schedules’ document for dinners
- a ballot for the Alcide Pilorge Trophy (preferred car choice by the ladies participants).
Trophies
- Jean-Claude Gardoni Trophy awarded by the women participants to the owner of their favorite car (“ladies’ choice”).
- “Coup de cœur” public award from the town where the Sunday afternoon presentation takes place (This is most often a production of the Cristallerie de Bretagne. Ballots are distributed to the public)
- The Fougères Mayor’s Trophy, awarded to the owner of the preferred car of a jury from the Municipality
- Four FIVA technical prizes awarded by a jury of experts to the preferred car in the following categories: pre-war (1939) of less than 2 litres of engine capacity and pre-war of more than 2 litres of engine capacity, post-war less of 2 litres and post-war more than 2 litres. The jury may also awards a special Authenticity Trophy.
- Various trophies for particularly unlucky competitors or to the crew who made the longest land journey to the event, etc.
Rules
Every driver must, on the day of the rally, be in possession of his driving license, a certificate of insurance and other elements required for the circulation of the vehicle on French public roads.
A document recalling this imperative is signed by every participant, in exchange of his/her “welcome pack”.
All participants must respect the Highway Code, in particular speed limits in urban and suburban areas.
The APPF will in no way be held responsible for the offences committed nor consequences that may result.
Participants are invited to facilitate overtaking of the “APPF bikers” who are trying to reach the next point deserving their intervention.