A crazy first evening with a superstar Thierry Neuville!

As expected, the official kick-off of the Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2025 on Friday in the heart of Bastogne was a huge popular success! Thierry Neuville, the world champion, was unanimously acclaimed, and his presence showed that in Belgium in general, and in the province of Luxembourg in particular, the rally's popularity is still enormous...

It was one event after another in Bastogne on Friday. No sooner had the various technical inspection operations been completed than it was Cédric Cherain and Damien Withers, the reigning Belgian rally champions, who made headlines by unveiling, on the Place McAuliffe, the superb Porsche 992 Rally GT that they will be using in the forthcoming national competition! It was a guaranteed announcement, and a new car that will remain at the heart of Bastogne throughout the weekend.

At 5.30pm, after a visit to a Hyundai dealership in Libramont, Thierry Neuville was welcomed by the local authorities of Bastogne, led by Mayor Benoit Lutgen, for a small official celebration in the premises of the tourist office. It was an opportunity for the world rally champion to reiterate his attachment to the Legend Boucles and to underline the work carried out each year by the R.A.C. Spa teams. Pierre Delettre was clearly moved by this.

This was followed by a signing session which showed just how impressive the line-up for these Legend Boucles @ Bastogne 2025 is. Thierry Neuville, André Lotterer, Stéphane Lefebvre, Cédric Cherain, Tom Boonen, Bruno Thiry, Renaud Verreydt, Grégoire and Ghislain de Mévius, ‘Vande’, ‘Krugger’, ‘Chavan’ and all the others delighted the fans, in a joyful crowd!

Meanwhile, in the main street of Bastogne, all the cars that will be at the start tomorrow gathered for a Parade that lasted well into the evening. The human tide was simply staggering, and the image of Bastogne's shopping street packed with people remains more than ever one of the highlights of the year!

At the end of a festive first day, the sport takes over, with a first stage featuring 8 RTs, and a starting podium on which the competitors will climb from 8.53 am. The Legend/Challenger group will head for Vaux-sur-Sûre, while the Classic 65/50s will tackle the Les Eoliennes section, starting from the Bois de la Paix.